5 left in a small tourney. Top 4 paid. I'm #2 in chips with a huge stack. Guy across the table from me is #1 with a slightly bigger stack, maybe 1 or 2 blinds more than me. The other three are scattered between us and each have only 2 or 3 blinds. So, me and the bigstack are taking our shots at the little guys, trying to force them out, but, I'm well aware I don't want to tangle with this guy at the wrong time.
Anyway, the 3 little stacks are playing super-tight, knowing that they're on the bubble and every fold is an opportunity for someone else to go broke. Only defending when they have to, mathematically. And the 3 little stacks just won't die. Every time me or bigstack try to knock one out they get lucky and double up. Now, once they doubled, they insta-folded the rest of their hands unless they had AA, KK, or AK, figuring they can wait out the two smaller littlestacks. But this went on and on for a few rounds and no one bubbled out, just passing the same chips around to the littlestacks but no one moving.
Knowing how the littlestacks played made it very easy to steal blinds, of course. So it really didn't matter if I doubled one of them up by giving them 2 or 3 blinds, because I could steal the chips back in the next few hands. We were seated with 1 littlestack on my right and 2 on my left between me and the bigstack. So I had 2 steal opportunities before I would get tangled in bigstack's blind, but he didn't have the same chance to steal outside of hands I was involved in.
I was playing exceptionally weak on purpose and it annoyed the bigstack. If bigstack hadn't acted yet, I wouldn't raise preflop--I'd limp (to not commit too many chips if bigstack wanted in on it too), see the flop, then make a minimum bet to push the littlestacks out (because they can't call without stone cold nuts). I was seeing cheap flops at minimum expense, then acting last as the button post-flop and scooping blinds. Bigstack was getting very frustrated with me and I knew it.
So I set up to make a play. I knew he was annoyed and I knew I could trap him. I just needed the hand, and then suddenly it happened: Bigstack in the big blind. Littlestack between us folds. I have A8o and limp. Next littlestack folds and the one in the small blind completes to see the flop. Bigstack checks. Flop is A-8-8. I have a boat. Littlestack in the small blind checks. Bigstack checks. I make the same weak play I've been making for the last 20 minutes, a 1-blind minimum bet to push them out. Littlestack folds. Bigstack takes a minute, thinking, then pushes all-in. He knows I can't call with an ace, even if I have it. He's perfectly representing the 8 there. And even if I have an 8 I can't really gamble it up with him, can I? He's making a move to make me stop me from trying to steal his blind in the future. I've totally set him up to make this play.
So, I insta-call, because I've got the 8 and the A making it a boat. He sheepishly turns over his cards. "You caught me. I thought I could make you fold." He's got J5o. Nothing. Absolute squat. We count up the chips and he's gonna have about 2.5 blinds left. I'm about to take down a pot with +95% of the chips, on the bubble, against 4 guys with 2 blinds each desperate not to go home with nothing to show for it. I should win this tourney in about 9 hands after this, no doubt.
He looks sick. Dealer drops the turn and the river. I pack up and go home.
But I'm not upset about my play. I did it right. I set the guy up and he got bailed out. Now I just tell the story to tell it, but I'm in no way upset about any of it. I played right, both the cards and the man. I got into his head and made him screw up royally. Just completely pulled his pants down. I can't be angry at how it turned out.
And, yeah, he won the thing in like 6 more hands.
