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Something is on my mind that seems to return every few months and that is: should I be more conscience of trying to chip up before I hit that 20-30 bb stack that leaves you with limited options. Maybe this thought returns after I get a long run of tourny's where I seem to play very few hands before push/fold time arrives and I guess I hit that run lately.
I think I've become pretty efficient at not spewing and splashing chips by playing marginal hands out of position, doing too much calling then folding, completing the sb too much, and so on. But there are times at early and mid mtt play that I do pass what I think are prob +ev spots when the pot is on the way to becoming too big and I'm holding a medium equity type hand – trying not to violate the 'rule' of not playing big pots without big hands.
But I may also be guilty of not going after those small unwanted limped type pots enough and ignoring some of those cash game concepts that won't necessarily chip you up big time but may add a few bbs per 100 hands that add up in the long run. A few bbs here and a few bbs there – it doesn't really seem too important in a single tournament, is it?
I guess it all comes down to that question that alot of people must ask themselves at times, ” Should I open up my game more? ''
Any thoughts? Thanks – MM
BTW – looking forward to the members mtt tomorrow night.
July 3, 2010
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If you post some examples of what you consider +EV spots are that you passed up and what your thought process was at the time you'll get more solid responses.
There are so many spots that can be considered marginal and others that are clear pushes or clear folds so we need to narrow down what we're dealing with. It may be something you consider +EV and actually isn't or it could be a real leak to plug with some guidance.
Early in MTT's I play very TAG and hammer the pot when I hit hard to get max value and charge the most for drawing hands to get there.
If I have a 30+ BB stack when antes kick in I will start light three betting the weaker players but if I'm still super deep I play my normal game because we don't need to be so laggy and get out of line.
When I get to 15-25 bb's I am playing a re-steal stack and looking for a good spot to squeeze.
Below 15 BB's I start open jamming the hands I elect to play which vary based on my position at the table and the other stacks and players.
June 11, 2010
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Gonna agree on this one, some specific hands/situation would greatly improve the discussion to help you understand spots or lines from outside perspectives. As far as general strategy or opening up your game a lot of that depends on the specific situation, table dynamics, players and past history. There are a lot of nuances and subtleties to play in an MTT. Throw us some hands and you will get lots of great thoughts! Can't wait to see what you've got!
TPE Management
April 6, 2010
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agreed that some specifics would help here, but in general the answer to this:
” Should I open up my game more? ''
Is probably yes. I know that I am guilty of letting myself get too short in the midstages. I feel kind of comfy with 30 BBs, but then suddenly the blinds pass acouple times, then the blinds go up and i have 18-22 BBs and i feel handcuffed.
I would say some good advice might be to try opening up ONE PART of your game first. See how it feels. Find the right spots to do it. So for example, but you might decide for one nights session that you are just NOT going to let yourself get below 20 BBs (or whatever) and you are going to look for some good resteal spots. When that guy opens from the CO and you have 20 BBs and 78s, ship it in and see what happens. After you get comfortable with some resteal spots, start looking for some good 4 bet jam spots with hands you might not have done it with before.
Maybe best to experiement with some of these moves at lower buy ins than normal (but not too low, because the play will be different than at your stakes).
Sometimes, when i force myself to try some of these moves, I am simply dazzled at how often the work. And of course, sometimes when they dont we just get there!
Thanks – will try to come up with some hands.
The restealing and open shoving at 15-22 bbs or so – I've been working real hard in that area, saving hands and going over the profitibility of those moves based on my opponents calling frequency and 3bet calling ranges and so on.
I think I was trying to say that maybe I should be playing more post flop at those mid stacks (35-45 bbs) and trying to rely more on hand reading decisions to chip up rather than avoiding risk so as to not drop into that 20bb danger zone.
KB – great suggestion to work on specific things in order to open up, one thing at a time – will start tonite.
Killingbird said:
agreed that some specifics would help here, but in general the answer to this:
” Should I open up my game more? ''
Is probably yes. I know that I am guilty of letting myself get too short in the midstages. I feel kind of comfy with 30 BBs, but then suddenly the blinds pass acouple times, then the blinds go up and i have 18-22 BBs and i feel handcuffed.
I would say some good advice might be to try opening up ONE PART of your game first. See how it feels. Find the right spots to do it. So for example, but you might decide for one nights session that you are just NOT going to let yourself get below 20 BBs (or whatever) and you are going to look for some good resteal spots. When that guy opens from the CO and you have 20 BBs and 78s, ship it in and see what happens. After you get comfortable with some resteal spots, start looking for some good 4 bet jam spots with hands you might not have done it with before.
Maybe best to experiement with some of these moves at lower buy ins than normal (but not too low, because the play will be different than at your stakes).
Sometimes, when i force myself to try some of these moves, I am simply dazzled at how often the work. And of course, sometimes when they dont we just get there!
great suggestion as I fall in the same category….Im always short stacked trying to get to the finish line.
July 3, 2010
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Squeeze plays FTW – if you use a HUD or are playing close attention, find spots where a loose passive opens and another one calls.
Or better yet, pick a spot where a couple weak players limp and make it 4-5x. Even if one calls you can probably take it down with a c-bet or even hit your hand and play a large pot.
Just try to remember that on average most players are afraid of busting and play very tight/weak as we get closer to the money.
If you can think of spots you got in where you felt uncomfortable and were not sure what to do then you can flip that on its head and remember to put others in those same exact spots. Since so many MTT players are bad they simply won't react correctly.
And… how much worse can it really get? If you're blinding down and busting short of the money or just into the money, who cares if you bust making a move?
FkCoolers said:
Squeeze plays FTW – if you use a HUD or are playing close attention, find spots where a loose passive opens and another one calls.
Or better yet, pick a spot where a couple weak players limp and make it 4-5x. Even if one calls you can probably take it down with a c-bet or even hit your hand and play a large pot.
Just try to remember that on average most players are afraid of busting and play very tight/weak as we get closer to the money.
If you can think of spots you got in where you felt uncomfortable and were not sure what to do then you can flip that on its head and remember to put others in those same exact spots. Since so many MTT players are bad they simply won't react correctly.
And… how much worse can it really get? If you're blinding down and busting short of the money or just into the money, who cares if you bust making a move?
good points
Do you need to open up your game more? I don't know, probably…but here's a suggestion for you to perhaps find out:
Go to OPR, and check your own stats. Look over when you are busting from tournaments. If you are hardly ever busting early in tournaments, or at least at a rate that is significantly below average, then it could be a sign that you are avoiding too many borderline spots early in the tournament just to make sure you survive.
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