Late in the MTT tournaments

User475 · #1 () 03-30-2008, 08:17 PM

Here lately Ive been having problems in this time frame of a MTT tournaments. I do well during the earlier parts of the tourney most of the time. As soon as the blinds start reaching a considerable level I start having problems. Due to my lack of experience playing at these levels of blinds, I feel like Im sitting there just donating my Ante/Blinds to whoever pushes or raises.

Short of playing position how do you cope with weak starting hands? Im talking like K4 and so on..last night I problably sat through 40-60 hands where I didnt have anything above A6o. Eventually I was knocked out when I caught 9's and pushed with my remaining chips. I ended up placing in the 500's when I was 3rd a short while before.

This is happening more than I care for and I havent been able to come up with a game plan to battle this. So is there any seasoned players here that can offer some advice?

Kayos · #2 () 03-31-2008, 01:57 AM

"Don't force anything that isn't there" Chris Ferguson
Being card dead does suck though

MJPerry · #3 () 03-31-2008, 06:13 AM

I am an expert at nursing a shortstack.

Fold to victory!

Coleman · #4 () 03-31-2008, 01:06 PM

I always get bored or either way to to stoned to concentrate in MTT's, one time I was the chipleader out of 300 with 50,000 in chips, started with 1.5k. I didnt even make the money, I didn't even make the top 100 actually.

Stick to cash games, It's where the money's at. Otherwise just google some sng and mtt books, im sure there are tons out there.

User475 · #5 () 03-31-2008, 03:21 PM

My apologies for posting this in the wrong forum. I failed to notice the posting guidelines in the sticky above. If its not to much trouble could a mod move this thread? Please?

OrionPro · #6 () 03-31-2008, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by User475

Short of playing position how do you cope with weak starting hands? Im talking like K4 and so on..last night I problably sat through 40-60 hands where I didnt have anything above A6o. Eventually I was knocked out when I caught 9's and pushed with my remaining chips. I ended up placing in the 500's when I was 3rd a short while before.

This is happening more than I care for and I havent been able to come up with a game plan to battle this. So is there any seasoned players here that can offer some advice?

If you get no playable hands, watch out for (re-)stealing possibilities. Good players with big stacks often raise from mid or late position with total air- come over the top when you're in the blinds. If the initial raiser is overcalled by a somewhat loose player, the situation is even better, always squeeze in such spots. Q3 off is more than good enough for this kind of play. Since you haven't played a hand, they will give you credit for a good hand if they are observant players. The only hands I never resteal with are hopeless hands like 32 off, I like to have at least a high card or suited connectors for the times they have a big hand such as 99+, Ak, Aq etc

User475 · #7 () 04-01-2008, 12:44 PM

^^^That actually happened during that tourney and I was to chicken to push with what I had. As for the cash games, Ive played a couple times but the idea of collusion keeps me from those tables.

Aces-o-8s · #8 () 04-01-2008, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by User475

Short of playing position how do you cope with weak starting hands?

Stop playing short!! Position plays are a big part of surviving at the higher leverls and the cards DO NOT matter - that's why it's called a STEAL! Steals/position plays work WORSE when you get short stacked so you have to play position to prevent getting short - otherwise you down to the last line of defense - short stack paly or all-in as it's most commonly called. Seriously, getting blinded off is the hardest way to play MTT and if you're not up to stealing on a regular basis, that's exactly what's going to happen. Some pointers on stealing are:
* Your cards DO NOT matter - 7-2o is as good as any!
* Your best steals come from the Btn, CO and 1 right of the CO - half the table has played and you have the best chance of not only stealing the blinds but also the button even if you do get called.
* Steal reaises should always be the standard pf raise (3xbb) - don't change the pf raise even for legit hands - to avoid a pf tell!
* Steal if 1st into the pot otherwise fold (or play your cards)
* If called and you have position, ALWAYS C-bet to steal on the flop.
* If played back against (pre flop or post flop) give an short angonizing pause and FOLD - the bluff is over unless you have a real good read or something else to keep it going - which your stack usually can't stand!
* If caught stealing, tighten up for a while and then get back at it. Showing a strong hand on a legit LP pf raise might help but mostly do not show your hands and NEVER show a steal you don't have to - i.e at showdown where you flopped lucky!

I've made final tables when I've been card dead for most of the night but managed to survive by stealing like a theif. Don't worry too much about being spotted - if you stick to stealing when 1st in from a LP, you'll still be playing fairly tight to most observers. And don't forget, you'll get a real hand once in the while too!

Marty_73 · #9 () 04-01-2008, 07:43 PM

Harrington on Hold'Em Volume 2 has invaluable information on how to play in certain stages of tournaments, depending on stack sizes and blinds.

Although having said that, I regularly suffer from the same problems that you describe when I play live MTT's (weekly at my local pub). The people I play against tend to be calling stations, so stealing doesn't work. It's terribly hard to play in this situation when you go card dead and the blinds go up.

Of critical importance IMO, and something Harrington suggests, is to push hard _before_ you get into the situation where you will get called no matter what. Once you lose the ability to make the blinds fold you are pretty much toast.