> If you can't even visualize your success, how could it ever happen in reality?

*GASP* *GASP* *GASP*

In the darkness, a little boy was desperately squeezing his entire body against a warehouse wall. His eyes were bloodshot and sweat dripped down his forehead. Suddenly, a man's hand covered his mouth.

The man whispered in his ear, "Listen, Joey boy, I can't have you screaming or making noise and drawing 'em here, understand? Look, just try this. Close your eyes...Good. Now, instead of those fellas being security guards, imagine...they're just a bunch of cute bunny rabbits hopping around."

"They went that way!" Numerous thudding footsteps approached from the hallway. Beams of flashlights swung left and right, cutting the darkness into pieces. Tense seconds passed as the pursuers came closer and closer.

"...I don't see anything. Check Over there!" The cute hops of bunny rabbits faded into the distance...

Joey opened his eyes.

'Don't get distracted...I need to focus.' The tournament entered the middle stage. The average stack was no longer large relative to the size of the blinds, which meant that every hand a player entered became more important. Joey focused on his targets and did all the right things. As a result, his chip stack kept accumulating until he became the chip leader at the table.

Having a large stack is like having a powerful army. The smaller armies don't dare to face you. Anytime he played a hand, Joey had more space to bluff and make aggressive moves because even if he lost versus an all in, he would still be alive with extra chips remaining. On the other hand, If his opponents lost, they would be knocked out. He had more options than the other players. This gave him leverage, so others avoided him. That's the power of a big stack.

Joey was enjoying swinging his big ol' stack around the table. 'This sure is easier than last time. I almost don't have to do anything now. It's like driving a truck on the highway. Everyone just gets out of the way in fear of getting crushed.' He won hand after hand and created momentum, which made him even more threatening. Not only was he the big stack, but his opponents also viewed him as unstoppable. That created additional fear.

'I need to stay out of this guy's way. He hasn't lost a hand all night.'

'It's this kid's lucky day. What can I do? I'll have other chances later.'

'Tch. Every hand he beats me. I'm running terrible today. I can't risk playing this.'

That's the power of momentum.

Players were getting knocked out left and right. Before anyone knew it, the tournament was already entering the late stage where all-ins became more and more frequent. The tournament staff was now consolidating the remaining three tables into two.

Fortunately, Joey wasn't forced to move again after the first time. It's possible the staff saw his large stack of chips, realized it would take him much longer to transfer them than a player with a smaller stack, and so chose someone else. This is another small benefit of being a big stack: priority treatment from staff.

You see it across all sports. When a referee has to make a decision, the bigger team gets an advantage more often than not. This is mainly due to a psychological effect. People don't like going against the mold or being criticized because it creates stress. If they side with the underdog and an upset happens, they could become a scapegoat. In close decisions, it's easier to help the favorite.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Joey was running the show and everyone at his table knew it. Some new players joined and quickly noticed this as well. Right away, one of them tried to weaken Joey's psychological control.

"Hey kid, aren't you the one that misread his hand last tournament and passed out? Haha!" the new player chastised. Several others also remembered the event and started laughing. Joey looked over at the man. He was an overweight middle-aged man, with hair so curly it looked like if you ran your hand through, it would get tangled up and stuck there.

Joey realized the man's comment was likely not innocent. It was probably launched with the intent to throw him off balance. After all, an event like the one he went through in the last tournament could create a psychological shadow in a player, tilting them when they recalled it. It's a pity he chose the wrong mark.

Joey brushed off the comment and kept playing his game, controlling the table and building his stack. Player after player were sent off, many victims of his unbridled aggression. Soon, he was not only the biggest stack at the table, but also in the tournament. At this time, they entered a special stage called the bubble.

The top ten players who made it to the final table would win money. If you were 11th or 12th, sorry, nada. This created an interesting dynamic. As the number of remaining players decreased and approached 10, the majority of the table began to play tighter and tighter, not wanting to get knocked out until they were in the money positions. Everyone especially wanted to avoid stacks bigger than them that could put them all in.

For chip leader Joey, this situation was an opportunity that couldn't be missed. He raised hand after hand, increasing his stealing frequency, outright bullying the table. Visible pain could be seen on the faces of the other players, but they could only take it.

The curly-headed man from before tried to change the situation. "Hey kid, didn't you get bubbled out at 11th last time? Right before the money? Haha. You should consider sticking with cash games. Maybe this just isn't your thing." Several other players who had felt uncomfortable with Joey's dominance also laughed, trying to ease the weight of his pressure off of their minds.

Joey preferred doing his talking with his chips first.

*Splash*

*Splash*

He didn't give any player a chance to breathe. Eventually, there were only 11 players left. He was in a hand with curly hair. Curly was in a bad spot because he had the big blind coming up next. Even if he folded now, he would be all in next hand, so he had extra motivation to play the current hand aggressively. This fact didn't slip Joey by.

"I'm all in," Curly said.

"Call." Joey snap-called him. He had a read that he was good.

They went to showdown and Joey won the hand with one marginal pair. Curly bubbled out. Instant karma.

"Hey curly, sorry man. I would've normally laid that one down, but those comments you made earlier about being bubbled out made me very nervous. I just got scared and snap-called." When Joey cooked meat, he never forgot to add the salt.

The best part was that Curly actually believed him, because for the majority of players, Joey's hand was really too weak to call that quickly. Now, Curly would regret speaking and it would likely trouble his mind for days or even weeks. That's how you create a psychological shadow.

'Bye bye, you big box of idiot.' Joey never took it easy on enemies who targetted him.

"Everyone! It's the final table. Please take your chips and bring them over here," the tournament director announced as he pointed to a new table.

Joey looked over. Last time he watched this scene he was the loser, walking away in humiliation and disappointment. Now, he was entering as the big stack, the favorite. Things can change so quickly. Joey was learning that in poker, as long as you do the right things, there will always be more opportunities.

He got up and started to put his chips in plastic racks to move them. He reviewed his condition during this short break. Mentally, he was still in good shape. In terms of chips, he was crushing the competition. He looked at his opponents. Andrew had gotten knocked out. Ellie's blue hair could be seen at the 10-20 game already.

There were a couple of unknown players but the opposition didn't look too challenging. Joey's face twisted into a sinister grin. "Time to slaughter."

The air started to smell of sulfur.