In a Turbo format, the speed of the rising blinds is often the greatest driver of play. Case in point, we lost approximately ten players in only the last few minutes, where players felt compelled to bet it all preflop on sub-optimal cards. That’s what happens when the blinds are up at 1,000/2,000 and you have less than 15,000 in your stack. Call it the Turbo Curse.

For example, on one table a player decided that his best shot was taking the plunge with a suited Queen-Six, not usually a good idea; he found himself up against an Ace-Queen and lost that battle in a hurry. On another table it was a suited King-Two; that player lost to an Ace-Queen when the aces paired on the flop. Without the ability to pick and choose the timing of the battles, players are often left out in the cold without a chance to put their jacket on.

Indeed, while this post was being written, we lost another 8 players, and we’re down to 87! Play continues…