How do you handle a bad start in a MTT

[The Nuder]

I just play a lot tighter. I'm actually a better player when coming from behind than out front. If you dip early in a tournament the BB is low so you have plenty of time to rebuild. Can seem hard if on a table with lots of aggression - but that's basically more opporutnity when you're sitting tight with a small stack more people inclined to call. I've won tournaments coming back from less than 1 BB midway through so losing half stack at start is no worry.

 

[left52side]

I have been known in the past by members of this forum ,cough cough(bearplay) lol,as the king of shortstacks lol.
In the begining of A tournament if I do donk off half my stack on A play that was bad on my part then yes I evaluate my stradegy and adjust it accordily,if I lose half my stack to a beat that I made the right move in then it doesnt affect me at all.
I learned along time ago that the cards will fall how they fall, I can only control how I play them or have played them and evaluate that.
But yes if for some reason I lose half my stack early on,I ertainly evaluate my play and not only mine but my opponents at the table as well,this helping detirmine what I can and cannot get away with and focus on starting to build castles back up.

 

[DonV73]

If I am satisfied with my game and the decisions I made so far, I try not to change my game.

 

[weldphaser]

don't let tilt grab a hold of you, it'll end ya quick

 

[JPoling]

I actually play shortstack pretty well in MTTs as long as cards run good for me. I mean, it is expected to run into hands in MTTs that are gonna bust/cripple you it is inevitable. Yet I still find my shortstack strategy works really well. Have came back many of times and won or final table MTTs after being short stack. Just cant get tilty, like I will see some people take big chunk out of their stack yet have decent stack but they donk-shove the next hand, and if someone has anything BAM busto. I love being that guy with AA/KK/AKs when they do the donk shove after a bad hand

 

[joker131]

i will always look for mtt with over 3000 starting stacks. 1500 is not a good starting stack if your a player that likes to play loose. always have trouble at full tilt for exactley this reason

 

[ARGNahue]

Good help reading this.

 

[TheCol]

I am just wondering. How does everyone handle bad starts in MTT's. I don't mean like you lose right away. But struggling. Like lose 1/4-1/2 stack off the start. Does this cloud your mind at all? Do you get tilty if it happens? I tend to have some shakey starts sometimes but way I handle it is knowing it is so early and all I gotta do is keep playing right and be patient and try to turn it around which usually I can. I just am wondering how do you guys/gals handle it.

You might want to change your choises of hands to just a little bit tighter. Till you get your stack back up then loosen up a little on your hands. It really depends on the tournament buyin. If it is a big buyin tournament I would play tight till you get at least 3x your starting stack then loosen up some. Most big buyin tournaments the players are usually playing pretty tight because of the cost of the buyin, so play smart no when to fold and try not to push a bad hand.

 

[DonV73]

If you are still early in the tourney, just be patient as play your game. Don't change your game if you know its good.

 

[UhhWee]

be patient and play your best poker game. bad beats shouldnt influence your game

 

[Michael Paler]

The most important thing is to see WHY you lost that big hand; did you get outplayed? Run into a calling station/donk? Did you get in over your head in a marginal situation too early?
IOW: was your play right or wrong? If it was wrong, learn from it; if correct, then nothing you can do, its poker, it happens. After all, you have a short stack strategy, right?

 

[rock0001]

the most important thing in mtt is the amount of blinds you have at the moment. if the tournaments starts with 3000 chips the blinds are 15-30 even if you lose half your stack or even 2000 chips you still have more than 30 bb to play which is plenty enough to make a comeback without depending only in luck. wait for a good hand and just stay focused on the game. try not to look at the average chipstack because early in the tournament that is not important at all. keep playing calm dont enter in dispair and you will be able to revert your bad start.

 

[seghill]

agree with most - part stack early is no great deal as usually there will be someone (and often early winners) who will see your good hands and raises early as well so you can recover when you get a good hand. If that then loses - well that's poker - on with the next
freerolls are just a guess early as some players will play anything based on their 20% chances.
Rebuy tournaments - I leave these alone basically as those with pots of money or points don't really care for the first part and just keep rebuying after all-ins until they accumulate a big stack.

 

[Rawdeal1955]

I like everyone hate a bad start. Like the old saying a chip and a chair, I go in an all in or fold mode and pla top ten starting hands. If table slows take a shot at the pot. good luck