When I go to the World Series of Poker, I plan out a schedule of events and know ahead of time that those are the tournaments I will be entering. I often buy in early to avoid waiting in lines. But just because I am playing the events doesn’t mean I don’t take advantage of the opportunities available in the satellitesthat are constantly going on around the WSOP.

This year, I played four satellites and was fortunate enough to win two of them. I played a $550 2-7 NL Single Draw satellite and a $550 No Limit Hold’em satellite that I did not cash in. The first one I won was a large-field $1,000 buy-in satellite the day before the Main Event’s Day 1A. Out of the 700+ players, there were 70 seats being given away.

Those tournaments are perfect for me, allowing me to often do well without ever really having to make a hand or take many chances. Early on, they play much like normal tournaments, as you try to accumulate chips, but you don’t have to have all the chips to win. Finishing with one chip left gets you the same result as being a monster chip leader.

I was able to pick up a few chips early, but never had a big stack and was content to hang in there picking up pots nobody seemed to want and taking advantage of good situations. The next thing I knew, I looked up at the board and we were down to 160 players with 70 seats being awarded. At this point, it was all about survival.

At one table, I had to be patient because the player on my left had a pile of chips and even though he shouldn’t have been willing to gamble, he was. At one point, he risked about half of his stack calling off with pocket tens against a player’s A-K. Luckily for me, he held and busted another player, getting me one spot closer to a seat, but the risk he took was not worth the reward.

He may have been to a point where he could fold to a seat, but short of that, he could definitely have found better spots to pick up small pots, take the blinds and antes, force players with mid-stacks to fold almost any hand, and win pots without seeing a flop, much less an all-in showdown where anything could happen.

That table was going to break soon and when it did, I found myself in a better spot with two mid-stacks to my left that were willing to fold most hands and not get too involved. The short stacks on my right missed a lot of chances to move in and get chips and instead, they let themselves blind down to a point where they were going to get called.

In one orbit, I had some interesting hands come up in terms of satellite strategy. In middle position, I picked up pocket sixes and with 25 big blinds, open-folded. Then, a hand or two later, I had pocket eights and also open-folded. Under the gun, I picked up pocket nines and continued with the strategy of open-folding.

I had too many chips to just move in hoping not to get called and with a few erratic players at the table, I was somewhat concerned that they may call even with hands like J-J or A-Q. That, combined with being able to pick up the blinds without much contest, made folding mid-pairs a pretty easy decision with my stack size and the table dynamic. Raising and giving one of the big stacks the chance to move in and make me fold would have been a mistake, while just moving all-in was too much risk from middle or early position with the other dynamics at the table.

In one hand, the button player raised and the big blind called. Both had been more active than their stacks warranted and both were in spots where they should have been moving in or folding in most circumstances, but that was not how they were playing.

The hand between them played out with some betting, but neither got all-in. At showdown, both players had 10-7 offsuit for the same hand, middle pair with a bad kicker. They chopped the pot up and we went on to the next hand.

The way that hand played out, along with my other observations, made me confident that the button player was opening and then passively playing too many hands by a large margin. The big blind player was calling with almost anything, but was not willing to get too committed after the flop.

The next hand, I was the big blind and the first 10-7 player from the previous hand raised. The other 10-7 player just called and it got to me. Before looking at my cards, I was pretty sure I was going to move in for my 20 to 25 big blind stack. Unless the initial raiser had A-A or K-K, I thought he was folding, and felt like my image along with his play and table talk made it likely he would fold hands as strong as Q-Q and A-K and would definitely fold all other holdings.

I also had a bit of a read on him that any hand he was willing to get all-in with, he would have moved all-in with to begin. When he raised, he wasn’t willing to put all of his chips at risk.

The second player in the pot I was certain would fold based on his actions and the feel I got for his understanding and thoughts on satellite strategy. So, in the middle my chips went and after briefly thinking, the first player folded and the second couldn’t wait to get rid of his cards. After picking up that pot, I was much more comfortable and had the chips to put myself in a great spot to win a seat without having to take on hardly any risk for the rest of the satellite.

The other satellite I won was a $1,000 single-table winner-take-all tournament. It was nothing special, just a standard sit and go with all of the money going to first place. I played near the end of the night on the last night for satellites before the Main Event. Other players were tired, frustrated, and making last-ditch efforts to win their way in.

Luckily for me, the one really good player at the table busted. After that, I was in a good spot to play solid sit and go strategy to give myself a big edge over the field. I was able to chip up without showdown enough to gamble with the shorter stacks without ever putting myself at risk for my tournament or even for a large percentage of my stack.

This year, the WSOP satellites are over, but as I do every year, I find myself heading home from the WSOP thinking I should spend more time playing satellites next year to take advantage of the value that’s available. Some of the massive value there is limited to certain times, but satellite strategy is not something that many of the players around the WSOP are well versed in.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.