When You're 'Chipwrecked' in a Satellite

"I'm new to satellites and decided to play a few at the Four Queens Poker Classic. I played four no-limit hold'em one-table events and finished second in three of them," Scott wrote in his e-mail letter. "Each time I got heads up, my opponent had a huge chip lead over me. What heads-up strategy should you employ when you're at a 4-1 or greater chip disadvantage? Should you go all in two or three times in a row with just about anything and try to get lucky? Or, should you wait for a decent starting hand while you're slowly getting eaten up by the blinds?"

Actually, for an inexperienced satellite player, Scott did extremely well to get that far in his first foray into the fast-paced arena of satellites. Even veteran satellite players have found themselves "chipwrecked" in heads-up battle and probably have been tempted to give up the ship. Obviously, when you're that far behind in heads-up play, you have a lot to overcome in order to win, but that doesn't mean you should bail out of the deep water you're in by playing hopeless hands just because you're afraid the blinds will sink your ship.

When you're very short-chipped, you can pretty much expect your opponent to mix it up with you. Therefore, if you have a truly substandard hand and decide to make a play at the pot by going all in, or more or less commit yourself by raising, chances are that your opponent is going to play with you. And chances also are pretty good that you will be going uphill against him. If you have truly bad starting hands, such 6-2, 7-3, 8-4, or 9-5 (which at least have some "stretch" potential for a straight), or even worse hands, such as 8-2 or 9-3, you are correct in passing.

I am more willing to take a chance with an ace-anything or king-anything in my hand, as well as any pocket pair (even deuces), than I am with two random cards lower than a 10. Because of the high probability that my opponent will call if I go all in, or may put me all in if I raise, chances are that if I don't have at least one facecard, he will be the mathematical favorite to have a better hand. In my experience, the average heads-up holding is about a jack-high hand. So, if it's a dead cinch that you're going to get played with, you're better off mucking before the flop if you're in the small blind without a hand. Or, when you're in the big blind and your opponent just calls from the small blind, you are better off checking in order to see a free flop. That way, you might get lucky and be able to pick up some chips.

Going all in with random hands several times in a row is not the correct strategy. You need at least some semblance of a hand. However, if the big blind alone is going to consume one-half or more of your chips, you might go in with any two cards. But if you have enough chips left to see another flop or two and have a miserable hand, you are better off to pass the small blind and wait for a better opportunity. You don't want to fall into the trap that desperadoes set for themselves: They take a stand with just about anything, and often get torpedoed by their desperate deeds.

Brad Daugherty, the 1991 world champion of poker, and I have just completed our new book on satellite strategy. We wrote it to help players like Scott, who have played some satellites with no success so far – players who want to learn how to turn a toothpick into a lumberyard. Naturally, I am a big fan of satellites, since I was the first satellite winner to go forward and win the World Series of Poker. Today, it is almost commonplace. At the recent Legends of Poker tournament at The Bicycle Casino in California, about half of the players in the televised World Poker Tour championship event won their way into the tournament via a satellite.

In closing, here's a tip of the Stetson to T.J. Cloutier, my writing partner in our "championship" series of books, for his third-place finish in the WPT tournament at the Bike. Being at the final table at the Bike is almost a given for T.J., as he won the Bike's $10,000 buy-in Diamond Jim Brady tournament three years in a row during the 1990s. With skill, perseverance, and endurance in our satellite play, perhaps you and I will be meeting Brad and T.J. one day soon at the final table.

Author's note: My new book with Brad Daugherty, Championship Satellite Strategy, is now available through Card Player, which also carries Championship Hold'em and The Championship Table.