tourny talk

this might be in the wrong section on here. but i am running into a bit of a problem with mulit talbe tournys.

($1.10)

$1.66

505

48

($4.40)

$0.00

315

71

($1.10)

$0.00

144

38

($2.20)

$0.00

262

87

($3.30)

$0.00

24

8

($3.30)

$0.00

1320

402

($1.10)

$0.00

31

27

i get down everytime to be bubbling out. most of them im patient
and just havent been able to get the right string of cards to come along.
is there any advise. to stop being the whos always on the bubble.

pay attention to how many more hands u get to see compared to the low stack....and then decide....what is more important..to make the money or to win a big pot...be patient and go with what u choose

You are being too patient.

You can't just wait for good cards - you need to make sure you are stealing blinds from the button and cut-off as often as you can. Also you are probably playing too tight and need to open up your raising range - but it is hard to advise you specifically because there are so many things to consider. Your chip stack, other's chip stacks, your position, any reads you may have etc.

If you are uncertain of how you may have played specific hands post them in the Tournament HA forum. Make sure that you initially leave out the results.

^^^ +1

you are too card dependant. You need to be making moves long before the bubble is even an issue.

Examine your game closely, asking yourself questions such as: Are you changing gears or is your game predictable; do you slow play too much in lieu of potbuilding and thereby lose money by only taking down smaller pots; are you playing too tight?

i play too tight too...because it gets me in that bubble position...damned if you do, damned if you don't. but i really take advantage of that image in whatever tourney i'm in and it enables me to steal blinds with any two cards often. sometimes you get really lucky and get a shortstacker right next to you who will fold almost anything..and sometimes you get unlucky and get a donk who's somehow still around with a deep stack on top of it all, who's playing every hand, calling every bet. you have to pay attention the whole time and learn how you think people are going to react to what you do...don't be afraid to resteal your own blind back either when the same jerkoff keeps raising on your blind when you KNOW he's also playing with any two cards.

there's nothing wrong with staying out of trouble and not forcing yourself to play with crap "just because" it seems like its the only way you can get in. spurts of violence can and will often keep you in the game and get you past the bubble and will often earn you respect like "i better stop trying to bully this tight player, his hands are all of a sudden way better than mine, he's hitting every flop! OMGLOLDAMMIT!"...at some point you have to come to life, and if you die on it, oh well. first and foremost just try to figure out what you can get away with and exploit that first. and knowing you're not gonna donk out in the first 5 hands of the tourney, and being willing to just hang out for a while should give you ample time to figure out how people are playing around you

Thats some what my problem.... But can't do much... every time i try to steal, i end up running in to a monster hand

It's not every time, you just remember the times you run into a monster hand. Which is making you gun shy.

How do you know it's a monster, are you going to show down, or have you shown that you are passive and will give up to a three bet from the blinds? Which will make a more aggressive player three bet you lighter.

i have gone to the show down and lost.
I ante that gun shy, and some of the times i end up with a monster hand well trying to steal .
The real problem is when the BB, or SB reraise.

attack more during the bubble (b-in the bubble boy doesnt matter if ur making the right moves to take advantage of it, seriously this works. The amount of chips u can make of ppl playin tight.) But start attacking more in pos even with crap cards and remember to get out if texture is bad and sum1 plays bk at u.

that should not be much of a problem - you are either trying to steal, so it is an easy fold, or you were raising for value, in which case a call/push is in order. for the hands in-between, you have to consider how light they are likely to 3-bet you.

On the one hand, it's good you are making it to the bubble in tourneys. This means you have some patience. You wait for good hands and make as much as you can with them, then wait again. Sometimes you play only a couple of hands in an hour. Is that about right?

I'm doing the same thing, mostly. I often last pretty deep, busting around the bubble, sometimes into the money but only barely.

I figure what has to be done is care a little less whether I go out before the money. Get more aggressive with not-so-premium hands pre-flop in position. Make more value bets. Don't fold so easily. To last, one has to take more risks-- and risks mean one can bust. Don't let others keep stealing my blind. The same way I forced myself to play more patiently, I now have to expand to play more fearlessly. I know this will mean that I will more often bust out sooner, and will likely make it to the money less-- but when I do make the money, I should have a better stack.

By this, I don't mean that the plan is to play a lot more. Just a bit more from position and against weaker players who will fold to a raise. Take some more risks.

That's my plan for me. If what I describe fits you, maybe you could try it, too.

Yeah, wait until you're in late position, and when no one raises, push all-in with any two cards. It will work.

But seriously, everyone tightens up on the bubble, so just keep that in mind. Bubble play is rough because even if you have a decent stack, the blinds can really chip away at it if you're playing too tight. I just try to steal my share of the blinds and stay away from any showdowns unless I've got a monster/the nuts.

Also, if you're playing to win, you can use the bubble to steal blinds. Alternately, if you're playing only to get ITM, you can wait the bubble out, get ITM, but have no real chance of winning because your stack took such a beating. You have to decide upfront what you want from the tournament and thus what you are willing to risk.

Good luck to you. I've been bubble boy myself, and it always feels like the absolute worst.

-Dave

Patience, observation, and keeping an eye on the tourny info to see if there's someone who can go out before you.

This is what i do.

Also you have to take into account that sometimes a player who has more stack than you can be eliminated.

If you want to just make the money: wait, wait and wait.

And... bring up the other tables on your screen and watch to see what position the SS's are in and just watch the play in general.

Something to consider if you're in a game & are on the bubble (mostly pertaining to Satellite play with this), keep an eye on when the blinds will be going up next. If you can stall when it's your turn to act which can result in the blinds going up to the next level (and if this next level will be a significant size in comparison to remaining stacks who will be coming up on the blinds)... then by all means... stall. I'll do this quite often when the situation warrants it (wonder if my opponents even know why I'm doing it?.. most proably thinking I'm stalling in hopes of a SS going out on another table but not so... am stalling so that the blinds will increase to next level before they're on my SS opponents).

Shoving short is best done not just from LP but onto a player who you've noticed has played particularly tight, one who's stack size will be negatively impacted by calling your shove (a tight player on a medium-sized stack might be better than another SS).

Damn... was I even responding to OP's post there ^^.
Whoa... I'm super tired... long day here... work, work, work.. too much work!

I agree. It makes no sense to push when a bigstack is on the big blind just because you're on the button. He will call you often enough to make this move very unprofitable. Another ss may notice what you're doing and call you with a wide range of hands.