Argh, just out of the money *again*

I'm pretty new at this, and today was my fourth live tournament. I've made it to the final table three times out of four, including today.

So there are five of us left, and four will get paid. I'm the short stack and have already made one bet (might have been in the big blind, I don't recall), and an opponent to my right puts me all in if I want to call. No problem because I have KA and feel pretty good about my chances. Another opponent to my left waffles a bit, then calls the bet. We all turn our cards up.

The guy who put me all-in has KJ.
I have KA.
Waffling caller has 55.

None of us got any additional cards to help our hands, so the pair of fives won the pot and knocked me out, just short of being in the money.

I'm pleased to have gotten as far as I did, but this is the second time I've been out of the money by only one spot! That stings a bit. I'd really love to recoup some of the money I've put into this... wondering whether maybe I should be giving live ring games a shot, but I'm a little gun-shy about 3/6 and 4/8 limits. In online play I've done better in ring games than in tourneys, but have only played microlimits.

Tournament poker is set up in such a way that it only takes one finish ITM (in the money) to make it profitable for you to play several before cashing. A player like yourself, who is making the final table very consitantly should continue to play at least a few more before giving up on them. You seem to be doing very well, and your experience goes up with each tournament, thus raising your chances of a cash or even a tournament win with every attempt.

To address the issue of ring games, you should know going into them that they are very different that cash games and require an entirely different skill-set to succede at them. If you play ring games online you can expect the level of talent at your local casino to be a good bit less at each respective level. $3/$6 players online are far more skilled than those in most casinos at the same level. If you feel uncomfortable sitting at a 3/6 table live, you probably shouldn't. I say this because anyone that plays a lot of live poker will sense your apprehension and see it as a green light to run you over and take your stack. If you do decide to give it a run, make sure you sit with enough money to be able to do some damage to the larger stacks at the table if you get tangled up with one. I like to have the largest stack or very close to it if possible. When someone sits down at a table I'm playing at with a short stack, that too is another cue for the more experienced players to pounce. Don't let anyone intimidate you and play the table just like you would if you were at a table in a tournament. Stick to your game and don't let anyone else break you out of it. Good luck.

Thanks, guys, for the very good advice. I probably will give the 3/6 games a shot at my local casino when I'm there with friends, though I do like the NL tourneys a great deal and feel quite comfortable there.

Just lost my shirt playing 1/2 at Party Poker trying to get my bonus $$ activated... and the lesser of two bonus amounts is showing as "Elapsed" even though it doesn't expire until 9/30. Got a quick reply from email support but still unsure what it means. Hmmph.

I can't imagine giving up, since I find myself somewhat obsessed with poker just now. We shall see how it goes.

You've been bitten by the bug. There is no cure. You are permanently infected.

Chinchilla,

Great advice from the guys. I absolutley love MTTs compared to ring games myself. This maybe way off what you asked about but here it goes.
Question? If you hadn't called this could you have made it to another round of Blinds?

Here's my 2 cents You have to remember when on the bubble like this that AK is a drawing hand.(well it's always a drawing hand) Pocket pairs are not a guarantee but you have a made hand preflop with a pocket pair. I know you probably already knew this but just in case thought I would say it. AK that close to the bubble sure looks purity when you haven't seen a decent hand in awhile and is hard to lay down. (it really sucked that the waffler had 55 :P )

I have been trying to teach myself not to over value my hands especially when I'm BUBBLE GIRL. Which btw has been alot lately. I have been on the bubble a few times this past week or so even in freerolls I have been playing. I know I have been improving and getting really lucky when short stacked.

It sounds like your doing pretty well on the MTTs tourneys don't get frustrated to the point you don't want to play any more of them. The money will come and eventually a win. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to poker tournaments and ring games. Only advice I have on ring games at the lower limits like 3/6 and 4/8 you get people that are calling stations. Preflop calling raises with soooooted cards and Ace anything.(you find this in tourneys as well but for some reason not as much as in ring games)
You know what they say takes a moment to learn and a life time to master.
What I'm trying to say is don't give up on MTTs live or online. Good luck on your next one.

Nope. This was my last stand, and I liked AK to take it with.

I knew when I saw that 55 the percentages were against me (and the waffler mentioned that too), but I didn't regret the decision to call the bet that put me all in. I'd caught two or three lucky breaks previously in the tourney so hoped to turn things around again, but it was just not to be....

had a good MTT win a few weeks ago, i was multi-tabling playing fold or raise, ABC poker, and folding 80-90% of the hand, when it went hand for hand.

I closed all of the other table and called over tracy, (who muli-tabling as well, ironing and cooking) for advise. So I closed up all the other tables and paid attention to the MTT.

I folded everything execpt the top 5 hands, and that was an allin. Came 2nd for nearly 800, not bad for a 5 doller buy in.

Keep at it, the cash will come, if your on the bubble with a short stack, fold or allin, if you have a big stack take advantage of it. And GL.

Tenbob, you're my new inspiration. That's awesome!