Not thinking about the money

Hello all.

I'm currently deep in an MTT and and it's going pretty well. At this stage of the tournament, in the money and slowly creeping towards the last 100 players, things for me are starting to get a little nervy, as top places pay more than I've ever won before. The thought of getting the top prize grows stronger on my mind and I become more nervous every time someone busts.

The reason, though, for making this thread is to ask this. How do you keep calm during the latter stages of a tournament? How do you not focus on the money? Do you have any certain techniques or do you all just have nerves of steel?

it would be good to hear some of your thoughts on this, as I'm sure I'm not alone when it come to getting anxious during the run up to the big money

Nerves of Steel here buddy!

So what was the buy-in for this tourney and the pay out? How did you do?

During play I don't really think about it. Some of the most tense final tables I've been in have been $5 tournaments.

I get tense in the CC playchip games.
Nah, 'tense' is not the word for it. I mean 'I focus' as much in the playchip tourneys as I do in any others.

I ended up coming 78th out of 3099 runners for $49.58. the buy-in was $11. The most I've ever won in an MTT was around $400 but this is probably my best achievement so far. I seriously need to work on my game when it comes to the late game. In all i ran quite good and played okay I suppose.

Congrats. You're game obviously has plenty of plus points if you're cashing in on a few.

just keep calm, pick your spots and hope that your luck and skill will see you through! and congrats on the place well done

My first 2k cash i came fourth, first was 5k i was shaking liek a bitch, my main tip is to not play any other games, get some railbirds and just try to focus, take extra time for decisions

Thank you! I have some trouble 3-betting when I have a feeling someone is stealing, obviously because of the money. I think next time I go deep I'll make sure I don't look at how much the final table pays and just try to play my normal game.

^There you have it! Congrats on your placement, WTG!!!

It gets easier and easier to OVERTHINK the situations in MTT's.

I usually have a controllable distraction handy. Not a wife and kids thing, they are uncontrollable. I ofter use a solitaire game. Many will multi-table,but if you do that make sure the brand of poker you play on those other tables is the same as the tourney you are progressing in....don't mix cash tables with tourneys, but u can mix same brand STT's with MTT's.

Same brand meaning HE, or PLO, or stud or whatever.

Ignore the numbers. Once you have committed to a game, the chips become symbolic, and might as well be play money chips. This is the hardest thing to do, of course.

you need to take account of the payout jumps to think about ICM, but you can do that by removing $ from in front of the payouts in your mind and just aiming at maximizing the "number" you can win

If your goal is a bracelet u need to play ur cards some what aggressively an dhope to get a cheap lead that allows u to clean up the small stacks as they shove small posket pairs and the like. If it is $ then play tight as hell and pick your spots to be aggressive - on the cut off with kk or qq, ak s or better and a Button obviously tryong to bully u. Just come over the top of em and hope they fold or KK holds up. if not - it wasnt ur day no problem. most cases u watch mid stacks trying to get to the top bust out right in front of u. GL!

BTW, its math and style of play going on around you not money u should think about.

With normal price structure being in the first four has to be your goal. Reaching the final table play like a robot. Don't do anything abnormal.

i think you have to be aware of the payout structure, it's nice to say "oh, i'll just play my game and hope for the best", but if the money is meaningful to you then you have to know when the payout jumps ... let's face it, if you are close to the final table, then do you really want to mix it up with the chip leader?

having said that, knowing the payout structure can help you exploit situations ... obv. stealing becomes easier when it's bubble play or near the final table where the payouts jump

my biggest MTT cash was around $250 on pokerstars, so i'm certainly no expert ... came 2nd and was very disappointed in my HU play ... i think i was too happy with 2nd and should have put my game face on and started to grind at HU

Since this is a mental / emotional aspect of tournament play, I doubt there's a single approach that will work equally well for everyone. Each of us has to try things to find out what's best for us. For me, a key one was looking at a bigger picture than just the specific tournament or even my entire bankroll. This was a way of driving home the understanding that while $500 is a sizable cash for me (I average less than one such cash per year), it's not really much money in the context of my life and lifestyle. That made it easier to stick with my game in tournaments where only the top 2 or 3 win that much.

Otoh, the few times I've been in situations where just cashing would have meant thousands of dollars, I admit I'd probably have played tighter to cash and to move up the pay scale. Unfortunately, I've never actually been in that situation.

you need to be a strong enough player to use it. Don't completely put the payouts out of your mind but instead use them to your advantage.
you know that is its on your mind its on your opponents as well. You can use this jump in payouts to bluff and expliot the weak timid play of other players simply hoping to improve where they finish and not win.
yes sometimes you will bust doing this but it gives you a much better chance to finish in that top 3 spot where all the money is.

I hear what you're saying but I always look at it like this now I got this far I'm going to continue playing smart and keep my patience. I've never been in the position of maybe winning over 1K for example then I might get tense. Just play your game and don't keep thinking about the money think about your game.

turn your money thoughts into tacklin fuel

harness the extra energy and focus more

I try to concentrate and play my game when I make it far itm,thats about the best you can hope for.Hope your skills n luck can pull you thru it.Let us know how you did.

Try to redirect your focus to the players at your table, lookin at the table dynamics and trying to pick out the correct spots where you can get your money in ahead, before you know it, you'll be on the FT. Keep up the good work and good luck in the future

Congrats! What I do is to constantly repeat my mantra. "Marathon not a sprint...marathon not a sprint " over and over. I know it sounds simplistic, but I never fail to have better results when I kep this simple rule in mind. When I do fail, I often find that I zigged when I should of zagged and failed to heed my mantra.

HAHA, i have the same problem, definitely need some help on this too. Sorry i can't be of much help. Going to read what other people say though lol.

7th of 67 at the moment in a 12K GTD on Stars and got 200 ish out of 3000 last night as well. Thanks for the tips everyone, I think It might have helped

9th of 17

3rd of 7

Came 6th for $600. I called my stack off with KK AIPF and the guy who was tilted shoved with 66 and caught a 6 on the river. I don't even feel that happy, more annoyed