When I Was A Donk – Christopher Vitch

Christopher Vitch

Poker pro Christopher Vitch is a mixed-games specialist from Phoenix, Arizona who has shined at the World Series of Poker during the last few years. The 34-year-old made his first WSOP final table in 2008, and had several close calls in the years that followed.

In 2015, he finished runner-up in a $1,500 stud eight-or-better event for $111,860. He followed that up in 2016 with a third-place showing in a $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event for another $92,374, before finally winning his first bracelet in the $2,500 mixed triple draw event for $136,854. This summer, Vitch won his second bracelet, taking down the $10,000 stud eight-or-better event for $320,103.

Here, Vitch talks about short-stacked tournament play.

I think my biggest problem early on was that I was very inexperienced with tournament play. I mostly played cash games, so I just wasn’t used to certain situations that come up in tournaments.

In tournaments, especially limit mixed-game tournaments, it’s not uncommon to find yourself with a stack of something like three or four big bets. But in a cash game, that’s such an unfamiliar feeling because the blinds don’t go up, and you can always rebuy. There’s really no reason to play short-stacked in a cash game, so you never get that practice.

Nobody wants to admit it, but I’ve seen it happen many times where a player will get down to those last few bets, find a marginal hand, and then fire it off hoping to get lucky. But with three big bets, there’s still a lot of damage you can do with your stack.

If you are playing a flop game, you have enough chips to see the flop and possibly fold if it’s really terrible. Or in a stud game, if they catch a perfect card, you now have room to fold and find a better spot. Or in a split-pot game, you can use those last few bets to find spots to chop your way out of a short stack.

I think the turning point for me was when I was able to make a final table or even win a tournament after being down to just a few big bets. Once you see that happen, those chips become a lot more valuable in your mind and you are less likely to just rip them in there and hope for the best. If you can find a way to just… not give up, you’d be surprised how often you can come back from a short stack, or at least ladder up a few pay jumps at the final table. ♠