Poker Happenings
By Debbie Burkhead

A lot has transpired since my last article with PokerPages. On a personal note, I now have a regular column in Poker Digest, appropriately called Talking Tournaments. I plan to address all issues involving tournaments, even those that some may find controversial. I am honored to be writing for such an outstanding publication.

Poker Digest has recently acquired some of the most knowledgeable writers on the subject of poker, Mike Caro, Andy Glazer, Lou Krieger and Lee Jones, to mention a few, and I am proud to be associated with such talent. I welcome your suggestions or any ideas that would benefit the tournament world regardless of whether you agree or disagree with my opinions.

I just returned from a Poker Digest cruise to Costa Rica and as usual it's hard not to have a good time on a cruise, even if you have to work while you're cruising. I have taken numerous cruises in the past but this was my first working cruise. My job, while on board this magnificent 89,000 ton floating hotel/casino, was to take care of the board in the poker room. It was hard to believe I could have so much fun while working. The best part of my job was getting to know all the poker players by name.

The second best part was, when the ship is docked I was off the clock. The poker room is only operational when the ship is at sea, so the poker room staff gets to enjoy the ports of call along with everyone else. For those of you who have never taken a poker cruise, you simply do not know what you are missing. What could be more fun than playing poker, eating as much as you want 24/7, visiting spectacular ports and soaking up that fresh salt air before being rocked to sleep each night? Just do it!

As for poker, here's a quick recap of my recent win the Peppermill in Reno. The date was October 27 and the event was a $200 limit hold'em with one optional rebuy. I was actually very surprised at the outcome because of my dreadful beginning. I started the tournament out losing with pocket kings, two sets and a full-house. So, needless to say, I didn't think it was my day. I decided to take the one rebuy that was offered and regroup. The next few hours of play were rather uneventful. I wasn't be dealt any playable hands, but on the other hand I wasn't having sets and big pocket pairs cracked either.

The blinds were increasing every 40 minutes and my chips were decreasing with every round. I decided to make a move while I still had enough of a stack to be a threat. I picked up K-Q in late position and decided to play the hand aggressively. I put in a preflop raise, the player in seat one reraised and two players made the call, I raised again and they all called. The flop came all rags and I bet out, player in seat one raised again which forced out the other two players, I reraised and he called. I noticed he was becoming short-stacked but he didn't seem quite ready to give up.

Even so, I couldn't stop betting or I would definitely show weakness. The turn card came a blank and again I bet into him and he called. The river was another blank, and if he called my bet this time he would be all-in. I took a chance and bet into him for the last time. I was on a stone-cold bluff and if he called I was toast. I would have been severely crippled. He thought about it, and thought about it, and to my surprise he conceded. As he tossed his cards in the muck he said, "Good hand." I'm not sure if any sound came out but I felt like the whole room could hear me breath again.

That was the turning point in the tournament for me. I now had about $5,000 in chips and could breath a little easier. As the tables were dwindling down I was now a contender, not the chip leader, but a possible threat to most. We came back from the dinner break and shortly thereafter drew for the remaining two tables. Things really changed from that point on. I was dealt good cards and the best part was they held up. I never looked back and eventually became the chip leader going into the final table. The rest is history.

The moral of the tournament: Even when things seem their worst, as long as you have chips, you still have a chance. The cards can turn at anytime and it doesn't hurt to have luck on you side.