We've all been there. It's the middle of the tournament, chip stack sizes are changing at a moment's notice, people busting out around you left and right, and then you come upon a hand with five way action, and three side pots. What do you do?
You don't do anything, because at this point, Captain Table comes to the rescue.
Now, I know that the term is table captain, however, the superhero analogy was just too good to pass up. For those of you that haven't heard the term before, the table captain is the one that makes sure everything is going on according to the rules and regulations of the casino you're playing at. Problem is, I thought this was the dealer's job.
Another of Captain Table's superpowers, is his ability to teach you how to play, while playing himself. One example of this came up last month, when I went all in pre flop with a pair of sixes. I had one caller move all in before him, and after he thought for what seemed like an eternity, he finally called. I showed my pair of sixes, the other all in guy had QJo, and he had JT suited. He looks at me and says, "You don't go all in with a pair of sixes." There are several witty responses here, so naturally, my brain went into overload, and I couldn't come up with the best one. So I let the cards speak for me, when they held up. This may have cost me an investor in my filmmaking company, however, that's another story for another time.
I first witnessed Captain Table's powers at a local tournament that I play in frequently. I've spoken of this multi rebuy tournament on several occasions, as I consider the casino it's played at to be my home away from home. So, we're about a third of the way into the current tournament, and I've got a moderately healthy chip stack, which I use to bust out the guy to my right. Moments later, Captain Table swoops in, although, I didn't know it at the time. I guess his Shaq jersey is what thew me off. And it was a Lakers Shaq jersey no less. He landed at our table as the chip leader of the tournament at that point. Furthermore, he had me at about two to one.
This was an important shift for me, actually, as it got me to slow down. Most of you know that I like to play tight, and aggressive at the same time. But in No Limit Tournament play, the possibility of one strike and your out exists, and Captain Table was betting every hand like he had it.
So, I started plotting his downfall. He had taken up his duties faithfully, telling everyone how to play their hands, and more importantly, how they played them incorrectly. Then the following happened: To preface, I was in seat 7, and he was one to my right. The guy in seat ten went all in after I folded and signaled for a porter to get me another large coffee, six creams. By this time, everyone had folded to Captain Table, and he had to think about whether or not to call with pocket aces, and finally let his friend convince him to do so. He muttered something like, "Ok, even though it's not worth it, I could lose and then be out of the tournament." That wasn't going to happen, as he had seat ten covered, by at least five to one. Seat ten showed Big Slick, and moments later after no improvement, got up and shook his hand, having busted out.
This should've made Captain Table ecstatic, however, he was far from it. Continuing to steam because he had to be convinced to call. This is a good thing. For me. I make my move on the very next hand. After the flop, I have the nuts, and he's still in, and checks. I make sure that he's looking directly at me, and say, "If I go all in, were you going to check/raise me?" Yes, I know this is an impossibility, however, I made him talk to me. And he pointed out how he wouldn't be able to raise me if I went all in. This was enough for me, and I pushed, and everyone left in the hand folded, including my new best friend.
He wasn't the same after that. He started losing to everyone else at the table, and this quieted him down considerably. Apparently, Captain Table is vulnerable to premium hands, and aggressive betting. About twenty minutes later, he busted out to the guy on my left, Nick. Maybe I'll tell you about him someday….
In conclusion, what have we learned? As for me, my new motto is, "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way…" which boils down to, call, raise, or fold. For you, it means, never let anyone else take you out of your game. What Captain Table doesn't understand is, there's more than one way to win, and more often than not, your way to win will not be his.
72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.
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