I’m just going out on a whim here but it seems to me people stress +EV situations and pot odds justifying calls to much in tournament poker. I mean obviously if you make the call being an underdog despite the pot odds, missing means you’re out of the tourney. In cash games this has merit and even SnGs I think it may, but in Mtts I don’t think it does. The reason I bring this up is because it seems alot of people rely on small +EV situations in all aspects of poker including mtts. For example you’re on a flush draw on the flop. 2 people behind you with equal stacks move in. Its a +EV call since the pot is giving you enough to make your draw profitable in the long run, maybe barely but lets just assume with blinds and antes it does or for arguments sake you have an overcard which you know will be good if you hit. But if roughly 2/3 times you miss you lose your buy-in then I don’t see this to be a good play unless you can somehow guarantee that when you catch and triple up that you will cash out 3x your buyin. Thats my reasoning behind saying that it doesnt apply to cash games obviously or even SnGs because tripling up this way may very well guarantee you a 3x buyin profit. Sorry for the ramble on and I might get flamed for this somehow, I’m just curious on others take on this since so many decisions in analyzing hands come down to pot odds and EV.

much of it depends on how close to the money you are

one thing that the survivalist always ignore is the factor of shrinking stacks and increasing blinds.

if you wait for a "better spot" you how many chips have you lost in the mean time, how far have the blinds increased?

i like to argue that these types of odds only playa small part in tindevidual tournaments,but have great impact on the combined tourneys you have expeirienced. most of the time you only make plays in tourneys using these odds when you are big stacked, with options. but it comes into play alot with straight and flush draws.

Early on there is no need to risk your chips. Unless things are really going well for me I only play A,K thru A,J and AA thru 8,8 until the blinds are about 10% of the starting amount. Once the blinds are large enough I play with a very agressive style. I also play very loose once I am at the final table. Most players tighten up at this point so take advantage!

Poker articles and lessons from top pros at www.livewinner.com

In your MTT I assume you mean a NL tourney. I personally believe that pot odds and EV play less of a role in NL and especially in an MTT. You are right in saying that it may not be the best move to risk all your chips on a draw with the right pot odds or even good odds. You need to assess your current level of desperation in relation to what point you are at in the tourney and how your stack is doing at the time. That's why many writers advise against going up against a big stack. You might have the odds but you risk your tournament life.

In cash games it's different. You want to play solid poker by betting in situations with a +EV. Another example is that in MTT if I have built a very big stack, I tighten up and throw away good hands I would otherwise play. There's no need to press when you don't have to and there is a need to press when you do have to.

Early on there is no need to risk your chips. Unless things are really going well for me I only play A,K thru A,J and AA thru 8,8 until the blinds are about 10% of the starting amount. Once the blinds are large enough I play with a very agressive style. I also play very loose once I am at the final table. Most players tighten up at this point so take advantage!

Early on is when I am willing to take chances in large field tournaments. I'd rather bust out 1899th trying to accumalate chips than hang on all tournament only to bust out 220th whn 100 places pay.

One thing you will learn as you play a lot of tournaments is typically unless you finish in the top 5 occasionally you won't make money. Not many people who cash in 25% of their tournaments but never make the final table win money.

speaking of MTT, i ocasionally play 5.50 @ UB. ivfinished in about 3 /10. 1 of the 3 i actually won. In the other 7 i feel like im only losing because im being sucked out on. And im being sucked out on because Im moving in preflop with KK,QQ... vs Ax....How do you build a stack in mtt when blinds increase evry 10 minutes. I feel if i would have 40-50 bets by the 7th level, instead of 10-20, i wouldnt have to move AI preflop.

I def. agree with you steve, calling away your stack on a slightly favorible situation is not good in MTT play.

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Early on is when I am willing to take chances in large field tournaments.

What do you mean here by chances? Do wait for good cards and play them super-aggressively or do you play more starting hands hoping to flop a monster? Do you play big hands deceptively? Or does it depend on how the other players are playing?

Originally Posted by JokersWild

What do you mean here by chances? Do wait for good cards and play them super-aggressively or do you play more starting hands hoping to flop a monster? Do you play big hands deceptively? Or does it depend on how the other players are playing?

Heres one style that i use wuite often with great success. http://www.pokerforums.org/general-poker-discussion/2472-different-tourny-style.html

Originally Posted by JokersWild

In your MTT I assume you mean a NL tourney. I personally believe that pot odds and EV play less of a role in NL and especially in an MTT. You are right in saying that it may not be the best move to risk all your chips on a draw with the right pot odds or even good odds. You need to assess your current level of desperation in relation to what point you are at in the tourney and how your stack is doing at the time. That's why many writers advise against going up against a big stack. You might have the odds but you risk your tournament life.

mmmm, I'm going to have to disagree with this entire concept. You have to recognize the benefits of risking your whole stack on only a 2:1 shot if the odds justify it. The difference between cash games and torunaments is that in tournaments you have a certain equity of the prize pool based on your stack and tripling up means more than just tripling your equity since a good dominating chip stack has a much better shot at making it all the way to 1st. It's really not that big of a deal to "risk your tournament life." There will always be other tournaments and you're playing for first.