Made The Final Table!

Last month my local casino in Toronto started a weekly $600 MTT. It took a few tries but last week I made the final table and finished 6th out of 162 for $4200! 😁

You might know me as a live cash game specialist, but I also love coaching tournaments. Most of my clients have been playing for years, know how to out last the majority of the field… but they come to me feeling they are missing out on the big money; final tables, top 3 finishes, and trophies.

Often the survival strategies we learn when we start playing tournaments become the very thing that holds us back. The next lesson is that to win, we need to be willing to lose!

Let me show you what I mean

A few hours into this tournament I was feeling good. My 60k stack was bigger than average. About 70 players were remaining (top 20 ITM). I was dealt AQo in early position and made a small raise to 7k, the button and big blind called.

Flop was Jc8c6s. Pot 25k

The BB checked and I bet 8k, the button quickly folded and the BB called. The turn was an offsuit K.

When my opponent checks this turn what are his holdings? Some Jacks (JT, J9), underpairs, and flush draws. Some Kings are possible, specifically KTc and K9c. He could be holding a set of 6s or 86 for two pair, but not raising the flop or betting the turn, makes these hands less likely.

Against this range my hand is doing okay. A river Queen or Ace will often win and a Ten will give me the nut straight. Sometimes I can win unimproved with Ace high. Alot of tournament regulars will check here and take a free card.

You can convince yourself that with an average stack in a weak field there are lots of opportunities to find a better spot. Coast this stack right up to the bubble and hope to get lucky? I was tempted… But I believe this logic is self defeating.

My instincts said my opponent wasn’t strong. Put to the test he would fold most of the hands that beat me.

So I jammed allin.

I wasn’t just gambling, I felt this play was fundamentally sound. But I also understood I was making a trade off:

1. I was substantially increasing my chance of finishing 70th. My opponent might call and bust me immediately

2. I was decreasing my chances of finishing 30-60th. Assuming I didn’t bust this hand my stack would increase substantially and I would be above average for longer

3. With a bigger stack I was increasing my chances of finishing in the money and making the final table

My opponent tanked and folded. With 87k I was able to maintain my chip lead and continue to apply pressure. But had I been called and lost I would have left with no regrets, knowing that too often players are focused on surviving as long as possible, instead of winning as much as possible.

Finishing 30th pays the same as finishing 70th… ZERO. To make final tables we have to take every opportunity to accumulate chips. Especially when that means risking it all.

Are you often getting past 70% of the field but not making it all the way, playing a survival strategy? Wouldn’t you do better to bust out 5 times (in a good spot) and make 1 final table, as opposed to 6 deep runs that earn nothing?

Next I’ll share a spicy hand from that same final table… I broke one of my own rules to turn a tough situation into a slam dunk opportunity.

Peter Ferderber

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