Time Out By Phil Gordon Originally published on September 26, 2006 by ESPN.com One of my favorite nightspots in Vegas is "Tangerine" at TI, formerly known as Treasure Island. TI went through a complete overhaul a few years ago to make it competitive in the "New Las Vegas" climate. With the Venetian and Wynn across the street, their remodel was both necessary and, ultimately, successful. Some friends from "Celebrity Poker Showdown" were driving into town from L.A., and I suggested we get a table at Tangerine. The nighttime temperatures in Vegas are becoming tolerable now, and the outside seating area at Tangerine is a great way to spend a chill, relaxing, fun evening. Be very wary of the frozen drinks, however -- they are extraordinarily potent. I got to TI on time, about 10 p.m., and was headed to the club when my cell phone rang -- my friends were caught in L.A. traffic and would be at least an hour late. Fortunately, TI's poker room, an intimate eight-table space, just opened. I went straight there and was surprised to see the room thriving. All eight tables were in action. There were two $1-$3 no-limit tables with a $500 buy-in maximum going. There was a $2-$5 no-limit game as well, with a $1,000 maximum buy-in. In the back of the room, the "big game" was going, but full … the $5-$10 game with no maximum buy-in looked very, very juicy. Two tables of "Tangerine Mixer" were also spread: $3-$6 limit, mixed games, including some "crazy" variations: Badugi, double flop hold 'em, Omaha, crazy pineapple and just about everything in between. The people playing in this game looked like they were having a total blast. Were there a seat open, I definitely would have sat down just for the fun of it. Instead, I took a seat in the $2-$5 game, bought in for the maximum of $1,000 and promptly posted from the cutoff. A few of the people in the game did a double take with a surprised, "Hey, is that really Phil Gordon?" look on their face, but no one said a word. Fine by me. "Beck's Dark," I said to the waitress as she passed the table. A middle-position player, about 50 years old and sporting a Hawaiian print shirt, made it $30 to go, six times the big blind. Two players on my right called. All three guys had more than $1,000 in front of them. "Loose game," I thought to myself. "Sweet." I looked down and found As-Qd. Interesting. Any action could be right here. Good thing this hand came up before my beer. I stopped for a time out to examine the three options in detail, in the order that I always do: raise, fold, call. Raise It's the aggressive play, for sure. If I knew the preflop raiser was particularly loose, I think a reraise would stand out. A raise to $150 here would almost certainly drive out a loose preflop raise, and would very likely win the pot right there for me -- it is highly unlikely that the two preflop raisers on my right will have a hand they want to play for $150 against me out of position. Then again, one or more of these guys may think that I'm trying to bully them or going for the chip-sandwich play. If I raise, will I call a re-reraise from any of these guys? No, I don't think so. Fold A-Q is a great hand, but it is offsuit, and I could very easily be up against A-K from either the preflop raiser or the first caller. I seriously doubt the second caller has A-K, but that is possible as well. I have $5 invested in the pot (with my post), do I really want to get involved here without knowing any of my opponents? This looks like it will be a tremendously juicy game, and I'm very likely to get another chance to get money into the pot when I have a little better read on my opponents. If they are going to raise six times the big blind from middle position and get two callers, tight is right. A-Q just might be foldable in this situation. Call In situations where I don't know if I should raise and I don't know if I should fold, calling is a definite consideration. On the positive side, I'm in position in the cutoff. On the negative side, I'm up against three opponents, and unless the flop hits me like a brick, I'm not going to be sure where I stand. Another downside: three players left to act behind me (button, small blind, big blind), all of whom can freeze me out of the flop with a preflop reraise. With the pot getting pretty big, a sandwich play from one of these guys will have a lot going for it. A Decision After a full minute of thought, a surprisingly speedy waitress returned with my beer. I tipped her a few bucks and made up my mind: fold. After spending so much time on this hand, I felt like my opponents would have an excellent read on the strength of my hand. In fact, in this situation, I think they'd be able to put me on A-Q, J-J, or possibly A-J with near certainty. I had very little postflop upside considering the fact they would know my hand. I saved my money and settled in to watch the action develop knowing that more profitable situations would arise with a loose table like this. Over the next hour, I managed to squeak out an $800 profit by playing very tight. I also managed to get three beers downed. When my friends finally showed up 90 minutes later (why is everyone from L.A. perpetually late?), Tangerine was rocking, but our table was still reserved -- there are definite advantages to partying with stars of film and television. << Go Back To Articles