The High Hand

   Most of the live poker tournaments I play in also incorporate a highest hand competition. You pay an extra $5 at the start and the person who hits the highest hand by a certain time wins the prize-pool. The cut-off time is usually at the end of the first or second break and the hand has to go to showdown to qualify.
   I never enter these competitions for two reasons. First off, it's purely a matter of chance who wins it, and I'm not much of a gambler (obviously, I don't consider playing poker to be gambling). If I want to take a punt, I'll buy a raffle ticket or maybe take a bet on the horses. Secondly, and more importantly, entering the high hand competition changes the way you play. The pay-out is usually pretty good, often equaling third prize in the tournament or better, so players tend to chase that high hand relentlessly. That means a lot of calling with long shots and entering a lot more pots than usual. In other words, if you play in the high hand comp it turns you into a donkey.
   The high hand comp was introduced to my regular Friday night tournament a couple of years ago and since then the game has got even looser than it already was. And it was already ridiculously loose. People just chase, chase, chase if they have even the smallest chance of hitting that big two-outer. This is actually good for me as I'm more likely to be paid off if I'm in a hand with one of these chasers. But of course it also means that there are a lot of people in each hand, which makes it very difficult to protect a good starting hand.
   I occasionally play ring games at the Auckland Casino and I see that they have introduced something similar. They now have a Royal Flush Jackpot which goes up a little at a time. The first time I saw it running it was at $4,000. The last time I was there it was up to $12,000. That's a massive incentive to become a chaser. The way it works is, you have to flop a royal flush to win. So any two suited broadway cards suddenly become very desirable. Anyone with Jack Ten, King Ten, or Queen Jack suited is going to play, even if they have to call a big raise. But even though you are automatically in the jackpot if you play in this game, I just play the way I always do. I'm there to play poker, not to gamble on a massive long shot.
   I've always considered that not playing in the high hand competition gives me an edge over those that do. Playing in a tournament a couple of weeks ago, I saw a concrete example of how advantageous this could be. During the early stages of the game the person who was running the HH comp made it clear to everyone else at the table that I was one of only two people who were not participating in the High Hand. Later on, I got involved in a hand where this paid off nicely.
   I raised with A K and got the usual assortment of callers. The flop came J J 8, I put in a decent-sized bet and got called again by a couple of players. The turn was another Jack. By this stage I was getting worried that my Ace was no good and someone had a pocket pair, but I figured that I should keep the pressure on, so I bet again. This time I got one caller, Helen, a regular from the Friday game. Now I was really worried that I was behind, and was praying for an Ace or King on the river. The river was another Jack. This was actually the best possible card for me; I had the stone cold nuts.
   Now I had something to consider. I knew that Helen was in the HH comp and more importantly, she knew that I wasn't. So she knew that even if I had an Ace, she still had quad Jacks, which was likely to be the winning hand for the day. The HH winner stood to collect $150. So I figured that she was likely to call a substantial bet with the second-best hand. I put in a decent-sized bet, she thought for a minute and said, "I'm going to be a [expletive deleted] and call because I know you're not in the high hand." She showed down pocket sixes; she later collected her $150 and I collected a much bigger pot than I otherwise would have.
   There was a lot of talk around the table after this hand and some people thought that Helen might have called an all-in bet. She said that she probably wouldn't have but I guess I'll never know for sure. In retrospect, I probably could have got more from her than I did, but I still made a tidy sum on that hand. Helen was eliminated from the tournament a little later but I went on to cash. But it was only 6th place and I barely got my money back. But I have no regrets. I was eliminated after going all-in and being called by someone with a dominated hand. Then they hit their three-outer on the river and I was left with no chips and a minimum cash. If it had gone the other way, I would have been on track to make one of the top spots, all worth a lot more than $150.
   My approach to the game is still the same. I'm not there to show down a higher hand than everyone else. I'm not there to gamble. I'm there to play poker.