mtt advice

potters186

hi guys i play on couple of diiferent sites.i can run deep in the games i think im picking the game up slow but sure .what my problem is when im in the money i play a lot tighter waiting for the better hands aa kk qq ak aq that sort of hands im getting very bored as the amount of times im getting busted out is unreal like the other night 3.500 entry 60 left in the game the guy under the gun goes all in im in the big blind with aa to which i call he rivered a 3 nearly smashed my lap top up think it left me with 2 big blinds . the very next hand i get delt ak suited preflop the guy goes all in with 35 and pull a str8 .thats been going on for weeks i cant win with prem hands at all nothing wose than sitting in a comp for 6 7 hours getting busted out b4 the good money any  help will be thak full cheers ..

Dazler

happens to me too m8 a lot its just the way the game is! if you have got deep into the torny and have at least an average stack and end up in a race with premium cards there isnt really much you can do about it apart from hope you win races. Ive beaten thousands of players for instance i was in two mtts the other day one was 9000 players and i got to 900th the other was 4000 players and i got to 80th but only made a very small cash as i was in with premium hands like pk Ks or AK and lost. This happens to me a lot and its all down to wether the poker gods are gonna let you win it. 

A couple of things to remember when you are deep and near the big cash dont get excited and try not to get involved in too many races if possible and timing is everything. But when your holding pk As on the bb and someone shoves and you lose there is nothing you can do about that and you want that situation 100% of the time even AK vr 35 if you lose thats poker im affraid. A lot of players epecialy in the late stages are gonna shove if there short to get a double up, big stacks are gonna push you around to steal blinds and pots and others will play very passivly to ladder. you have to get a read on who is doing what and when. Dont be affraid of bullies and dont just call any small stacks with average hands cos they are short it will eat away at your stack epecialy if they are doing the same as you and waiting for a premium hand and then shoving.

All you can do is get your chips in good and hope they hold. But you are also gonna have to take the odd gamble now and again if your gonna win. Dont let your self get pushed around until you havnt got many bb left and end up shoving with average hands. Stick with it and eventualy you will win one

GaryQQQ

In Response to mtt advice:

what my problem is when im in the money i play a lot tighter waiting for the better hands aa kk qq ak aq that sort of hands Posted by potters186

You've sort of answered your own question there.

Those premium hands don't come up very often and while you're waiting for them you'll be blinding out. It's no good folding down to say 5BB waiting for a premium; by then you have no fold equity and you'll get looked up by mediocre holdings. Even if you do manage to double you'll still be very short on only 10BB, and then you'll probably have to fold down to 5BB or less again before you're dealt another premium hand. Also you need to realise that you'll be playing so few hands you'll have a super-tight image at the table, when you do pick up a premium and finally decide to play a hand it's unlikely you'll get any action if your stack is still quite big unless you've run into another premium. If you'd been playing a wider range all along you'd be far more likely to get paid off by weaker hands. 

Personally I try to keep my stack above 20BB if possible at all stages of an MTT, it gives you plenty of options and room to manouvre. Over 40BB is even better, you have the full range of possible plays in your arsenal.

Between say 20 and 14 BB I tighten up and look for a shove spot, prefereably a 3-bet shove. At this stage your cards don't neccesarily matter, any two cards will do in certain spots if you have a tight image and the opener has been playing a lot of hands. From 14 to 10BB I'll be much more prepared to open shove. I hate going below 10BB, when I reach that point I'm looking to get my chips in asap and either double or bust. Any 2 cards will do on the button, in earlier postions any pair, most aces, suited connectors, etc. I'd much rather get it in and take a shot a doubling with say JTs and 12BB left than fold down to 5BB and try and double with AA.

The most profitable strategy in an MTT is to play for the win because prize structures are so top heavy, this requires aggresive risky plays. Playing super-tight to ladder will win you far less money in the long run.

I hope this helps, good luck.

billyboots

In Response to Re: mtt advice:

In Response to mtt advice : You've sort of answered your own question there. Those premium hands don't come up very often and while you're waiting for them you'll be blinding out. It's no good folding down to say 5BB waiting for a premium; by then you have no fold equity and you'll get looked up by mediocre holdings. Even if you do manage to double you'll still be very short on only 10BB, and then you'll probably have to fold down to 5BB or less again before you're dealt another premium hand. Also you need to realise that you'll be playing so few hands you'll have a super-tight image at the table, when you do pick up a premium and finally decide to play a hand it's unlikely you'll get any action unless you've run into another premium. If you'd been playing a wider range you'd be far more likely to get paid off.  Personally I try to keep my stack above 20BB if possible at all stages of an MTT, it gives you plenty of options and room to manouvre. Over 40BB is even better, you have the full range of possible plays in your arsenal. Between say 20 and 14 BB I tighten up and look for a shove spot, prefereably a 3-bet shove. At this stage your cards don't neccesarily matter, any two cards will do in certain spots if you have a tight image and the opener has been playing a lot of hands. From 14 to 10BB I'll be much more prepared to open shove. I hate going below 10BB, when I reach that point I'm looking to get my chips in asap and either double or bust. Any 2 cards will do on the button, in earlier postions any pair, most aces, suited connectors, etc. I'd much rather get it in and take a shot a doubling with say JTs and 12BB left than fold down to 5BB and try and double with AA. The most profitable strategy in an MTT is to play for the win because prize structures are so top heavy, this requires aggresive risky plays. Playing super-tight to ladder will win you far less money in the long run. I hope this helps, good luck.
Posted by GaryQQQ

........and his partner can vouch for this,...........me think's that he's gonna be in the dog house.......yes sirrreee !........:)


ps: soz to butt-in (little private joke)....:)

sillymunch

yeah i will agree with all of these, for starters whilst your sitting back in the money, people who have been sitting back trying to simply get into the money suddenly start to steal alot more, usually when its your blind if your one that is waiting for premium hands, so the best solution is to watch your opponents, and then work with your heads up play, if you spot an opponent raising light all the time especially when its your BB then raise him, depending on your M, if you have 10Big Blinds left, your probably going to need to open your range up and push or fold any hands your going to play, if you have between 15 and 25 Big blinds then your prety much looking for these people raising light and then you resteal there steal, if they are stealing they wont be able to commit all there chips, the trick is to be careful who you try this against, if you have between 25 - 30 Big blinds your playing premium hands prety much, and anythng more then this you can open your range to suited connectors, if everyone folds, then you have the added bonus of winning the blinds, and if you get called you can decide what to do on the flop, based on your opponent.... as said, your no longer playing the cards you are dealt, your playing the people around you