freeringo, thanks man... but.. there's a problem with opening up
I tried that a couple of times throughout the tourney, I genuinely did. But it didn't work out well
Let me replicate a hand that I played. Having been card-dead for significant period of time already, I finally decided to give it a shot and raise with a relatively marginal holding, which was 78 of spades.
I raised strong enough, that was a 4BB raise. BB reraised me to 12BB, and then I started thinking, what do I do?
If I 4bet, most likely he's gonna go all in, and it's gonna be a gamble, where odds are, I believe, are not in my favor.
If I call, most frequently I'm gonna completely miss flop or only catch a weak part of it, which will make the further decision tough. If I bet, what do I do if get raised? Pretty much, I have to fold.
The only occasion on which I really can get paid is if I hit the flop hard, which happens rarely, and speculative hands are... well.. those folks are very loose, they will basically just keep calling with AK no matter what and then win with a high card.
Whoa! This line alone lets me know what (maybe)
some of your problems are.....ok, repeat after me..."Hi. My name is Russian-California, and
I am a NIT."
1. You are sizing your bets per hand strength, real or (in this case) perceived. Means you most likely open for more with AA than with say, k10. BIG mistake. If you only open for 2-2.5x no matter what, they will have no clue when u have AA or 66 or 27 off. Watch for others who also make this mistake. Many will open for 5x with any small pair, hoping to get everyone to fold. Overcards hit and they are going to fold to any bet, spewing chips along the way.
2. The days of the 3x-up open is dead. It just wastes too many chips. Sure, in the beginning of the tourney 3x is ok, but you will still waste chips. If you are short, you can only do it with hands you are willing to get it all in with when raised.
3. You cannot fold to every re-raise. And they know you are short stacked, and will do so relentlessly. If 78 suited was the best I have seen and I'm at 15 bigs, depending on position and the size of stacks yet to act, I'm shoving preflop. You cannot wait for AA/KK all day, as you can see it does not always win. A big stack with A rag will certainly call, and also, if he has a big stack and acts after you (and watching you fold to every 3 bet), he could put you all in with far worse hands than 78 suited.
3. Some people have a "call, call, call" syndrome. You have a "fold, fold, fold" syndrome. You need to find the line to tow. 78 suited is a monster in many cases. But you doubt it, and just keep folding. Just remember one thing - the best hand preflop/flop/turn does not always win. I have beat AA/KK with far worse hands. I have also lost with my AA/KK to far worse hands. I have beat guys with AK with my A-rag, and vice versa.
4. Observe your opponents. Guys who are always 3 and 4 betting are doing so with very wide ranges. Would you take 78 suited over J-rag off? 10-2 suited? I would. Chances are they are just bullying you off every hand.
To wrap it up, sounds like the story you were telling the table is "I'm a super-duper-NIT, please raise me so I can fold. Thanks." There has to come a time, in every poker players games, where you make a bet, a call, whatever - and end up at a showdown with nothing and still win. In other words, you have to take some risks before you get short stacked, or you will never make it far.
I would also seriously think about improving my short stack game. There is an entire strategy just for being short stacked, and you need to learn it. If you have an
iphone, try the "insta-poker trainer"
App; for a few $$ (2.99?) you can download the "short stack strategies" pack. Or search here, the web, anyplace. Remember, NITs can go far, but it's almost impossible to win waiting on cards that A. might never hit you or B. not hold up once you finally get them.
Playing the NIT style is fine to start, but if you cannot get chips with marginal hands, you are not a good player nor will be. True pros can make a big stack with marginal hands.