The temperature outside is beginning to drop as darkness falls over the city. The day-long No-Limit Tournament is beginning to wind down. You have been at the tables since early this morning, and you have played some of the best poker of your life. There are only 10 players remaining and the top 9 finish in the money. What a beautiful day for poker!! You are sitting pretty with the second largest chip stack, so finishing in the money is all but a certainty … that is of course unless you do something foolish and finish 10th. The hand is dealt and you look down to see AK suited. You think to yourself, at the end of this hand, there will be a new chip leader. There will be a new sheriff to bully around the short stacks. Player 1 folds. Players 2 and 3 limp in. You think, "Not on my watch!" People are going to have to pay to play, so you are getting ready for a big raise. Player 4 folds. Then, something unexpected happens. The chip leader, who is sitting to your right, goes all in. Wow!! That puts you in a bad situation. What do you do with one of the best possible starting hands in Texas Holdem? Actually, it not all that difficult. You fold.

In a recent 4TexasHoldem.com survey, more than 60% of the people said that they would call the bet. But why? After playing a great game and getting yourself in perfect position to make money, why risk all of your money with 5 yet unseen cards. Knowing that the chip leader would also not want to risk a huge hit to his stack, you might assume he has a great hand like pocket aces or pocket kings. This would make you a 14 to 1 or 7 to 3 underdog, respectively. Or, he could have a lower pocket pair which would still give you less than a 50/50 chance of winning. In fact, even against the worst possible starting hand in Texas Holdem (7-2 offsuit), you would only be a 7 to 3 favorite.

If one of the short stacks went all in, you can assess the damage your chip stack would face if you were to call and lose. Plus, against a short stack, you know that their starting hands requirements have diminished along with their chip stack.

As much as you hate to fold a monster hand like AK suited, save your chips for later in the tournament when the play is far more likely to bring you home a winner.