Winning tourneys playing tight?

I play pretty tightly, playing aggresive only when I feel I have a chance of winning the hand. Am I playing wrong? It seems like I can never make it to the end!!! I usually make it in the money, but never in the top 2 or 3 or winning it. Any suggestions? I have found that playing aggresive doesn't work very well in low stake tourneys. Can tourneys be won playing tight most of the time?

Not really at some point you have to change gears and loosen up your starting hands as the field thins out. Try calling a reasonable raise with a king/queen offsuit in position and go from there. I have made it farther in a tournment this way just knowing that most players will try to pick up the blinds and antes in the later stages. Good luck

I should clarify the starting hands I used king/queen as an example any two connecters will play with a reasonable bet.

Unless you get dealt an amazing run of cards, you'll need to change gears a few times during a tournament to make it to the final table or even win it.

Around the bubble, for example, you might want to loosen up a bit and steal a few more pots with carefully applied aggression.

You should notice during a tournament that the playing style of your table changes - you need to adjust your play to suit. If everybody's playing like maniacs, then it's probably best to stay tight. If everybody's tightened up and is playing conservatively, loosen up and try stealing from position. Note that this can happen even at the same table with the same players.

If you just stick to the one gear for the whole tournament, you're probably missing out on opportunities to accumulate chips, and it's accumulating chips that lets you reach final tables.

i switch tgear and get nice

I play pretty tightly, playing aggresive only when I feel I have a chance of winning the hand. Am I playing wrong? I usually make it in the money, but never in the top 2 or 3 or winning it. It seems like I can never make it to the end!!! Can tourneys be won playing tight most of the time?

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I have to say yes. if you're cashing regularly you are doing pretty good. Most good tournament players only cash around 17 to 20% of the tournaments they play. Most top players with that kind of statistic only win 1st place in less than 1% of the tournaments they play.

If you are cashing tournaments between 15 and 20% of the time you're doing it right in my opinion. If you're doing that then you should know about changing gears and playing fast or tightening up depending on the situations as they arise. That shouldn't be a problem, if you're looking for final table experience play 1 table sit and go's from time to time to stay in practice for when you do make a final table.

If you think you're too tight drop down a tourney level and play loose/maniac for practice that can be fun and informative.

Enjoy

Yeah i mostly have won money in MTTs by playing tight but honestly gambling a bit on a flush draw or stealing some blinds helps a lot i mean ,I have come up to win second place out of 500 people from an average chip stack but having a chip lead always is a positive.........also watch for small stacks going all in for blinds and try not too bully big stacks for blinds if they're BB cuz they'll bully back.they usualkly know your a robber.lol

stealing blinds, bluffing, semi bluffs, chasing draws, position raises and changing gears will win you tournaments.

but that is when you're in the money

to get TO the money you only need to get involved in a few hands.

play TAG and take down huge pots 3 or 4 times and toss rags and you should make it to the money

once you're there you going to need to change gears and start playing a wider variety of hands.

then when you make final 3 or 4, don't be scared to go all in with rags when you're on the button, just remember that your opponents also want to finish higher in the money and will often fold hands like A9, A10, 88 etc when being pressured by an all in bet. Don't do it too often though but outrageous bluffs are sometimes needed.

you need to adopt this if you're short stacked or big stacked.

One tournament I remember clearly there were 3 of us left , I was the middle stack and I pulled 2 massive bluffs in succession with rags and both times I showed my bluff, the very next hand I got KK and went all in again, and both guys called. I knocked one out and crippled the larger stack. very next hand again I got JJ and did the same thing, he called with A rag.

sometimes its good to show your bluffs

BLADEMAN73114 said:

I have found that playing aggresive doesn't work very well in low stake tourneys. Can tourneys be won playing tight most of the time?

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IMO i think the main reason why playing aggressively doesn't work well in low stakes tourneys is because so MANY people play very loose in these games, they call with almost anything then get lucky, catching the flop with their 7 2 off suit (b*st*ards).

I find i get on better in the higher stake tourneys if i fell like playing aggressive as you tend to come up against better players that know the score.

I'm sure there'll be people out there that will disagree with what i've said but as I say, it's just my opinion.

anyway, now i've chucked my $0.02 in I'm off for a cuppa

My current experiment.........

My current experiment is to play tightly during the first half of a tourney then, as the field thins, get a little more aggressive when in position.....

It ain't workin' out so great......... But, I'm gonna stick with this plan until I can discover another form of self-torture........

if you have to be nit beginning of touney and middle lose ok i think face cards and ace mid kick or higher raise late touney blinds go higher and you have short stack you shove

until the money its good to pla tight because there are a lot of donks, or people that cannot be bothere and will give you chips when you are a huge favourite

but (and this is how i actually won a couple of tourneys) you need to indentify aggresive people at the table get in a hand with them and let them bluff their chips to you,

also be prepared to make huge bluffs but you must pick your spot

Same here

That happends to me to.

winning is overrated

well if your playing tight early on, as i do for the most part, then when it gets towards the end, you will be in a better positon to play a weaker hand such as a connector, or a weak K or a weak Q. i dont mean to say you should go wild with these hands, but your image at the table should allow you to do your share of stealing. one steal every 2 or 3 times is normally good, but if you feel your table is tight, then get whatever you can. make em pay for their tight play.

Well my experience was just like yours. However, playing tight has a definite downside especially when you begin playing with people regularly and they target you when you limp into hands or when you have the blinds. Two, actually, you should be playing a drop looser at the start, playing a greater variety of starting hands. In fact, just showing them you do play suited connectors and pocket pairs, will make you more difficult to read. But the general rule is as the tourney progresses and the blinds increase you do have to loosen up some;especially at critical junctures such as when your table becomes short stacked and there seems to be little movement, you must adjust and play looser or the blinds will eat your stack. Also, when the blinds are big, and also when you are close to the money, you have to win some hands. Otherwise, you will limp or sort of limp to the final table. My experience is that tight players also tend to limp not raise.

All these things, to the extent, you are not doing them, can be worked on and practiced until you reach a comfort zone. Then, playing more aggressively will begin to become second nature.

Tight players also are generally master short-stack players. When necessity calls, they seem to know when to pull the trigger. Why wait until then, pick more preferred situations earlier. :aetsch: :cheers: :hello:

you should change your style sometimes just to keep others confused. Also a bluff every now and ten will help. practice makes perfect!

I dont care how well you play. You got to get cards to get into the final three. You seem to be doing well if you are getting into the money. It will only be time before you make the final 3. You got to win races. If youre in the money with BS are you going to not call an all in from someone who comes in with baby pairs. You got to win that race and eventually the cards will fall in your favor. Poker is tough. You can play tight and by the book. But if you dont get the cards you aint going to go to the head of the class. So trust yourself and keep tying to better your game you will make it.
Maybe for some cheap SNG's or tournaments you can stictly use it as an excercise to work on your image. If you are tight try loose and try to create a image that you are a bad player. This might give you an insight to your own play and how you could change your style to suit the situation. I love it when they think Im a "donk" and when I come in with the best of it after they have put a shove on me.

I`ve always said and will not be moved on this one.

To win a large MTT you will have to suck out now and again.

What I mean is u have pocket 10`s push all in, the other guy shows AA

Flop AKJ turn 4 river Q arty:

I think you also have to accept that regardless of how well you play, the reverse will happen