“A Chip and A Chair”
In nearly any sporting endeavor, game of skill or chance, we hear sayings like: “Never give up”, “Keep on trying”, “The game isn’t over until the clock runs out.” Well in poker the most common situation requiring patience and faith is when you are in a tournament and have a short, short, short stack. You are nearly out, to come back will require a lot of luck and it will have to happen soon. In those situations you will hear the famous phrase:
“A Chip and a Chair.”
The meaning is very simple. As long as you have a chip, you are in the game. You have a seat at the table as long as you can make a bet or even part of a bet in a tournament. Everyone who has been around poker for any period of time can tell you about players coming back from super short stacks to win tournaments. Even more often players who are very short in chips, will hang on and stay in their chair while other players bust out. A short stack may not win but they can move up many places in the prize pool by playing those last chips wisely and patiently.
So, when you are short-stacked don’t get frustrated, don’t get impatient. You have a chip and a chair and that means you are still in the game.
-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #156
