Sometimes it pays to be crazy. In poker, being crazy and making irrationally large bets is usually a recipe for disaster. But in the game of no-limit Hold 'Em, there are times when being crazy (along with having a little luck) can pay off big.
A couple of weeks ago, I won an online poker tournament where one of the craziest plays of my life turned into the pivotal hand. It gave me the chip lead for good and gave me the momentum to finish strong.
The situation came three-and-a-half hours into a $20 buy-in event that started with 120 players and was now down to the final four. I had about 40,000 in chips, which was second to a guy who had about 60,000. The guy to my left had 39,000, and he and I had been going at it all day. We had been sitting at the same table for more than two hours, and we had basically become mortal enemies, which is what set up the following crazy play.
I was dealt K J in the small blind (blinds are similar to antes and were 600 for the small and 1,200 for the big at this point), and I raised to make the total bet 3,000. My enemy, who was already in 1,600, re-raised the bet to a total of 5,000. I called, and with a 10,000 chip pot going, I knew this hand would be extremely important.
Unfortunately, when the flop of 10 5 4 came, I had failed to make a pair. I was the first to act, and I decided to make the crazy play-I went all-in with nothing.
I had been grinding it out in front of a computer screen for three-and-a-half hours, playing tighter than a metrosexual's jeans, and I went all-in with nothing. At one point in the tournament, I folded every hand I got for 45 minutes straight, and now I was risking it all with King high.
My hope was that my opponent had two big cards and that, as long as he didn't have a 10 in his hand, there should be no way he would risk his entire tournament on over-cards. I figured he had at least an ace because he had re-raised me pre-flop, which meant I was beat if he called.
I was praying for him not to call. I thought for sure that if he called I was beat. I kept praying, but my atheism probably kept the message from getting through.
He finally called me, and I dropped my head-I couldn't even look up to see what he had. But when I did, what I saw was a miracle. Maybe my prayers had gotten through after all. My opponent had Q J-even less than I had. In fact, I was in a dominating position with K J. He had to hit a queen on the turn or the river to win, which he failed to do. He walked away from the tournament with about $100 in winnings.
After that hand, I had the chip lead with nearly 80,000 in chips. I dispatched of the final two players in a matter of minutes and took home the $566 first-place prize.
It was Friday afternoon so I immediately transferred $500 from my poker site into my online bank account and took my wife to Wendover for the night. I would like to tell you how we did there, but you know what they say-what happens in Wendover, stays in Wendover.
