Does anyone else get discouraged by a big field say 500+ people in a mtt? It just seems rediculous to think of my chances to win. I need to catch several more breaks than i would in a smaller say 100 man field in order to even have a shot at it. I just dont have the same drive in a bigger tourney than i do in a smaller one because i know i'll need to get very lucky to do well.

Does anyone else get discouraged by big tourneys like that? Should i work through it or just stick to 100 or so where i feel the chance of winning is much more reasonable?

"It just seems ridiculous to think of my chances to win."

I have been fortunate to have won MTT's with 500+ fields. I've also been unfortunate to have been eliminated from hundreds of other MTT's in every conceivable way known to man. In almost every instance that I won the tourney, I was seemingly out of contention, way back in the pack for most of the tournament, but I just basically refused to quit and kept trying to just play each hand as best as I could without worrying how many more chips the chip leaders had than me.

In many, many of the instances in which I lost out and lost out early, it was because I had managed to build at least a medium stack but got mentally on tilt when I became overly concerned that there were other players who had bigger stacks. Whenever the thought occurs to me that because this thing happened or so many people are doing better that it's rediculous to think I could win, I almost immediately lose. I mean I'm out of the tourney within ten minutes or less once that has entered my thought process.

So whatever style you have created for yourself that has produced +EV for you, just play that style to the best of your ability and stay in the moment. Ignore how many chips the other players have until you literally are about to be blinded off. Until then, you have a shot. And never, ever consider your chances of winning to be rediculous because the thought itself is just about the KISS OF DEATH. 2Slick

PS With your skills you should EXPECT to win, not lose. Your damn good, lad.

this is easier said than done. Honestly how many of you can say they played an entire tourney without looking at how many were left? I find myself constantly checking and i mean its hard not to. Sometimes obviously its smart to, like when theres a bubble you should know and shift gears, but keeping an eye on the amount left is probably a bad habit right? I mean your focus should be on you and the players around you not on the other tables.

Ill have to try this next big tourney i do, for the first 3 hours never look at how many are in, averages, whose chip leader... just focus on what i can do to get more chips.

Well bigger tournaments also mean larger payout fields. If you do play your game to it's best, you should be able to place within the payout range if your already doing well at 100 person mtts. Just dont get caught up with how many people and where you should be at.

your right you do have to get luckier in many ways to navigate through a 2000 field, rather than a 180.

I have FT a 180 without making any major screw ups for big pots (and I am sure lots of others have won or 2nd with the same claim -- not me);

but in the big fields, you're prob going to make at least one major error ( and if you are lucky that time... you hit runner runner or spike your two-outter and suck out for a major pot at LEAST ONCE to have a shot for the FT and beyond.)

Like one of the above repliers said: mix it up.... plays ome smaller 100-300 person fields and throw in some 500's and some 2000's+. What I love about the 2000+ person fields is that you gain expereince in these HUGE field tournies and a shot at 5k or even 10k first prize for a mere 10-30$ entry fee (eg the stars 3$ and 5$ rebuy). good bang for your buck if you can string 8 hrs of solid poker together.

--tc

Larger fields do indeed compound your variance.

That said, the one time you do break through, you are greatly rewarded.

What I love about the game we play is there are so many options.

If you are a multitabler, may i suggest two smaller tourneys and one large field. This way you can reduce variance, but still have a chance at the BIG payday.

just last nite i finished 7th out of 918 on the ub 4k guaranteed- what was funny however is that i registered and didnt know there was that many people in it (not that it mattered)- i went about my business not paying any attention to the ticker on the bottom left - it wasnt until about one and a half hours into it i check my status in the lobby and saw that 100 places paid!! this meant that there were goin on 1000 people-

in alot of instances as above i though about how hard it was going to be- but i was two and a half times the average at that point so i just strapped in got in some good spots and with 20 people left i was at 107k - i lost a 40k pot just after that and went to the final table 8/9- being it was a five dollar tournament the prize was def not in 9th place so i hung on stole some blinds and 3 people got knocked out before i did and i made an extra 100 at the FT before busting- of course you get bummed out but then i realized how well i had played, only made one major mistake en route to the FT, i was happy about it to say the least---

i think the big thing is that when you play the 180s on stars (as i do alot) you are familiar with the pace you need to play and the range of chips that will coast you to the FT- in big tournies you tend to get out of your comfort zone and therefore start to panic that the chip leader has 10 times as many chips as you- i have been in spot where i was in last place on the bubble and won and also where i was the chip leader going to the FT and lost--you can just never give up because you never know what can happen- make solid decisions and pick your spots well and youll be fine

srf

I usually welcome big fields, because It means bigger $ + more fish to pick on early.

Really, you just have to learn patience. Get a good stack going in the first hour, so you can absorb the bad beats, and then just slllloooow down, pick your spots, play patient. You can't win it all in the middle game. Just keep nursing your stack along, picking up small / medium pots, and doubling up when you have your big hands. While you're doing all of this, watch how many people knock themselves out. If a bad beat comes, just realize that in order to FT or win a tourny, you're going to have to win most of your coinflips anyways, and its part of the game.

My best advise is to not even look at the tourney lobby after you register. You should already know all the information about the tourney before you enter. You should know:

1) Average Number of Entrants
a) corresponding number of places paid
b) estimated payout for major prize breaks
i) first place, second and third places
ii) final table minimum payout
iii) median payout
iv) minimum payout

2) The standard online tournament with normal stacks and 15 minute blinds there is a normal timing for eliminations - half the entrants eliminated at each break, so if there are 2000 entrants, you can expect 1100-900 left at first break, and about 500 left at second break so you are down to the top 25% at the second break and down to about 250 at the third break. Generally in most standard tourneys that pay the top 10% you will get to the money bubble just after the 3rd break.

3) The tournament chip leader for most given tournaments after the first hour is 4x the average stack, and the average stack is normally about an M of 15.

4) Most sites have the level time remaining and next blind level somewhere on your table for easy viewing.

What else do you need the lobby for? Just play the people at your table. Some one said you should check to see if the bubble is coming up, but you should already know when the bubble is approaching by the blind level and the running time. Also, expoiting the bubble is only possible if your table is tightening up, and if you are playing close attention to your opponents you should be able to notice them tightening up and adjust accordingly. By not paying attention to the fact that the bubble is approaching you are probably in better position to attack when the opportunity arises as opposed to just start making dumb moves because we are on the bubble.

You should start to notice when you are making it to the final few table by the number of players at your table, when more and more of your hands are played short handed you know you are getting pretty close to the final table or two.

In summary, you should be able to tell these things by experience and feel as opposed to what the tournament lobby tells you. Next time you play a big MTT, don't look at the lobby and see if this helps you.