my cry for help

well, for all ive played, read here and learned over the years
my game still needs work!

and im posting this in hope some kind soul here will take the time and find that problem i cant, i not looking for a coach to pay - that will be some1 here when the time comes-i just want to hear any advise that may help improve my game right now (mostly for MultiTableTournies).

I have played countless games and hands mostly micro limits, but have played a good deal of large buyin mtts (up to 50$)and up to 1-2$ blind tbls (tho mostly penny-dime stuff)

in the last month or so i have cashed 11 of 34 pokerstars mtts and bubbled/missed cash by only a few places a handful of times, couple were final tables and recently took a more than a few awful bad beats (runner-runner) where my placing should have been better. cake poker is the same story (mostly 5-10$ mtts there)

i have many hand histories saved, if needed, and i THINK my problem is im not aggressive enough in the end stages of tournies (tho im not aggressive enough ever really)
my name on pokerstars is mikalupagoo if you want to check my poker ranking details- micalupagoo most every where else

ty to all who have any advice
and to CC for having great ppl and these forums for help
mic

found an old post by stormraven who might have solved my problem inadvertantly, musta missed this post
but basicaly the fatal flaws of bubbleplay are
(quote)
'Fatal Flaws:

1. As long as you’re making the money in most of your mtt’s then you’re doing well.
2. Making it in the money is better than not making it in the money.
3. It feels good to make the money.
4. At least you made the money.'

i took that to heart in todays league game...i think thats why i took 1st, i almost folded a few near the bubble then a voice screamed CALL-you got the best hand, or STEAL, they dont expect that of a tight passive player, and isnt losing better than not playing the game like you should (just trying to get ITM)!

so ty, vvm
and I'll bet my bankroll will ty2

i will post stormravens fix to these flaws too, since the post is closed and i dont know how to link to it

Fixing the Flaws:

1. Wrong! You are aware of EV - Expected Value? If you play in a tournament for several hours, only to just make it in the money, then you are losing out on a lot of expected value by not trying to make the big money. You are also basically wasting your time! Next time you squeak into the money, calculate how much it cost you to be in the tournament, subtract that number from the amount you’ve won: now take the number of hours and minutes you have invested in the tournament and divide your profits into your total time to find out how much you really made. Ex: $10 profit / 3 ˝ hrs (210 min) invested = .05 cents per hr. Do you still believe you are doing well?

*(If you find yourself only squeaking just in the money most of the time, instead of going deep, then you have some leaks in your game you need to research and address).

2. Wrong! Please see the example above. Do you really want to play poorly by not trying to maximize ev in order to make just pennies an hour? I would rather not make it in the money, but know that I played well, than play poorly just to squeak in for pennies. Let us not forget that one of the most important goals in poker is to strive to make good decisions and fewer mistakes than your opponents. If your good play with a flopped set gets sucked out on by the calling station chasing his gut sho,t then you should still feel good about yourself and your play because you played correctly. Most of the time your good play is going to pay off and most of the time it’s going to be good play (skill) that gets you to the final table.

3. Sigh… Please notice I said “It feels good to make the money” and not “It feels good to make money”? We play poker to make money, not the money. Each time you play an mtt, you should play in the way that will be the most profitable; squeaking into the money is not it. Most of the money to be made in an mtt is in the top few spots, therefore, it is these top spots that should be on your mind when you play. If your play does not reflect this at all times then you will not make many final tables and will eternally condemn yourself to be just a nickel an hour earner.

4. Please reread 1, 2 & 3 above. Saying something like “At least you made the money” is what people say to console each other or themselves to feel better. This thinking is very flawed! Why reward yourself for getting lucky and squeaking in the money? Any lucky donk can squeak into the money; it takes skill to go deep and/or make the final table! When all I do is go out in the bottom tier of the money - I get mad! I should have done better! I read through my hand histories and find where my mistakes are and make a mental note to learn from them. Think about this next time you post about making the money and one of the regulars responds with: “Do better”. Most of them aren’t trying to be jerks, they’re sending you a message, kind of like a coach, and you should listen to it!

*When I make the money in an mtt, I look at the lobby to see how many players are left. I do not concentrate on how many players I have to beat out in order to make it to the next pay tier; I know many players who do this, again this is flawed. Instead, I look and see that there are 800 players left, I tell myself “Just 791 players to go to make the final table”. Try this and see if it helps you focus a bit more on playing correctly, instead of comfortably during your next mtt.

Bubble Strategy:

*Step it up: steal, steal, steal! This is the perfect time to steal blinds and accumulate a larger stack for the final table. Chances are you have some timid short and medium stacks at the table that have slowed down, waiting for a premium hand to shove with, or are laying low hoping to squeak into the money. Before you reach this stage in the tournament, you should already have notes on your opponents so you know who you can bully, and who will play back at you. This is about the only time in a tournament that ring game play will be very similar to tournament play; aggressiveness is the key during this stage and if the table is allowing you to get away with it, then steal, steal, steal!

* Putting on the brakes. If you have a very active table, lots of preflop raisers, players willing to play back at you, etc; then slow things down. Chances are your steal attempts will only cost you chips or worse, your tournament life.

*Don’t mess with the big dogs! Even if you are one of the larger stacks, or even the largest stack at your table, avoid mixing it up with others who have stack sizes close to your own. This is a fatal mistake I’ve seen many people make and they quickly go from being chip leader to short stack in just one hand. Your JJ in the cut off may look enticing to you, but when you have to go through a big stack or the chip leader, then you’ve put yourself in the position to have a wide range of Ax Kx hands knock you down a notch, or out, so play these hands cautiously around other big stacks.


and Id only change...maybe mess with the big dogs...it is gambling and do you want ITM or the WIN???

