My First WSOP Final Table Part I

"I didn't come here to move up in the money; I came here to win!"

This is one of the easiest things to say in tournament poker.

But I think it's actually one of the great myths that can lead players to foolishly giving their chips away when they are short-stacked.

As many of you know, I am a member of a fairly common poker club among veteran players: the "Limit Hold'em Specialist turned No-Limit Tournament Player Club."

Limit Hold'em was the game I learned when I started out, and it used to be the most popular game found in most casinos in L.A. and Vegas in the 1990s. In 2005, I decided to broaden my game, jumping head-first into the world of NLHE tournaments.

My first cash in a tournament was enough to hook anyone: a fifth-place finish in the 2005 WSOP $1,500 NLHE event. I took home $168,590 and finished behind an impressive quartet of excellent players: CK Hua (fourth), Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott (third), Scott Fischman (second) and Allen Cunningham (first).

The top prize was $725,405, and I can tell you I for one had spent the night thinking about taking down my first bracelet and the big cash. At the final table, I was eighth in chips of the nine players, holding $177k to Allen's $728k and Scott's $707k. The blinds were $8k/$16k with a $2k ante, putting the pot at $42k to get started.

The great brain, Allen Cunningham: Not the easy route to your first WSOP bracelet.

Many intermediate tournament players use a short stack almost as an excuse for reckless play. I can't tell you how many times I've seen players with a short yet decent stack simply shove over the top with nothing, only to be snap-called and sent to the rail.

I didn't have a specific plan headed to the final table, but I did know the table would be very tough and I would need to play my very best. On a short stack, I would be virtually pot-committed with any hand I decided to play.

I raised three times in the first 30 hands, taking the pot down each time. It allowed me to stay flat in chips, even though I was the short stack after Richard Boutwell went out in ninth. I had established my table image as a very tight player, which would allow me to act on hands with a wider range as we moved on.

I then played four of the next eight hands, a crucial stretch where I had to be at my best to survive. The blinds and antes still took their toll, and I first decided to take a stand against CK. He made it $42k from middle position, and I moved all-in from the cut-off for $94k more.

He had about $350k left but decided to lay his hand down instead of gambling. That brought me up to $212k; still in eighth place but with the rest of the field bunching up (Allen led with $680k and Scott was in second with $587k).

Devilfish: Not fooling anyone with his checked set.

I folded my blinds to raises then made a raise to $60k from the cut-off position. Devilfish called from the big blind, and the flop came 5♥ 5♠ 2♠. He checked the flop, and I actually didn't like his check. I thought he might fire out with nothing as it was a flop that probably didn't hit me, so I checked behind.

The 9♦ came on the turn, and he checked again. I again checked behind, although the pot looked so good to me. A♥ came on the river, and Devilfish checked again. It was my money card, but I had that something inside of me that told me there was no good reason to bet.

I stopped and took my time. I figured I was either taking the pot down with my pair of aces or I was beaten badly by trips. There was just nothing good that could come from betting the river. I checked, and Devilfish flipped over 6♦ 5♦ for trip fives.

I was shaken a bit as that left me short again, but I felt really good that I'd stayed in control. I open-shoved on the next hand - I can't even remember what I had - and took down the pot. That gave me back most of the $60k raise I'd lost in the previous hand.

Two hands later, I picked up jacks and made it $65k from middle position. An Tran called, then Charlie Huff moved all-in for $292k more. He had me covered, and I took quite a while to make the call. I took my time thinking through the hand.

Lieu: "Patience is one of the most important characteristics of a top tournament pro."

I was more worried An would call behind me than if I was heads-up against Charlie. I hate jacks, but this was a situation where I had to make the call and hope the move by Charlie would push An out.

I called, and An folded. Charlie turned over 4♣ 4♥. Charlie had made a squeeze play, and I may have laid my jacks down if I'd had $300k or more left. The board missed both of us with A♣ K♦ 7♦ 7♣ 5♦, and I more than doubled up.

In fact, in the course of those eight hands, I'd gone from last in chips up to second with $540k, tied with Devilfish and Scott but behind Allen ($690k).

I firmly believe patience is one of the most important characteristics of a top tournament pro. Even the players who play a very aggressive style of tournament play will change gears and play with timely aggression rather than recklessly.

Being short-stacked may be a good excuse when you tell your friends why you busted out of an event, but it isn't a good reason for not playing your absolute best.

Stop by www.lizlieu.net, and drop by ChiliPoker (www.chilipoker.com) whenever you have a chance. Next time, I'll look at how I finished in this tournament, my first WSOP final table. We'll look at a few key hands when we were five-handed, and I'll let you know if I would do it any differently today than I did 30 months ago!

Until next week everyone. Take care. Cheers!

Liz Lieu
Pro Poker Player- Poker Diva