Final Table
General Strategy
Poker Lifestyle
Introduction
Early Stage
Middle Stages
Late Stage
| Poker Room | Review | Play Now! | Score | |
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Full Tilt Poker | Read Full Review | Play Now |
9.3
|
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Titan Poker |
Read Full Review | Play Now |
9.0
|
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PokerStars | Read Full Review | Play Now! |
9.3
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| Never Give Up! |
| Written by John Fava |
Never, Ever Give Up !I’ve said it before, in poker you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You know its great to win a tournament being the chip leader (its great to win a tournament anytime !!) but the feeling you get when you win a tournament when you were the short stack and you’ve come from behind is unmatched. We’ve all heard the saying “all you need is a chip and a chair.” While I’ve never been down to a single chip but I’ve been fairly close and have come back to win. Mind you it was not in a tournament with 100+ players but what it has taught me and the point I’m trying to put forth is even if you are the short stack and the situation looks bleak, never ever give up ! Just don’t go all in on the next hand with any 2 cards and be done with it. Just because you just got sucked out on and are now the short stack and, maybe a little on tilt, don’t give up, ever ! It takes tremendous discipline to calm yourself after a suck out (especially a bad one) and think about the next hand but it is something you have to do. To me many things in life worth having are worth working for and it is that process that makes it all worth while. When you finally reach that goal you feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction because you’ve worked for it and now you have it ! Becoming a good/great poker player is no different. The process you go through to get to that goal see’s you experience very low valley’s and the highest peak’s. I think, as a poker player I will always be learning, always be setting new goals and always be climbing that hill but there will always be points along the way where you feel you have taken your game to the next level. Part of that process is coming back from being the short stack to win. Recently I was in a 2 table 20 player freeze out tournament. Early in the match I had my aces beaten by a player who got 4 diamonds for a flush. I was now the short stack but it was early so I didn’t have to go all in with any 2 cards on the next hand. I’ll admit I was steaming a bit but I forced myself to put it behind me and concentrate on the task at hand. Well, I did and slowly chipped up and got very aggressive when the opportunity was there. It got down to 4 players (one of which was me) and 1 player had a huge chip lead. I had just over 4000 in chips, and was in 2nd place. The chip leader had about 16000 and the other 2 had about 4000 and 2000. The chip leader took out the 3rd place player and I took out the short stack. The chip leader had just under 20k and I had close to 5k. The blinds were still not that bad (it had been a quick game and I think they were 200/400) so I had to double up but I didn’t have to panic and just push all in on the next hand. To make a long story short I waited for any ace or reasonable hand to push and on the 4th hand heads up I got an ace with an 8 kicker. I went all in and he called with Q 5. I doubled up and within 5 more hands I had won the match ! Now, I was at home and it was around 11pm and when I won I let out a big “YEEESSS!” with several fist pumps ! Needless to say I was on one of those high’s I talk about. So much so it took me another 2 hours to settle down and get to sleep that night. There have been a couple of times where I had lost a big pot early and have come back to win. There have been more times where I did not and yes, many of those times were because I went on tilt and lost my focus. Lately, and by that I mean about the past 8-10 months or so I have been much better at not loosing my focus when I have lost a big pot early or have been sucked out on. For me improving my game will always be an ongoing process. It’s a process where I will reach some plateau’s, enjoy the success and start climbing for the next one. Never giving up in a tournament is part of that ongoing process. It’s something you must practice. Its something that when you finally win a tournament where you have come from last place to win it all, well, it’s certainly one of the highest of high’s in poker. |
| Poker Room | Review | Play Now! | Score | |
|
Full Tilt Poker | Read Full Review | Play Now |
9.3
|
|
Titan Poker |
Read Full Review | Play Now |
9.0
|
|
PokerStars | Read Full Review | Play Now! |
9.3
|