I love the middle/late stages of a tournament. Once the blinds get high enough and the table tightens up, I seem to take control and start collecting chips. The biggest leak in my MTT game seems to be the early stages, I can survive but I can't seem to build a stack. Then when I get to the middle/late stages of the tournament, I'm usually fighting to stay alive.

Is there any tips you guys can give me to try and overcome this? Should I try opening up my game more in the early stages? I play pretty tight at the start but the only way to build a stack this way is to pick up decent hands. Maybe I should go back and re-read HOH Vol 1.

I'll tell you how....
(45 player SnG)

PokerStars Tournament #22705923, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $1.00/$0.20
45 players
Total Prize Pool: $45.00
Tournament started - 2006/04/08 - 00:31:25 (ET)

Dear MisterMcJ,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $14.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

Thanks Marm! Using this strategy, I picked up a few pots earlier on that I wouldn't have ever been in. I know it's not much but this is my first MTT win.

:rockpoker

That's how I've been playing for the past few days, it works very well.

I went so long without cashing in MTTs. Since I started using Marms strategy, I've won once and cashed another time (out of 4 attempts.) You have no idea how much you just helped my tournament game.

I always just thought that playing tight early on was the best strategy since I've read at least 2-3 different books that say it is.

Originally Posted by Mr.McJ

I went so long without cashing in MTTs. Since I started using Marms strategy, I've won once and cashed another time (out of 4 attempts.) You have no idea how much you just helped my tournament game.

I always just thought that playing tight early on was the best strategy since I've read at least 2-3 different books that say it is.

playing tight isnt the "best" strategy. tight preflop hand selection just makes postflop play easier, which is why it is reccomended in most books. playing the way marm suggests works, but keep in mind you are faced with many more tough decisions than you would just playing solid poker.

recently i read Phil Gordons little green book. hes maily a tournament poker player. his style/strategy is strikingly simmilar to mine. i highly reccomend this book and HOH if you want to win tournaments, but hey, to each his own.