Poker Discussion Post

here's a big hint

STACK SIZES

When you get the answer PM me the secret.. I think Ive won 8 out of 130 Final Tables ive been at..  (180's I mean)

step 1: stop playing at UB

I have what I believe is a good advice for you: Practice 9 man SnG's. Play a lot of them for a couple of months. I don't have hundreds of MTT's FT, but when I do make it there, I show a big % of top 3 finish positions, and I blame my SnG training for that.

What doubledave and andressoprano said, although I would lean more toward the 45's since the stack sizes from the bubble forward will more closely resemble the chip distribution of a 300 player mtt..but agree with both that SNG practice will help. And run better, obviously.

On the bright side, you have to make final tables before you can stink at them. Good luck.

 Play more 9 man SNG's to help yourself adapt and adjust to being short stacked and big stacked in different situations. This is one thing that has helped me tremendously. When I first started playing I only played 9 mans for the longest time. Then decided to take my shot at 4.40's and eventually MTT's on Stars and FTP. Usually everytime I hit a ft, I am able to get within the top 3. It really does help your game.

i suggest the 45 man sngs they will give a good idea of diff stack sizes and how to play in each situation ( short stack-big-medium)

I really like this advice.  SNG's (the 9's) aren't a perfect representation, but many times you'll get to a FT without the pressure to have to make a move right away, and pretty quickly the stack sizes can be varied.  It also shows you how to play differently as the blinds go up.  Plus, the benefit is everyone is like a FT, if you play the 45's, you won't make it everytime.

 The only other advice I would have is to play some HU SNG's as well.  Even if you do horrible in these, it'll give you a feel for how to play HU.  When you finally make it HU in a MTT, this can be valuable experience.  I played 20 some of these at one point, losing $50.  I thought it was a worthwhile investment when I took down my first MTT, and really felt much more comfortable HU than the other guy was.  I made an extra $250 for taking it down, so that alone made it worthwhile.

 No matter how good you are, there is a LOT of luck at FT's and HUGE swings. I have 0 wins at the FT's listed at P5's (although I have many smaller wins) and also have a 4th and 2nd in 4/180's. You HAVE to run good. Try to avoid the marginal calls\weak pushes that will haunt you. I got busted in 4th of 10k WITH J9o shove on button as shorty and got called by big stack in BBw\ AJo-I had ~6BB left and pot was not opened yet. I thought it was likely to work, but later regretted it. He was calling almost anything there. I also spewed 100K in 2 hands vs. a nit who raised from EP. I had him covered 2.5x and I shoved JJ into his KK; I should have known better.The VERY NEXT HAND I shoved my last 20K with TT into his AA. GG me, but I should have folded the JJ. You have to be careful late and know your opponents. Think about what they will put you on, and what they might have. Obv, but easy to forget in the heat of battle.

Variance is a huge bitch, but there are things to curtail it.  Maybe you should study how others do it.  If you are at a final table look up the peoples stats and study how the winning players are playing.  Look up the better players in the type of tourny you are playing and look them up when they are playing (for 4.40 180 SnGs I used to watch Xmachine888 to see what he would do in certain situations)  Also watch the final table of the 100r, most everyone is a good player so you can get an idea of what to do (though obv the stakes/level of players create a different environment) 

 Step 2: put your junk in the box!

I would begin mixing in some 9 man, 6 man and HU Turbos.  This will be the closest way to simulate reaching a MTT FT.  Finding a coach/mentor would be advisable.  Having someone who can accurately analyze your stats and your FT HHs should pay great dividends for you!

Best of Luck at the tables!