Texas holdem acting

A Wing, Some Cards, and Courage

  There have been almost fifty final tables played this year at the World Series of Poker with, in most cases, 9 players going into the final day of play. Of those 9 players, every one of them will go all in at some point in time, and in the end, 8 of them will wind up on the wrong end of exchange. There is nothing profound in that statement: it is just a statement of fact regarding the ways of tournament poker.

  Final tables and an all in gambits have very little to do with pot odds, advanced mathematics, or any other calculations that a player would need an advanced degree in calculus to figure, especially if you are doing this before the flop. The all in bet during the late stages of a tournament is all about picking your spot when you have the cards, and hoping whoever bets has a smaller hand.

  Obviously some hands are better than others when you're betting your entire tournament survival on the two cards in your hand. While an unsuited 8-2 would be suicide, unless your opponent is the timid sort who can be scared out of the hand by a scowl and some foul language, a suited 7-8 is more workable seeing as you have several outs available in the deck for either a flush or a straight. What a player is looking for when selecting their all in hand is something that is either versatile, or a high pair.

  While plenty of guys have been successful with hands like the aforementioned suited 7-8, getting your opponent all in and just betting stack against stack means that you have opened yourself up to the capricious will of luck. The worst beats happen in these situations, and even a pair of Aces in your hand can be victimized by somebody who has completed a set of twos on the river. All you can do is go all in with a hand that puts you in a position to win, and hope for the best.

  Good Luck!
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