The Poker Quiz

You are playing a $1000 satellite trying to win your way into a $10,000 World Poker Tour Event. The winner receives a voucher for the tournament and all other players walk away with nothing. Each player is given $5000 in chips with the blinds starting out at a modest $25/$50.

At the second blind level ($50/$100) you are dealt pocket 10’s in middle position. An opponent in early position opens the pot for a raise of $325. You elect to call his raise, but then the big blind goes all in for $2900. The initial raiser gets out of the way and action is back on you. You have the opponent covered, with a total of $5500 chips left.

The Solution

Fold.

In a winner take all satellite you must play very tight in the early stages of the tournament. You don’t want to get involved with an all-in pot preflop with a hand like pocket 10’s. With only $325 invested in the pot and a decent amount of chips left, you want to avoid situations where you could be dominated (a higher pocket pair) or a coin flip scenario (two overcards). Muck your 10’s and live to fight another day.