WSOP Event 9, $1,500 NL Hold'em Six-Handed

My third event of the 2008 WSOP was Event 9, $1,500 NL short-handed (six-max).

I always look forward to short-handed tournaments, because play tends to be fast and furious with fewer players at the table ... and generally players tend to play even faster than they need to in these tournaments.

My starting table was nothing short of my expectations. Most pots were raised and many were three-bet pre-flop, and several went to showdown.

There was only one familiar face at the table, Richard "knucklehead" Friere, an Atlantic City regular.

Unfortunately, the $3k starting stacks in the $1,500 events mean that you need to be very cautious about the spots you choose to commit more than a few big blinds to the pot ... even in the first couple of levels.

I spent the first two hours playing a ton of small, insignificant pots. I was precisely even at $3k during the third level when the following hand came up.

Six-handed, with the blinds at $100/$200 (no ante), I found A Q under the gun.

I had a pretty solid image at the table, so I decided that raising would likely cause almost all weaker hands to fold. I had been limping into a decent amount of pots, so I also felt that limping in would not cause my opponents to be too suspicious.

Finally, as mentioned, most pots were raised before the flop at this point. For all of these reasons, I decided to limp in with the intention of moving in if anyone raised behind me.

Plan worked to perfection ... except for the last part.

I'd like to note that I rarely make this type of play, and almost never do it with a hand as weak as A-Q. However, you always must adjust your strategy and your ranges to your table, and I decided that this would be the best way to induce action from a weaker hand in this situation.

I call $200. Hijack and cut-off fold, and Friere raises to $1k on the button. Both blinds fold, and I give it a couple seconds of fake thought before moving in for exactly $3k total. He tanks for a moment before calling with A T.

Although my plan worked to perfection, you can't control anything once the money goes in. The flop came a clean 4 6 8, but the 4 on the turn gave him a ton of outs to chop and win.

The 5 fell on the river and I shook hands with my old buddy from the East Coast and wished him luck on my way out of the Amazon Room.

--Matt Stout

"All In At 420"

More WSOP Blogs from Matt Stout:

• WSOP Event 7: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em
• WSOP Event 5: $1,000 w/Rebuys No-Limit Hold'em
• WSOP Event 2: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em