Awhile back, I got an email about a Casino Night in Bloomington.

They had a $65 MTT with about

!! "laye#s, so I thought it$d be %un to go with a %ew %#iends. &hen I got the#e, I was delighted to
%ind that they we#e #unning a $55! and a $''!! sng. I signed u" %o# both. (n%o#tunately, only the
$55! #an that night and it also caused me to miss the MTT.

I had ne)e# "layed a li)e sng be%o#e, so I thought it was #eally %un. &e sta#ted out with !!! chi"s
and the blinds sta#ted at 5*5 and then mo)ed to 5*5!, 5!*'!!, '!!*!!, '5!*+!!, !!*,!!,
+!!*6!!.

In the beginning o% the sng, I "layed e-t#emely tight. I watched to see who the good "laye#s we#e
and who the bad ones we#e. I "aid close attention to which "laye#s we#e loose and would "ay me
o%% the most in late# #ounds.

I had built u" my stack some ea#ly on and then a c#ucial hand came u". The#e we#e about .
"laye#s still in and I was nd in chi"s. The#e we#e + lim"e#s in the "ot and I was in the small blind
and looked at A'! hea#ts. No one had lim"ed in %#om ea#ly "osition, but I did notice the nd lim"e#
was in /0 and he was an e-t#emely good "laye# 1also chi" leade#2. I was su#"#ised he didn$t #aise
in his "osition. The othe# two "laye#s we#e insigni%icant. I decided to #aise the 5! blind to 5!. The
M0 lim"e# and the chi" leade# both called me.

The %lo" came out 6 6 3 #ainbow. I bet ,!! and the %i#st lim"e# %olded. The chi" leade# thought %o#
a while and #aised me to about '+!!. 4ight when he #aised me, I thought about tossing my hand.
I %elt that he wasn$t t#ying to steal this "ot %#om me with nothing.

5owe)e#, a%te# I thought about it %o# a while I "ut him eithe# a "ocket "ai# smalle# than a '! o# 6.
%o# a st#iaght d#aw. I didn$t think he had 66 o# 33 because with the "ot al#eady so big, the#e was
no #eason to "ut in a big #aise at the %lo" with a hand that secu#e. Tou#nament chi"s a#e "#ecious
and at that stage in the tou#nament, I thought he$d #athe# slow "lay the %lo" with a big hand. I then
asked him how many chi"s he had. 5e had about '6!! mo#e and I had '!! o# !! %ewe# chi"s
than him. The "ot was so big I couldn$t gi)e it u". A%te# I %inished counting my chi"s, I wonde#ed
aloud 78o you #eally ha)e the 697 as i% I had a high "ocket "ai#. I made it seem like while I was
counting my chi"s, I was al#eady #eady to "ush my chi"s all in.

Then I said 7Al#ight then, I$m all in,7 as i% ho"ing he didn$t ha)e the si- but again, #e"#esenting that
I ha)e a good hand. I think this ga)e me eno#mous %old e:uity. I knew he was a good "laye#, and I
knew he knew that I was a good "laye#. I didn$t think he would call me with a small "ocket "ai#
since he$d %eel like a %ool to the othe#s i% I #eally had a high "". They would "#obably say, 7The kid
basically told you he had AA ;; o# << and you still called him. A#e you an idiot97

This was a huge win %o# me= it was the most c#ucial hand in the sng. It made me the eno#mous
chi" leade# o)e# the othe#s. I was semi blu%%ing with 6 outs, o# with the best hand i% he had 6.. I
know it was a #isky mo)e since he was the chi" leade#, but that ga)e me mo#e o""o#tunity to
make him %old since he knows that I know not to #isk "laying big "ots with chi" leade#s when I am
nd in chi"s. It also ga)e him a chance to %old since he had enough chi"s to still "lay %utu#e
hands.

&hat "laye#s can take %#om this sto#y is how agg#essi)e "lay and knowledge o% %old e:uity can
gain you "#ecious chi"s and "ots= also, it can teach how you can add on a %ew wo#ds to
st#engthen the image o% the hand you$#e t#ying to #e"#esent.