Taking the Free Money - Adam Stemple

Let's talk about tournaments. Everybody loves them, but so few people seem to know how to play them. Even knowledgeable players hold some common misconceptions that consistently cost them money.

In a full ring game, when I first get my cards, there are basically three things I consider: cards, position, action. In that order, like a flow chart:

A. Cards:
Playable--Go to B
Unplayable--Muck 'em

B. Position: Does my position warrant playing the cards I have?
Yes--Go to C
No---Muck' em

C. Action: Does the action before me, or the possible action behind me, allow me to play these cards?
Yes--Play 'em
No--Muck 'em

But in a tournament, there is another factor to be considered, and it goes to the very top of the list: the tournament situation. And it is so important, that at times it is the only factor to consider. One of my favorites I call, "Taking the Free Money."

This comes up more often than you think in big multis, and is always a good way to pick up a few extra chips, and gain a maniac table image to boot. Watch for the small stacks who have to go all in for less than the BB. If someone else calls, or the all-in player's chips are less than the SB you may be able to get a freeroll against them if you can get it heads up. Here's a situation that came up for me just a few days ago. I was playing a small online tournament, we were two from the money, and I had a comfortable stack. Blinds were 200/400 and I was on the BB looking at a J7s. A middle position player called all-in for 250$ and the SB called. Looking at $1050 in the middle and an all-in player who was only eligible for $750 I made a big enough raise to force out the SB limper. I pocketed $150 from him, got $150 of my blind back, and played my $400 BB for the discount price of $100.

The all-in player had queens and I lost, but it paid extra dividends anyway. Not only did I save money on my blind, but the SB went ballistic.

"Way to raise with nothing," he said. "Don't you have any idea how to play?"

"They were sooooooooted," I replied in my very fishiest font.

"I had KJ." There had been a king on the flop. "I would have knocked him out!"

This is why the move works so much better in tournaments than in ring games. When people become overly concerned with knocking other players out, you can really put some moves on. And I'm only concerned with sneaking into the money when I have a small or marginal stack. When my stack is comfortable, the time right before the money is a good opportunity to be a little more aggressive and try to build a bigger stack. And when I have a big stack, I don't want it to ever end. I'm robbing these people blind!

Having convinced the SB that I was the biggest fish since Jaws 3D, I picked up kings a few hands later and he couldn't wait to call me with Ace-rag. Bye-bye, Professor.

Later the same day, I was playing in a two-table pot limit Omaha Hi-Lo tournament. We were five-handed; it paid the top four. My wife was watching me play. She is a good hold'em player, but has only the vaguest idea how to play Omaha. I was holding a A355 rainbow on the small blind.

"Is that a good hand?"

"Yep," I replied. And mucked it. The extremely tight player on the button had brought it in for a raise. She hadn't played a hand for quite some time, not even stealing, and had a large enough stack to not need to play a hand yet. And yet she'd raised the pot, crippling her stack if she got called and beaten. I deemed my chances of being dominated by an AA2 alarmingly high.

Next, I had a Q923 on the SB, all hearts.

"Is that a good hand?"

"Nope," I answered. And raised. The player on the BB was trying to coast into the money and consistently folded his blinds to a raise.

Knowing the tournament situation and how the other players are reacting to it makes them so much easier to read.

My wife shook her head. "I just don't understand Omaha."

I was going to explain that I was playing the tournament situation, not the game, but I was in the cut-off seat, and under the gun had come out firing.

Hrmm, what's his stack compared to mine? I thought. And has he been trying to coast in, meaning that the raise denotes a real hand? Or is he trying to buy the blinds during moving time? And, oh yeah, I almost forgot…

What cards am I holding?