online tourneys

[Treesong]

Daarzie!

The Cooperation Play

When a short stack moves all-in late in a tournament and you find yourself holding a decent hand when your stack won't be damaged by calling, it's often worthwhile to toss a few chips in with the chance of taking another opponent out. Many times your fellow big stacks will get the same idea and enter the pot as well. If they do, and you don't hit an absolute monster hand, it's important that you resist the urge to make a bet when the board helps you in some way. Unless there are so many chips at stake that taking the whole pot is of maximum importance, the best play (if your opponent is smart enough to realize it as well) is for those of you left in the hand to simply check the hand down without any further betting. This way there are more chances to knock the all-in player out of the tournament and help everyone out. It's very important that you do not discuss this play at the table - that's collusion, and it's illegal. The cooperation here is implicit, not explicit.

In a recent tournament I found myself in such a situation with about 7 players left to the money. From the small blind I called a short stack's all-in bet with Q-9, and the big blind called as well. The flop came K-T-x with two diamonds, I checked, and the big blind bet out. I wasn't going to risk any money on a gutshot draw here, so I folded - and my opponent turned over Q-T for middle pair. The short stack didn't have anything dangerous, but with his pre-flop all-in move he very well could have had a king or a flush draw here. By getting overly aggressive with a weak hand, my fellow big stack left open the possibility of an opponent getting back into the thick of things. If he'd simply checked the hand down...