When a player in a tournament becomes short on chips you will often hear the optimistic phrase “all you need is a chip and a chair”. While you hear this often, based on their actions, most players do not seem to believe this to be the case. They receive a bad beat, or because of rising limits, find themselves very short on chips and basically throw their last chips into the pot with little hope of winning. Mentally they have given up. Those last chips have great value in tournaments and should be treated accordingly. When playing No Limit Hold ‘em chips have a way of multiplying and a few lucky double ups can put you right back in the hunt. It turns out the phrase “all you need is a chip and a chair” is more than a catchy saying and there have been many examples of players who were on the brink of elimination turning things around and winning large tournaments.

 

The saying “a chip and a chair” was born at the 1982 World Series of Poker Main Event. The legendary poker player and gambler Jack “Treetop” Strauss pushed what appeared to be all of his chips into the middle of the table. His opponent called the bet and revealed a superior hand, and Jack got up from the table to make his exit. At that point he noticed that there was a single $500 chip under a napkin on the table. Jack had never declared himself all in, so he was allowed to continue with his remaining $500, which left him desperately short stacked. It turns out, however, that one chip is all he needed, and he went on a rush and ended up winning the 1982 World Series of Poker. Jack Strauss was a ferocious competitor with a never say die attitude. This tenacity is what is necessary to win tournaments and one you should adopt at the tables.

 

Another famous example of “a chip and a chair” took place during the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. At the end of the second day, Sammy Farha and Barry Greenstiein locked horns in a huge pot. The river card was dealt and Barry drew out on Sammy to win the gigantic pot. The chips were counted down and Barry Greenstein had $80,000 in tournament chips and Sammy Farha had $85,000 in chips. Sammy was left with a mere $5,000, next to nothing with the high blinds and antes. Those who follow poker know what must have happened next, because Sammy Farha became a poker celebrity at that year’s final table. Sammy bluffed his way into all of our hearts until he finally was bested by the eventual winner of that year’s event Chris Moneymaker. Don’t feel too sorry for him though, as he did receive a consolation prize of $1,300,000 for his second place finish.

 

So next time things are not going your way in a poker tournament and you find yourself with a perilously short stack, don’t throw away your remaining chips. Those chips are precious and should be treated accordingly. This does not mean you should wait for Aces or Kings and allow the blinds to further decimate your chip stack, but it does mean to find a good situation before committing your case chips. If you can stay focused when things are going badly, and continue to fight in the face of adversity, you may very well surprise yourself with some unlikely comebacks. The alternative is giving up, and the poker table is one place that quitters are not rewarded!