In the Cross Hairs<br>By Guest Columnist Brad Daugherty and Tom McEvoy

A few weeks before the World Series of Poker each year, Bay 101 Casino in San Jose hosts its annual Shooting Stars poker tournament. Shooting Stars has a unique format, in that the casino invites 15 poker "stars" to play and seats one of them at each table for players to "shoot at" in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em event. Anyone who knocks a star out of action is awarded a $1,000 bounty. 1991 World Champion of Poker Brad Daugherty and I usually are invited to play. In this column, Brad gives his account of the 2001 tournament, when he and I both were at the mercy of 150 bounty hunters. His story has a punch line that I think you'll find interesting.

Brad said, "At the start of the Shooting Stars tournament in 2001, the bounty at each table was introduced. When I stood up to be recognized, I noticed that everyone was inspecting me closely, especially the players at my table. Were they showing this interest because I'm a former world champion, or was it because of the $1,000 bounty on my head, I wondered. Of course, I knew the answer. None of the bounties wants the 'honor' of being the first bounty taken. When you're knocked out, you are introduced again. Then, your picture is taken alongside the player who knocked you out. You try to smile, but you'd rather just leave quietly without anyone seeing you.

"We started with $10,000 in chips with $25-$50 blinds. I decided to play conservatively, trying to get a good feel for my opponents, and seeing who was aggressive, who seemed scared, and who had weaknesses. I like the early rounds because I can just sit back and study everyone without having the blinds and antes put added pressure on me to play inferior hands.

"I went through the blinds a couple of times before entering a pot. Finally, I picked up A-Q and raised it to $200. I couldn't believe it! I hadn't even attempted to play a hand in almost 30 minutes and four people called my raise. Wow, I thought, everybody sure wants to play with me – or maybe they're just after the picture of us together for knocking me out, or the tee shirt with 'I busted Brad Daugherty' written across the front of it, or the $1,000 cash. Of course, they wanted it all!

"Realizing that I was going to have several opponents whenever I entered a pot, I began to think about the adjustments I should make. I decided that if I played a hand, I would either just limp, call a small raise, or make a larger than usual raise with a big hand such as aces or kings, knowing that I probably would get action. This is a perfect scenario if you catch cards. I just sat there waiting for a hand, knowing I'd have automatic action if I ever caught one.

"Just after the blinds rose to $50-$100, I was sitting two in front of the big blind when I looked down to find the K K. Normally, I would have considered limping in this spot, but not today. Following my game plan, I opened for $700, a very big raise for the size of the blinds. I got called in three spots, and we now had almost $3,000 in the pot. The flop came J 6 3. It was a good flop for my hand, so I led out with $3,500. One player called. Off popped the 9 on the turn, not the card I was looking for. I checked, and my opponent moved in. After careful consideration, I decided to lay down the kings, thinking $5,000 in chips was enough for me to make a comeback.

"Now that I was short on chips, I knew that players were going to come after me even more. I had about $4,500 left when I looked down and found a pair of jacks. With the blinds at $100-$200, I opened for $1,500. Fold, fold, fold to the aggressive player who had beaten my pocket kings and had the chip lead at our table. Sure enough, he moved in. I called without hesitation. My jacks held up and I had $10,000 again, although he remained the chip leader at the table.

"After another 45 minutes, I was fortunate enough to be dealt pocket aces. I wondered, how much should I bet to get someone to move in on me? I decided to open for $1,500, a large bet for aces. The action went all the way around the table to, you guessed it, the guy who had beaten my kings. To my pleasure, he moved in on me. I instantly called for all of my chips. We turned up our hands for everyone to see. With a smile, I showed my two aces, while my opponent showed Q-J. The flop came Q-7-5. A deuce came on the turn. The river card was – oops! – a jack. Then came the real punishment: I was introduced as a fallen bounty and had my photo taken with my worthy opponent, when all I really wanted to do was slip out the back door unnoticed.

"Oh, by the way, I must congratulate the winner of my bounty, Carlos Mortensen. He went on to win the tournament and probably used my bounty as part of his buy-in to the 2001 World Series of Poker a few weeks later. He won that one, too!"

Just as he outdrew Brad's pocket aces in this critical hand, Carlos outdrew Dewey Tomko's pocket aces in the final hand of the world championship event. Provided our pocket aces hold up next time, Brad and I hope to meet you at the final table one day soon.

Author's note: The Shooting Stars buy-in rose to $1,500 in 2003 with $1,500 bounties. Brad Daugherty and I currently are writing Championship Satellite Strategy, which we hope to finish in the fall. You can play with us at PokerStars.com or at the upcoming Four Queens Poker Classic in Las Vegas. Visit www.pokerbooks.com for information on the Championship series of books.