Crunch! How Do You Know When You're in Trouble? By Tom McEvoy and Brad Daugherty

You're playing in a multitable no-limit hold'em tournament online that is structured like supersatellites in brick-and-mortar casinos. You've been at it for an hour and you've made your way through about 50 percent of the field. You know that before long, the blinds will be going to $200-$400, and that only about 25 percent of the players will be left at that time. You want to be one of them. But to get there, you need to know when you're in trouble, when it's time to start moving in because it's crunch time, and how to move through it.

At the $200-$400 level, you need to have $4,000 to $5,000 in chips to feel secure. If you have any less than that, about five to six times the size of the big blind, you will be in a move-in mode anytime you play a hand. When you're in that situation, there is a good argument to be made for just moving in rather than raising three to four times the size of the blind ($1,200-$1,600). When you move in before the flop, your opponents know that you are committed to the end, whereas, if you don't put in all of your chips, they may think you're not fully committed and might call with marginal hands. If they know you're committed to going all the way with the hand, they usually will fold those marginal hands, which is what you want them to do. Just winning the blinds is critically important at this stage. This move-in strategy applies to when you are short-stacked, not when you have a medium to large stack.

Now, let's answer the big question: "How do you know when you're in trouble?"

When the blinds are at $100-$200, and especially when they rise to $200-$400, you will be in trouble if you haven't accumulated enough chips. If you have $1,000 or less at the $100-$200 level, it's probably time to start your move-in strategy. You might even consider moving in with $1,500 or less. In other words, anytime you have only six to seven times the big blind, consider moving in, and when you have only five times the big blind, definitely move in. You would not move all in if you had lots of chips. You would make the standard raise, because even if you lose the pot, you will still have enough chips to play another hand. Furthermore, you have the option of folding if you must. But when you're short-stacked, you don't have many options; you simply have to play a hand all the way once you start and hope that you can double through if you get called.

At the $200-$400 level with a $50 ante, it's move-in time if you have $2,500 or less. If you have $3,000 to $4,000, you can make a standard raise, but you still are pretty much committed to going the rest of the way. Remember that anytime you have half of your chips in the pot, you are pretty much committed. At the $300-$600 level, you usually will be moving in if you have $3,000 to $4,500, because of the double-whammy impact of the blinds plus the ante. Once antes come into the mix, you need to have more than seven to eight times the size of the big blind to feel comfortable.

One question to ask yourself to help you make a decision as to whether you should call a player who has reraised you is, "What are my chances of coming back if I give up the chips with which I raised?" Also, keep tabs on other players who are in trouble at your table, and from whom you can steal the blinds.

We hope this explanation of how to know when you're in trouble, and what to do about it, will help you design your strategy for your online satellite play. If you can keep your chin and your chip count up the next time you get in trouble in a supersatellite, I'm sure we'll both win tournament seats in the next satellite we play together.

In closing, Brad and I send our heartfelt thanks to a very special satellite player, Dr. Winslow in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We wish we could write as colorfully as he did in this letter to our book publisher, Dana Smith: "Dear Dana, Championship Satellite Strategy is to the inexperienced (aka "dead money") satellite player what wagon trains were to the inexperienced westward-bound dudes from the East. Daugherty and McEvoy are the wagon master and chief scout who really know the trail … and they can take you inside the minds of the fearless Indian warriors. (Their book) is part of the essential gear for those who dare travel the tournament trail."

Tom McEvoy and Brad Daugherty are the co-authors of Championship Satellite Strategy, where you will find these and many more winning concepts for brick-and-mortar casino and online satellite play. Their book is available through Card Player. Send your questions and comments to the authors at @pokerbooks.com.