Seize the day when your stack gets low

Sitting on a short stack makes you play cautiously, but at the same time you need to seize the chance to make the most of your good hands.

Determining when and how is the tricky part, requiring a balance of reading the board and understanding betting patterns. At the World Poker Tour's $15,000-buy-in Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic at Las Vegas' Bellagio last December, with the blinds at $400-$800 plus a $100 ante, the under-the-gun player limped in. Reza Payvar, playing with a stack of about $26,000 when the average stack was almost twice that, also limped with A-J offsuit.

"I was being cautious with my A-J because I was short-stacked," said Payvar, winner of a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2005. "If I don't catch the flop, I get rid of the hand. When the guy under the gun limped in, I had to be cautious that he might have a bigger hand."

Noted pro Cyndy Violette called from the small blind with A-10 offsuit. The big blind also played.

The flop came 2-8-A, two clubs. Violette, the big blind and the original limper checked. Payvar bet $1,800, a little less than half the size of the pot, with top pair and a backdoor flush draw. Violette raised it $3,400 more with her top pair. The big blind and the original limper folded. Payvar called the additional $3,400.

"I have position on her," Payvar said. "I could wait to see what I wanted to do on the turn. I wanted to see where she was at. Most probably I was committed.

"If she had a hand and she has me beat, then she has me beat. If she doesn't, then I have position on her and I can get some more juice out of her. If I push it all in and she calls me, she has me beat. If she doesn't have me beat, then she just lays down the hand and I'd win just what's in the pot."

The turn came the 4 of spades. Violette bet out $10,000. Payvar called.

The river came the jack of spades, giving Payvar two pair. Violette checked. Payvar moved all in with his remaining $10,000 or so. Violette had Payvar covered and called, mucking her hand when she saw Payvar's hand.

The key was Payvar's patience in not reraising all in when an ace hit the flop.

"It wouldn't have been a way to make money," Payvar said. "I thought she had a pair of 8s and I played it like I had a flush draw and I was just chasing. At the end, I put it all in and she could put me on a bluff, like I could have a busted flush draw. I think I maximized it that way."

The Arizona Republic

News Added: 15 October, 2007

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