Players who are serious about this game don't play just to stay alive; they play to win, and that means taking some calculated risks.

When you open raise from middle position, and a player moves all-in on you from the button or the blinds, it typically means one of two things: they want to end the hand right there because they're weak, or they're hoping for a race with two over cards, like AK or AQ. Depending on your read of your opponent, you can make the big laydown, or you can take a chance to win a race and double your chips to play for first.

Jason "Strassa 2" Strasser raced to double up with pocket eights versus Greg Gossard's AKd. When all the money went into the pot, the flop came A-K-x, and Jason, uh, needed a little help. Unfortunately, the poker gods (who have seen fit to deliver a kick in the junk to the best of us) thought it would be totally awesome to keep Jason right on the starting line and toss Greg a king on the river to make a rather unnecessary full house.

Jason earns $22,990 for 19th place, and though I know it won't be the last we hear from him in the 2006 WSOP, I'm sorry to see him go home . . . but I'm happy that I won't have to call up Otis and keep him away from the Rio during the final table.