I was playing a weekly $1,000 tournament online and had accumulated a big stack. The bubble had just burst, so there were 36 players left from the 300-odd entrants. Although money was now guaranteed, everyone had their eyes on the $75,000 first prize.

We were down to the last few tables with the blinds at 300/600 and a running ante of 50. I was sitting comfortably with 29,500 chips, at a table sporting a mix of stacks similar to mine and some short-stacked players. I’d been reasonably active around the bubble but had tightened up after it burst for two reasons: a lack of leverage (I wasn’t the big stack on the table) and a lack of playable hands.