A Super Satellite to Remember
Part Two
By Susie Isaacs

In my last story, I left you hanging while I was trying my heart out to win a seat in the "Big Dance." I had made an almost desperation move all-in with a K-Q in hopes of picking up survival chips as we were one player away from winning a $10,000 seat. I had one caller that I did not want ...and now for the strange part, the player with the chip lead took a peek at his cards and jumped out of his chair saying, "Oh, my God, Oh, my God, What do I do?"

I couldn't imagine he would risk a seat with anything less than pocket aces and I'm not sure I would risk my chance at winning a seat with any two cards because if I were in that huge chip position I wouldn't even be looking at my cards. The worst case scenario would be a tie, but most likely one of us was either going to be eliminated or be left with only a few chips and he would certainly win a seat. Now I was praying he wouldn't call and maybe, just maybe, I might suck out on the first caller, knowing he had to have my K-Q beat to push all his chips in the pot. But he pushed all-in and I was right, he did have aces but the worst part was the other guy had pocket nines. I was beat in two spots. Oh, woe was me.

The flop came and to be honest I can't remember what it was but I know what it wasn't, there were no nines or aces. The turn came and still no nines or aces, which meant that I had no shot at winning the pot but, and here's the really interesting part, if the river did not bring a nine I could still win a seat even if I lost to the player with the aces. Why? Because the player with the aces would take out the player with the nines along with beating me. My prayer was that I had more chips than the player with the nines and it was too close to eyeball and know for sure. We weren't sure who would be declared the winner if the aces held up, but that would be my only hope.

Now I had stopped breathing again and the dealer burned and turned, in what seemed to be slow motion, the sweetest card I've ever seen -- a king. I knew the nines didn't beat me, but I still wasn't sure about the outcome. I was in total shock and about to pass out from holding my breath and no oxygen getting to my brain, until the dealer had counted down the stacks and Dave Lamb assured me I had won my seat! Hooray! I could breath again.

I took some heat shortly after I won my seat from the player with the pocket nines. I maintain that I made the correct move. My belief is that the player with the pocket nines made a mistake calling my all-in and risking all his chips, not to mention $10,000. With players to act behind him and regardless of whether or not I was bluffing, why take a chance on being eliminated? In no-limit you want to be the aggressor, not the caller. He was by no means in a desperation situation, so again, why risk everything? In super satellites there is no extra reward for having the most chips, nor does it matter if you only have one chip left when you win that $10,000 seat. In this particular situation, if he had laid the nines down, the aces would have taken me out and he would have won the $10,000. BUT, like my friend Betty Lou Ann Sue always said, "If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, Life Would Be A Party!"

Don't feel too sorry for the player with the nine's, he had already won his seat and was playing for cash. The remaining four of us were all first-time winners for this year's big event. So see there is justice in the game of poker and sometimes the worst hand prevails.