Back on April 3 I won my first "major" poker tournament - major by Canadian standards that is. I won the Casino Regina no-limit hold'em event. I do not pretend to be a tournament expert by anyone's imagination. Rather, I have thoroughly studied McEvoy's "Tournament Poker" and what follows is a description of the tournament along with a few select hands and my thinking on why I played them the way I did. I felt that readers might find it interesting to get inside my head during my first tournament win (It paid $9040 by the way).

The no-limit event at the Station Poker Classic was as follows: $115 buy-in for 1000 chips; re-buys $100 for 1000 chips and may be taken in the first hour if below 1000 points for level one, 2000 points for level two and 3000 points for level three; and an add-on $100 for 2000 point. So, for example, a player could with 990 chips at the end of level three could have taken 3 re-buys and the add-on, paid $400 and received 5000 chips. Levels where between 15 and twenty minutes each.

My Tournament Strategy

When playing a tournament I generally budget for the buy-in, one-re-buy and the add-on. I decided that in this case I would speculate with my first 1000 chips looking to double through and save myself the expense of a re-buy. If my speculation failed I would get considerably more conservative in my starting hand requirements and play through until the end of the re-buy period at which point I would take the add-on. Also, I did have enough money set aside to take two re-buys if at the hands of fate I went broke prior to the end of the re-buy period. But, $500 was all that I was willing to invest to getting to the add-on with only the buy-in and two re-buys was a critical issue.

As regards that actual play of the tournament, there would be a lot of "dead money" in this tournament. My experience is that at Casino Regina there are a lot of players who do not have the first inkling of tournament theory. The plan was to pick my opponents carefully. At no limit I felt I had a huge edge on the poor players. There were, also, some class opponents in from North Dakota, Montana and Alberta and those players would have to be avoided unless I really held the goods. Otherwise, my strategy was to be generally conservative and wait patiently for opportunities to get my money in when I was the favourite.

The Re-buy Period

As mentioned, I had figured to speculate somewhat during the re-buy period hoping to catch a hand and double through. To that end, I played a Jclubs Tclubs out of middle position. I flopped two clubs, the big blind made a small bet, the player under-the-gun called and I called. On the turn came another club. The Big Blind again bet out, the player under-the-gun again called and I raised all-in. I was called by the Big Blind and I was beat (he held a king high flush). My thinking was that I knew the Big Blind to be a weak player. I felt there was a reasonable chance that did not have the flush, or that if he did have a flush that he might well a smaller flush. I was wrong. I was broke. The cry went out: "Re-buy!" It was, however, not unexpected and was included in my tournament plan. The plan now called for a conservative approach that would see me through to the end of the re-buy period. That is exactly what happened. I took the add-on and I started level four of the tournament with 3310 chips.

The Lucky Hand

Generally I played a very conservatively through level 4 and level 5. In fact, I began level 5 with 2745 chips (level five was 50-100). Then, along came a bit of luck. In the Big Blind with Jdiamonds 6spades the hand was not raised pre-flop and there were three callers. The flop came Jspades 7hearts 5hearts. I held to pair with a very poor kicker. I made a pot size bet of $225. While this may seem an overly large bet with such a vulnerable hand my thinking was that I could get any overcards to fold and might well pick up the pot right there and then. If anybody had played back at me I would have folded immediately. One player called and the others all folded.

The player that called me I knew to be a player that liked to play suited cards (I know this player well). So, he either held a draw to a heart flush or a big hand and he was waiting to trap me. In any case, the turn came Jclubs. I now held three jacks with no kicker. Again, I though that I could get him off a heart draw if that is what he held with a substantial bet. But, I was not keen to overbet the pot since it was still very possible that he was waiting to trap me. I bet $500. He called. Hmmm… I couldn't figure that play out. I had figured either for a raise or a fold. Not a call.

The river came 2clubs. There was no flush and no straight possible. I checked. My intention at that point was to call if he bet (if he had bet me all in I might have reconsidered). If I bet out and got raised I would pretty much be forced to call. By checking I felt I would preserve my chips in the event that I was beaten. And, I might even induce a bluff… which is exactly what happened. He bet $500 which was an easy call for me to make and he showed a broken heart draw. I won $1225 of his chips. Yahoo.

This brings up an interesting side note - never underestimate the power of inducing a bluff. In particular, if you are going to call anyway then do not do anything to discourage a bet (i.e. holding a handful of chips out over the table preparing to call). If you are beat, he is going to bet anyway and if you are the winner you will make money when he attempts to bluff you.

Always Watch Your Opponents

A little further into the tournament I again found myself in the Big Blind. The under-the-gun player put in a small raise and all of the other players folded around to me. I held 5clubs 4clubs. This is clearly not the sort of hand that one wants to play heads-up, but I called. Why? Previous to this hand the under-the-gun player had made some huge raises. On each occasion, everyone folded and he showed a big pair. On this occasion he made a small raise. I assumed therefore that he held AK. I felt that if I missed to flop and either an A or K came I would be able to get away. On the other hand, if no A or K came I would be able to get him off his hand. The flop came 9-7-4 of mixed suits. I checked. He made a small bet. I raised him the amount of his bet. He showed AK and folded. Two things to note - if my check-raise had encountered any resistance (a call or a re-raise) I was finished with the hand. Second, the under-the-gun player was playing poorly. In the first place, he was fallen into an obvious pattern. In the second place he play of big pairs was, I think, poor.

