| A Tale of Two Tournaments: Part 3
As we discussed last time, you must recognize opportunity and seize it when it comes. On the other side of this, you must also recognize when others see opportunity in you and weather it accordingly. Let's pick up the story of Hold'emMania X where we left off last time….. I'd gotten pretty comfortable in my seat at the outdoor table. The last thing I wanted to do was leave the comfort and security of the beaming sun and my padded deck chair. It was a beautiful cloudless day, who in their right mind would leave this table to go spelunking in the smoke-filled cave? Where the others had been so quickly dispatched. I could still hear their protests, and the laughter of the chip leaders. As I stood up from my chair and the door to doom slid open, I could only think of Clubber Lang, slamming my nuts in a car door. My prediction for the final table? My prediction was pain.
We filed in meekly and as the room took shape amidst its bluish haze, we finally saw what we were up against. One look at the competition and I had to rethink Newton's laws. Two players at the far end of the table had so many chips, the table itself looked as though it would see-saw. As our three entrants sat down, things did not even out. Remember that this table had eliminated 4 more players than we had outside. There was literally twice the cash floating at this table then there had been outside. As well, it was in the coffers of two tough nuts staring across from me. I was in awe of the situation. Here we were, 6 players. Three of which had just landed on Park Place and two others who had been successfully managing hotels for the last couple of hours. Between Darryl and Crazy Ivan (who's table doesn't have a crazy Ivan? If you don't have one, get one) They each had 1/3 of the Tournament's chips while we other players combined for the last third. We were all but screwed here. There was only one way I was going to win this game, and that was by setting as slow a pace as I could.
If you're really stuck, and have been playing for a while, it can help you to slow the game down where possible. I'm not talking about deliberately taking time with your bets and what not, I mean not making necessarily making big bets when you don't have to, or staying out of hands completely. If you're in what could be a long game, and you're still sharp and have some gas in the tank, it won't hurt you to plan on taking your 5 hour game to an 8 hour game. If a chance comes to do otherwise, take it if it's good, but over the long haul, stamina can become a factor. When you're down, and you're playing players with a substantial lead, they will often become impatient and try to beat you out before time is ripe. That's when you can gain some ground on them if you keep your focus. In this game, hour 5 meant stakes rose to Pot Limit. This game could end in a heartbeat if the circumstances were right.
So having formulated a quick plan, I got to work. There were six of us to start this round, and I measured in at 4th, but there was little difference in chips outside of 1st and 2nd. Play started, and as I had anticipated, we were stuck in the playground with the bullies. They were raising everything preflop, so the only way to avoid being bled dry was to fold all but blinds. I had no problem doing this as it extended the game for me, and let me see a few go around for free. Occasionally, there were hands where both the heavies would fold pre-flop, but these were very rare. When they did, it was always worth a look. I hadn't been bluffing at all thus far, I couldn't afford to, but now if there were hands I could consider drawing on, I couldn't afford not to. I'm not a big bluff player. I like to have teeth to mind my bark, so I will generally shy away from a straight bluff. Semi-bluffs on the flop and turn, this I have less issue with. That was the tact I was taking now.
So the point here is that if you're getting borderline hands and you can't afford a mistake, you can let some go by and take some time out. Even missing one hand can be time to gather yourself if you're in a bad situation. If you're down badly in a casino situation, take these times to consider leaving. In a tournament situation, you have to treat it as a marathon. You're all in, all day, until it's over. You can afford to let some hands go by if they're free.
You'll find the conclusion to the first tournament in the Tale of Two Tournaments on Feb 12th. Yes, it's by Valentines gift to you. Until then, I'll be packing for sunny Las Vegas, Nevada to sniff out the remains of the World Poker Tour on the weekend after the WEEKEND OF THE SUPERBOWL! That's right, you'll find me sitting in the sportsbook of North America's largest hotel, the MGM Grand WATCHING THE SUPERBOWL coverage of the big game from the week prior.
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