This may help a bit too, KC is a very profitable MTT player.

The Official KC Strategy

Thanks for reviving this!

I've been following KC's advice for a few days now and am achieving noticeably better results.

On Saturday I finished 5th in the Intertops freeroll and got a ticket to a cash tourney, where I then won $5 -- biggest cash so far for this freeroller/micro guy.

ok ty,
have read and reread and reread...
and instead of starting a new thread
im trying this again.
first- I'll try not to be so vague, show a HH or something,
ummm

lets do tonights game,oh...which 1:P
the 30$ buyin-bounty game on cake
69players 10paid (10$bountys)
(way out of my BRM, but they took out some of there gaur. games... 'nother thread there)

so, like many bounty games,
i made the final table- not 1 bounty
(Im trying to learn that aggression needed but..)

anyways i saved about 20 hand histories from bubble area down, where i do question some of my actions
i just dont think i should post that many, so I'll start with 1(maybe 2)

1st hand history: was folding the 8s right?
(i fold A LOT more hand than i should i think)
2nd hand: i should have been more aggressive against luvsnuts?
3rd: pay to see the flop with 6s? (very near bubble)

i want to say and show more,
1 thing at a time
ty 2 any responses
sry its longer than i wanted it to be

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Hand #1 - shove!! Don't call the limper. We're not deep enough to 'call' even a limp here (what do we do if there's another caller.. then a raise, call , etc.?). We're so short here.. just get it in over this limper.. SHIP IT!

Hand #2 - shove!

Hand #3 - raise to 2.5x (2,500)... .fold if bigstack shoves... call if Shortstack shoves. "BUT".. before you make a raise, look at the stacks to your left & figure who'll you'll be able to call when or if they're shipping back at ya. Don't limp at high blind levels.

I read ur post earlier & was thinking of responding but not too sure if I'd be able to set aside any definite time frame I could help ya out.

Maybe if you're interested, you could get on skype with me, & ghost a bunch of tourneys I'm playing? (most likely on Titan, FTP, UB, & maybe Stars too). When playing I'm probably in 4-6 at a time (or more) so I might not be able to take much time to get into detail about what I'm doing & why I'm doing it... 'but'.. I could try to do some of my thinking 'out loud' (as I've done this with others quite a bit... .only thing is... I'll often lose them partway thru my thought process & they'll be wanting me to slow down.. back up & explain some of the stuff that I was saying moments before). I don't typically have time to do this when I'm playing (& it messes up my own thought processes & flow). You'll still likely get something out of it (maybe ALOT?).. who knows.
pm me if you think you'd be interested & we can exchange Skype info. & try to hook up sometime (this weekend might even be good for me, I should be playing a bunch of MTT's... maybe a dozen or more on Saturday & 20+ on Sunday.. but again.. 'it depends'.. I'm just getting over a flu bug & might not last too long, lol). Skype is the only thing/way I hook up with others online (I trust it & like its ease of use).
On Skype I could also 'share my screen' with ya... so you can see all of my holecards & see exactly what I'm doing & 'why' (if I don't babble too much or too fast).
let me know.

thx PO
very kind offer
I already PMed you, but figured Id do a public ty too
tytyty

i folded all the hands i shoulda shoved...
and somehow still came in first
maybe i should write a book lol

wheres all the other players input???


is PO right? should i have shoved those hands??

Yeah, #1 and #2 were easy shoves for me.

You must have done all right, though, cause in #3 you have plenty of chips!

Still, villain's raising your limp demonstrates that this is not the time for friendly, see-the-flop poker. You could have raised with that PP -- it's probably a steal attempt, so when you get 3betted, likely letting it go.

You have a peek into a gold mine, IMO, getting in touch with PO. I have noted a lot of his MTT advice, esp regarding stack sizes and shoving, restealing etc. I can't imagine keeping up with a running commentary of several tourneys at once, though -- on either end!

ya PO is great and im honored to get the chance, i multi tbl like crazy sometimes too (had 10 going today)

and just so ya all know
i took 1st place that game
i folded a lot of good hands too
won 414$ + 30$ bountys

i have a few more HHs to post...

all 3 of those hands were near the bubble too btw

So, you're 10-tabling MTTs and making money -- and I am giving YOU advice???

Hand #3 - once we've limped... 'FOLD' to the raise. We don't want to L/Call here OOP (< out of position) in an effort to set mine. We're not getting near enough odds (typically want to be getting 15to1... 'maybe' 10to1 in some spots).. & playing the 66 OOP will pretty much suck.
in other words > Hand 3 once your limp's been raised > "FOLD"

tks for the comments & WTG on the 1st place!! Real nice!

well shufflin
i rarely 10tbl (4-6 most average)
some freerolls, penny tbls there...
and im not MAKING money,
coarse i have SOME wins but i play a LOT
Im looking to improve so I win MORE

If you look at LUVSNUTS hands they are big broadway with an ace and suited with straight or a big card, and to a less extent unsuited connectors 10/9 and above.

These are the hands you should look to be playing, make sure you are Cut Off or Button.

Small pairs and unsuited cards are far more vulnerable

The most interesting parts for me are the "in the money" but no at final table yet part. The more important factor is reading your opponents to decide if AK is dead money or K10s in a blind are 2 live cards.

PO is right.