Small Pairs and Tournament Survival

Sometimes I think we poker players can get a little arrogant when we get short stacked. Not all of us but some of us. Somehow we convince ourselves, with only one orbit left, that small pocket pairs are not good enough to get our chips in with. On the contrary, when you are short with one orbit or less any pocket pair is good enough to get your chips in with. The bottom line never changes in the midst of a poker tournament. You have to either double up or get up. It's that simple. You have to find a hand and get your chips in the middle of the table and that means Pocket Two's are good enough.

If you play tournament poker then being blinded off can never be an option. You will never allow your stack to get so short as to become unable to function. That means being willing to do any and everything in order to survive from taking shots with small pairs to suited and gapped connectors. Survival of the fittest is probably an understatement as it relates to tournament poker but if you don't find a way to get your chips in the middle you are guaranteed you will not survive.