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PLAY OR PRAY?

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  1. Loduca99 Loduca99 is offline

    Posts: 41
    Joined: Jul 09

    Aug 1st, 2009 (8/1/2009 3:13pm)

    Alright so i need some help as far as MTT's are concerned. Is it better to sit there and wait for a hand or is it better to take risks early and try and build a good stack considering if you play tight your most likely going to end up going all in to steal blinds and eventually get called.
  2. MYBLUEDOG MYBLUEDOG is offline

    Greenville, MS
    United States

    Posts: 2,150
    Joined: May 07

    Aug 3rd, 2009 (8/3/2009 11:02am) in reply to Loduca99

    There is no 'pat' answer. You need to accumulate chips. How you do that is watch the players and see where the weak spots are?

    Figure out what the weakness is. Then use a counter plan.

    If you sit in a forest of stations, you can't make moves and steals. You have to have a hand to beat a station.

    If you are in an ice box, figure whose folding weak tight. Then go to work and take their chips. This will work until they wake up with a big hand. By that time, you should have enough chips to take a hit but get away from your nothing hands.

    If you look in the mirror and see the weakest player looking back, you just have to get lucky until you find a reason to play.
  3. LordPye LordPye is offline

    Annandale, VA
    United States

    Posts: 1,749
    Joined: May 08

    Aug 3rd, 2009 (8/3/2009 11:49am) in reply to MYBLUEDOG

    Repost of one of my Blogs. It is definitely a good read for the things you are describing.

    <H3 class=P5_ArticleName>MTT Troubles? Tips for the "Middle of the Road" Guys. <SPAN class=CommonRateControl id=ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_bcr_EntryIt ems_ctl01_ctl01 title="Rated Excellent [5 out of 5]."></SPAN><INPUT id=ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_bcr_EntryIt ems_ctl01_ctl01_Value type=hidden value=5></H3>By LordPye - Oct 15 2008, 01:33 PM <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%">Now I'm not gonna sit here and claim to be a great player by any means, but I certainly hold my own and I'll share some tips that helped me go from standard midway MTT spewer to a decent small stakes tourney player.

    1. Prepare yourself for play. If eating is a distraction, eat before play. Get comfortable and make sure no serious distraction (kids, etc.) will restrain you from playing decent poker.

    2. Practice good patience. If you are one of those who berates player for going into their timebank every hand then you have a long way to go. If you can't handle waiting an extra minute for someone to make a move how will you expect to show the patience to play for 5+ hours?

    2a. Be more inclined to fold early. If a LAGdonk is pushing chips early, he'll probably push chips late too...get him when he's ripe for the picking. Don't be afraid to make those small mistakes early in order to set him up for a huge mistake later.

    3. Save the fancy play for past hour two. If you find yourself attempting to pick off bluffs, making hero bets/calls and it's only the first 15 mins--you are getting way too fancy. Save the super strategic play for the last few tables/hours.

    4. Lose the "i'm just happy to be here" mentality. If this is your attitude you are either playing above your BR means or you don't plan on being a winning player. You should absolutely want to take the tourney down, not just make the final table or be in the money. My friend congratulated me at the start of a final table once...I punched in the face next time I saw him. Save the happiness and joy for when 1st place gets shipped your way.

    5. Try to limit your MTT play to 2 or 3 concurrently at the most. When it gets late in tourney you won't be able to play in the vacuum anymore and will have to make moves according to how the players play...don't leave yourself so occupied you have no knowledge of the others at the table. Also, this limits your tilt capacity...most of us can't keep the steaming refined to that single tourney...it's most likely to carryover.

    5a. Take a break after a series of poor MTT showings, or a good one even if you feel steamed.


    Hope this helps some middle of the road players break through. Good Luck!

    --Pye

    </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
  4. lordxixor101 lordxixor101 is offline

    Westland, MI
    United States

    Posts: 6,394
    Joined: Mar 06

    Aug 3rd, 2009 (8/3/2009 2:03pm) in reply to Loduca99

    Well LordPye said it best, might as well end the thread.

    But, I agree that early on, I just play tight (unless I have good drawing hand like a suited connectors, which I'll take a chance with a big stack). But, for the low stakes I play, early on I play very tight, and I'll worry about playing lighter hands later.

    If I have to get lucky with a junk hand, I'd rather push it later (where at least I've waited and gave my self a chance to get a good hand) than to push it early, when I could have had a string of good hands coming.
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