Tournaments can begin in any number of different ways, but one commonality is typically that the play in the early going is usually conservative. That’s why it was a surprise to have seen a large pot brewing in one of the early hands of the day’s play.
We joined the action on table 77 when the board was already showing 
, with 6200 in the pot. Patrick Stacey bet 5,000 utg, and the only other player in the hand, local player Jason Harned, had a tough decision to make.
Considering the fact that the starting stack was 30,000 chips and that the blinds were only at 100/200, 5,000 was a significant bet to call. After a few minutes thinking it through, Jason called. Patrick flipped over his 
, Jason mucked, and Patrick raked in his winnings.
