If you are sitting at home reading this article, chances are you’re just like me – you can’t get enough of online poker. Whether you’re in it for the thrill of the game or you’re trying to make a living, playing online offers several distinct advantages over the “live” game. The online game is a faster game, which essentially means more and potentially larger pots and more risks per hour than a standard B&M (brick and mortar) game. When you see a larger volume of hands, chances are that during each session you play, you are bound to see something that leaves you speechless, shaking your head, mystified, or (shudder at the thought) having to re-buy. In this column, each week we will take a look at a different hand that fits the previously mentioned criteria. My involvement in the hand notwithstanding, I will try to remain as impartial as possible, and for the hands that I didn’t win, I will keep my bitterness to a minimum. (At least, this is my intent)

This week’s hand took place in a recent 2-table Sit-N-Go Tournament which had a $50 entry fee. Sit-N-Go Tournaments are a great way to improve on your poker skills while minimizing the potential hit in your bankroll. All you have to pony up is the entry fee which varies from anything from freerolls to $1000 depending on your preference and skill level. This hand shows just how dangerous it is to try to overprotect your blinds and try to play with marginal hands. Players try to steal blinds whenever possible, that’s a part of poker. Unless you are holding a solid to better-than average hand, just let them go. It is foolish to waste chips protecting marginal hands. Why? Well for starters, being in the blinds means you are in the worst possible betting position, a vital aspect of tournament play. Also, unless you happen to get lucky and flop the nuts, which is rare, these plays can really come back to haunt you.

There are 5 people left in a 20 player tournament and the top 4 are in the money. The chip leader has a healthy lead on the field with $8000 chips. Currently, I’m 2nd in chips with about $3,500 and am on the button with the blinds at $200/$400. My strategy at this point is to wait until someone makes a mistake and then start opening up again. Not a very bold game plan, but hey, with a couple short stacks out there, I can afford to play tight for a few hands. I look down at my cards to see pocket 9’s staring at me. Pretty decent starting hand I think to myself. The board checks around too me and I simply raise to $800. The table had gotten really tight lately and a raise like this one had been enough to win several of the past few hands. Plus, these are after all pocket 9’s, a good but not overpowering starting hand. The small blind quickly folds and after some hesitation, the big blind actually calls putting $800 of his remaining 1,900 in there. The flop comes 6d-2s-9h. Awesome, I flopped top set, there are no strong flush or straight possibilities, I’m in pretty good shape I think to myself. Then, incredibly, the Big Blind goes all-in for his remaining $1,100. I think to myself, “what can this guy possibly have here?” I obviously won’t fold this hand so I call making the pot an even $4000. I call to see him flip 6c/9c and can not even imagine what he’s thinking when he comes to the realization that he needs the turn and river to both be sixes to win. The turn is a blank, and the river is a 6 so I end up with a full house 9’s over 6’s to his 6’s over 9’s and I ended up beefing up my stack to get closer to second place. Meanwhile, in trying to show some “machismo” and protect his blinds, the newly ousted player ends up earning nothing for his 2 hours of invested time, well other than an expensive fishing lesson. All this because he felt compelled to call a pre-flop raise with 2 lousy suited cards hoping to get lucky. How does that saying go? Oh yeah, “the fish die by the mouth,” and that’s pretty appropriate for this scenario.

As for me, I used the momentum of the hand to keep building my stack until I was in a head-to-head matchup for top prize of $1000. After about 20 back and forth tense minutes of playing, my opponent called all-in post flop after I had just flopped another 9’s over 6’s full house! What were the odds on that? I think I may have found a new favorite hand. Well, at least I have $1000 reasons to like it now.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

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