short-handed and aggressive play

In a short-handed 10/20 game (6 players), I was dealt AKo in the big blind.
It was folded to the small blind, who had already announced that he would chop with 7 players, but would not with 6.
He raised, I re-raised, he called.
The flop was 9, 4, 4.
He bet, I raised (with only overcards, but thinking AK was a favorite over any legit raising hand).
He re-raised, and I called.
The turn was a Queen; he bet, I called. The river was a Jack; he checked, I checked.
I checked the river because I felt that my AK had showdown value. I also felt that given the size of the pot, he would call with any piece of the board.
My opponent turned over 9,2, off-suit. Not exactly a premium hand, but good enough to win the pot with a pair of 9s.
Given the pot size, I would have been likely to call with AK on the river, so he cost himself a big bet by checking, but this hand show the value of being aggressive in short-handed play.
Often, if the game is short-handed, the more aggressive player in the pot will take down the money, especially if that player has position.
If I had raised the turn and then bet the river, my opponent would have had a tough decision to make. If you can keep forcing your opponents to make tough decisions, you'll win a lot of money, as they are bound to make the wrong decision at least some of the time.

chip leader calls

When you're the chip leader in the final stages of a tournament, you have to make a lot of bad calls. But, it's the right decision. Whenever you have the chance to knock out your opponent -- and you're down to the final few players -- you have to go for it.
But, I only make these plays when I am the chip leader, the action will be heads-up, and I have already locked up prize money. I don't gamble unless all of these things are true.

With A4s in the big blind (400), I called an all-in from the button after the small blind folded. The button raised another 500; I had more than 3000 chips and was chip leader. The button had KK, but a 4 on the flop and river sent him packing. Holding a suited ace actually made this a harder play to make, since I could easily have been dominated.

With 73o in the big blind, I called a raise that was just under the size of the big blind. The raiser showed 44, but a 7 on the flop sent him home.

A4s and 73o are not powerhouse hands. But, the adage that the more chips you hold, the less valuable each one becomes holds true. If your stack will be relatively unchanged whether or not you call the raise, but you have a chance to knock someone out and move up in prize money, you have to make the play and gamble a bit.

ALL IN by Grotenstein & Reback

I received an early copy of ALL IN: The Almost Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback, with a foreword by T.J. Cloutier.
The book is an in-depth look at the main of event of the World Series of Poker, providing the most complete history of this storied event I've encountered. I knew many of the stories already, but they are presented in a fresh way, and I didn't know all the stories, so I found this book to be a lot of fun.
A pure narrative with no strategy, ALL IN is an entertaining read, a comprehensive history of The Big One. Most poker players will really enjoy it.

How NOT to win a SNG

In a $30 +3 SNG, we were down to four players; three players would make the money.
Everyone had started with 800 chips.
Blinds were 50/100, and I was under the gun with 280 chips.
The big blind was the chip leader with 2,800; the other two players each had more than 1500.

Some people call an 8 with a 6 'Eubie.' The saying goes, if you play 8,6, you be broke.
I was dealt 8,6s in clubs. With the blinds at 50/100, and only 280 in chips, I was desperate.
I went all in.
The button folded.
The small blind folded.
The big blind waited. And waited. And waited. And folded!

Rather than call an additional 180 chips, he opted to fold, giving me life. This may have been one of the worst plays I've ever seen in a sit-and-go tournament, particularly since we were down to 4 players, and he had a comfortable chip lead. At that stage, 180 additional chips were meaningless; also, with 430 chips in the pot, he would be getting more than 2 to 1 odds on his call.

Even if I held seven, deuce off-suit, I would have called in his position. No matter his holding, as we all have experienced, the worst hand can get lucky, hit a flop, and outrun a superior hand.

His error proved fatal. I raked the 430 chip pot, and went on a rush.

On the next hand, I was the big blind, and everyone folded to me (an incredibly weak play; once the blinds are meaningful, and especially once play gets short-handed, never let the short-stack see a free flop from the big blind and never let him win the blind money uncontested). My stack grew to 480.
On the next hand, the button went all-in and I defended from the small blind with AK. A king flopped and I doubled up. My stack was now 960.
On the next hand, I was dealt JJ on the button. Everyone limped, I went all-in, only the chip leader called. My jacks held up against his KQ, and now, my stack was 2120 (doubling up plus the money from the limpers).
On the next hand, I was dealt pocket 9s under-the-gun. The blinds had increased to 75/150; I raised to 450 and everyone folded. My stack was 2345 and I was the chip leader.

I went on to take first place in the tournament.

When you're the big stack, and you get to the end stages, you have to be willing to gamble a little bit. In this scenario, my opponent had already posted the big blind. The small blind had folded, creating a 430 chip pot. It would only cost him 180 chips to call -- about 5 % of his stack.
If he calls and I win, neither of our positions changes much; I am still badly short-stacked and he is still the chip leader by 1,000 chips over his closest opponent.
If he calls and I lose, not only has he locked at least 3rd place (an 'in the money' finish), he is one step closer to winning the tournament.
This isn't even 'gambling' since the scenario is so clear-cut.

The chips leader had nothing to lose by calling. If he had, I am sure he would have knocked me out of the tournament. As it turned out, I owe him a thank you for the $150 first place prize money.

Ace on the River - Greenstein

I'll deliver a full review once I'm able to finish reading the entire book.
But, first, a warning:
Barry Greenstein, in his book ACE ON THE RIVER, includes a chapter entitled "Poker and Your Sexuality."
It's a four page chapter, and may the most ridiculous chapter in any poker book.
Regardless of what you think of Greenstein's ability at the poker table, you likely aren't seeking his advice on sex. The book is billed as 'An Advanced Poker Guide.'
And, after reading, "If you have sex before you go to sleep, you probably will be more rested and less distracted when you play" (page 125), I know why this is an ADVANCED guide.
Thanks, Barry, for this important nugget of wisdom.