Suppose you pick up KK and you push in half your stack on a raise. A player then calls. Where are you? If an ace comes on the flop you probably have to release you hand, but you have dropped half your stack. In short, unless it is getting to the late stages of a no-limit tournament and the betting limits have reached the point that you pretty much have to go all in if you decide to enter a pot then you should always leave yourself an escape route. Give yourself a chance to fold if you are beat. The player I have here been discussing was so afraid of losing a pot with his big pairs that he was forcing everyone to fold. That is, everyone except a player who could beat him. So, he was risking going bust in exchange for winning only a small amount of money (the blinds) with his premium hands. Big risk, small reward, bad idea.

The Advantage of Big Stack

With about two-thirds of the field eliminated I was again in the Big Blind and I looked down to see 8spades 7spades. A player in middle position put in a small raise, the player on his left called all in and everyone else folded. I called. Also a lucky break for me. Under different circumstances I would have folded. I called because I was getting about 5-1 odds, I was a big stack and one of my opponents was all in which meant that he could not charge me any more money and that left two of us to knock him out - every player out is one more closer to the money for me. Happy day, the flop came 8-8-6 of mixed suits. Naturally I checked. My opponents checked. On the turn came an ace. I checked again. A bet here on my part would have been, I think, a very bad idea. If my single opponent did not have an ace he would simply fold and I did not want him to getaway. The river came a 10. I bet enough to put my remaining live opponent all in. At this point, a check is a bad play since he may well check even if he thinks that he has the best hand. In any event, he called. He told me later that he had a 10 and thought I was trying to steal the pot. I broke two players in one hand with a very lucky flop. His thinking about a steal was wrong. There was an all-in player who was all in for what was then the full amount of the pot. I could not have been stealing in the pure sense since I was going to have to show my hand down and have the best hand to win. It is possible that I was trying to push him out and play the all-in player heads up, but again, I must have something since I must think I can beat the all-in player.

The Hand That Won it For Me

When we got to the final table I had the misfortune to draw the Big Blind. We were playing with blinds of 7500 and 15000 (still no limit remember). I was a big stack with just over 40000 chips. So, I did have enough to pay both blinds and coast for a few hands if it came to that. It didn't.

The first hand at the final table the player under-the-gun raises all in for a total of 30000. Everyone folded to the little blind who called (he was a little shy of the 30000). I looked down to see Aspades 10clubs. This is the hand that I suspect most players would disagree with my play… I called. A-10 off-suit is not a good hand with which to be calling raises. But, there were a few things working in my favour: (1) Both of my opponents were all-in so there was no way that I could lose anymore; (2) I had seen the player under-the-gun make what I considered to be some very questionable raises earlier in the tournament and, indeed, in the two tournament on the two preceding days; (3) The Small Blind had gone into deep thought prior to calling - he couldn't have a real premium hand; and (4) if I lost I still had enough chips to pay my small blind and wait out a few hands hoping to coast up the money ladder. In any event the board finished K-K-9-8-5 and I won! Neither of my opponents had an ace and neither of them had a pair. This hand also illustrates the importance of small pairs and aces in the very late stages of a tournament. If you are going to get all-in have a hand that can win at a showdown - a single ace can win and any pocket pair can win. I do not know what either of my opponents had, but they were both making a huge mistake (and I thought what I called that I was the one making the mistake). The player under-the-gun had two unpaired cards below a king??? What put all your chips into the middle with eight players to act behind you when you have such a weak hand as that. The small blind also had two unpaired cards below a king. Why put the rest of your chips into the middle when you have seven free hands to come. Seven free hands to look for something better. Lucky for me. Very lucky. That pot left me with 100,000 chips out of a total of 300,000 in play. The rest were split among my remaining 6 opponents and I was in the luxurious position of being able to show some patience even though the blinds were so high.

The Final Hand

When we got down to heads up I held a 2-1 chip lead over my opponents (I had about 200,000 to his 100,000). The blinds were 15,000 and 30,000 and the betting was still, of course, no limit. I was on the button with the small blind and looked down to see 7hearts 3hearts. Normally, of course, a complete garbage hand. But, any two cards are no worse than a 2-1 dog to any other two cards with the exception of an over pair. In other words, if he held a pocket pair 8's or higher I was in deep trouble. Anything else I was in only a little bit of trouble and I recalled the words of poker great Doyle Brunson: "When the blinds get very high you have to start playing some pretty strange cards." (Doyle won the WSOP two years in a row with 10-2 suited) SO… I called.

My opponent raised 30,000. Oops. This caused me to call "time" and think about things for a moment. I was getting 3-1 odds on a call. Probably OK. If I got all in and lost I would still have 100,000 and he would have 200,000. He had offered a split already and I had declined so I figured that he would take a split if I lost this pot. I called. The flop came 2-3-4 with two hearts. I had a pair of threes. He bet all in. I called without hesitation at that point. He could have had an overpair, but I doubted it. When it gets down to heads up it's difficult to lay down a hand that catches any part of the flop. I never saw his cards. And, as a matter of fact, I don't even recall the turn and the river. All I recall is that at the end he threw his into the muck and I was $9040 richer.

Conclusion

I again want to re-iterate the fact that I am not a tournament expert. On that day I won. I made the right decisions, but as I am sure that the reader can see one has to get a little lucky here and there to win a tournament. The right decisions and a little luck are required.