For today’s hand of the week, I have a very interesting one for you folks.  I recently played in a $300 buy in No-Limit tournament which featured 60 players.  The top payout was about $5,000 with 2nd and 3rd place also receiving over $1000 as well.

From the very beginning, I know I was at the top of my game, playing conservatively in the beginning and only engaging in big pots and making big risks when I was confident with the cards I was holding.  I like to be conservative early in order to build my image and not to trap myself in hands I should not be involved in.  Some players like to take chances early with the sole purpose of building up their chip stacks and being able to outmuscle the competition the rest of the way.  The drawback with this is that you can get knocked out way too early.  After all, you can’t win a tournament in the first hour.  Personally, I don’t like to do this.  I prefer to make smart plays early while others knock each other out and slowly build my stack.  Then, once I’m at the final table, I open up, take more chances and really go after it.

This was my approach and I was able to head into the final table with a slight chip edge just off the lead.  I would try to use my chips to steal some blinds here and there because the cards just weren’t coming my way at all.  Before long, 5 people had been eliminated and there were just four of us remaining. The next person out would not be getting any big money so as you could imagine play became extremely tight.  In fact, it took 30 minutes for the next person to be eliminated.  I wasn’t involved in the hand but someone must have gotten restless because it was the first poor play I had seen in a while.

In any case, with 3 players left, I had a two to one chip lead over my other two competitors who were about equal.  At this point, I began studying how they were playing.  One player was quite passive, folding to just about any real action while the other was a classic maniac, routinely going all-in on just about any other hand which really made me question what he was doing.  In either case, I know how to approach these types of players.  By not changing their styles, they are very predictable and easy to defend against and go after.  Not surprisingly, the maniac eliminated the lamb and it was down to two, with $2,000 more going to the winner.

As I expected, he was very aggressive, either going all in pre or post flop in most of the hands.  My counter? I have him out chipped so I’ll just sit back and wait for him to shoot himself in the foot.  About 10 hands into the showdown, it happens.  I was dealt pocket 10’s and he limped in as I acted first.  The flop came down 10h-Ad-4c.  I checked and he instantly moved all in.  Well, I have a set of 10’s and unless this guy has a set of Aces or, he is done and I’m getting paid.  Sure enough, the cards flip over and he paired up his Aces with a 2 kicker.  His recklessness just destroyed him there. Looking back, it really amazes me how on earth this luckbox was able to get as far as he did.

The lesson of this hand is simple.  If you make yourself too predictable to your opposition, any player can pick up on what you’re doing and use it against you.  In this case, it cost my opponent a chance at an extra $2000.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

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