The Chips You Don't Win

by David Apostolico

We all know that the chips you don't lose are as valuable as the chips you win. However, in this game of infinite subtlety, the chips you don't win are equally important. I played in a recent tournament with eighteen players and the top four would be in the money. I came in 4th place and my initial reaction was that I played well. When we were down to four, I put another guy all-in when I was an 80% favorite and he called and pulled it out by hitting a three outer on the river. That left me crippled and I was eliminated soon after.

Upon further reflection, however, I believe I made two questionable plays in the course of the tournament that could have made a big difference. Interesting enough, both came on hands in which I won decent sized pots. That shouldn't mask the fact, though, that I could have played the hands differently. Always take the time after your play to analyze all of your hands even the ones you win. We tend to put too much emphasis on the hand that cripples us or knocks us out which is often the wrong are to focus in on. By the time we get to that point, we are usually in a push all-in or fold situation and the decisions are not nearly that complex.

The biggest problem I had in this tournament was that I never was able to break through and grab some chips. I was playing with an average stack or worse the entire time. Near the end, I did not have the leverage to play an aggressive game against much bigger stakes. So afterwards, my focus was on what I could have done better to win more chips.

I only had two strong hands all night where I was in a position to win some chips (either pre-flop or post-flop). The first hand came with the blinds at $300-$600 and $100 antes. An early position player raised to $1200. The action folded to me in middle position and I looked down to see two aces. I re-raised to $3200 and everyone folded allowing me to pick up a $2900 pot. At the time I was satisfied. In hindsight, I think I over played my hand. The player in early position will frequently get married to a hand like top pair or even middle pair. I could have won a big pot from him by just smooth calling before the flop. Or I could have made a mini-raise to extract some more value. I generally don't like to slow play Aces but here there was already a raise before the action got to me so I had an excellent chance of seeing the flop head's up. I probably should have just raised to $2000 to eliminate the blinds and ensure that the original raiser called. In any event, I think I missed a real opportunity to win some chips.

The next blown opportunity came with the blinds at $800-$1600 with $200 antes. I had pocket 9's in middle position and open raised to $4200. Only the big blind called and the flop came down perfectly A94. The two clubs worried me a little. The big blind bet out $5000 and I immediately pushed all-in. The big blind folded and I increased my stack by almost $12,000. Again, this was a good hand for me. Yet, I still think I should have gotten more chips here. I should have smooth called the flop and hoped he fired another bullet on the turn. I'm not sure I should worry about the flush. If he's playing a flush draw and then I just have to hope he doesn't hit it. Even if he does, the board could pair giving me a full house. My opponent was somewhat tight and was the chip leader at the time. This was an excellent opportunity for him to lose some chips and that should have been my goal.

Take the time to analyze all of your moves after a tournament (or a cash game session) and be sure to examine even those hands that had favorable results for you. You may not have won all that you should have or could have.

This article was published at an earlier date on PokerPages.com and is being rerun due to popular demand.

About the Author
David Apostolico is the author of Lessons from the Pro Poker Tour and Tournament Poker and The Art of War.
You can contact him at thepokerwriter@comcast.net