I want to be a tournament player..

Dewmz

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But I suck at them..

I do okay at cash games, usually 6 max tables.. but I really prefer tournament poker.

Any tips for me making the switch?

I've played maybe 10 rush $4 SNGs at FT, and made the final table twice.. placing 7th both times.. so I basically broke even there. But that's still 2 of 10 that I've gotten anywhere.

Can't seem to last through the 1-9 table SNGs either. Not sure why. I really want to be decent at tournaments. Can anyone help? :D
 
thunder1276

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i was just thinking the same thing earlier today. since you play 6-handed you would have to tighten up your hand selection at least for the first few seats. you also have to be willing to take alot of risks when the blinds start to get high, you dont want to leave yourself with to few chips to work with.
 
absoluthamm

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Search the site for ICM(Independent Chip Modeling) and learn and understand the concept of Push/Fold strategy. That is going to be what helps you the most in the late middle to endgame of a SnG.
 
MrPokerVerse

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I heard a pro-player (name escapes me) interview a few years back. Most poker winnings are made at the cash tables and as a reward to winning there he plays tournaments. They went on to say that not many profesional players make a living playing tournaments only.

Playing SnG's 10, 6 and 4 person seems to be a good place to start for final table experience. Granted you all start will the same amount of chips. Finishing there high there should be the proving grounds for final tables in tourneys.
 
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tookie21

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Funny, I can't play cash games.

I'd say playing rush poker is your first problem; it isn't actually poker, it's a side show to make more money quicker.
I find tounament poker on FT really varies from game to game. Avoid their new games. It could be just me but all they do is take my money.
I play the 45 player sit-n-go's. They are closest to what I encounter in real life and there isn't an overkill on bad beats. For some reason, on the sit-n-gos with less players, I always end up losing to a long shot miracle draw. And on the sit-n gos with more players I couldn't hit a hand if I was holding half the deck.
Have you tried the tournaments that are six-handed?
Patience is also very important in tournament poker. I spend a lot of time sitting and waiting for the right spot.
 
dwolfg

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Funny, I can't play cash games.

I'd say playing rush poker is your first problem; it isn't actually poker, it's a side show to make more money quicker.
I find tounament poker on FT really varies from game to game. Avoid their new games. It could be just me but all they do is take my money.
I play the 45 player sit-n-go's. They are closest to what I encounter in real life and there isn't an overkill on bad beats. For some reason, on the sit-n-gos with less players, I always end up losing to a long shot miracle draw. And on the sit-n gos with more players I couldn't hit a hand if I was holding half the deck.
Have you tried the tournaments that are six-handed?
Patience is also very important in tournament poker. I spend a lot of time sitting and waiting for the right spot.

So because you have not figured out how to beat a certain game, you disregard its place in poker? That is a little closed-minded and judgmental.
 
dwolfg

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dewmz, since you play 6 max cash tables, action packed tables, I'd suggest starting out on turbo tourneys, as they are closer to your playing style.
 
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All I've been playin lately are 6-9 ring games, but I like MTT'S better, I'm a better tourny player then a ring game player,MTT"S you need more patience, but I like to be aggressive in the beginning build up a good stack play tighter in the middle of the tourny only high percentage hands then play smarter and aggressive in the end.:listen:
 
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tookie21

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As close-minded and judmental as I may be, you do have to admit I'm right. They only created rush poker to make more money faster.
As for beating it, I have no doubt I could. I tried it, I didn't like it, I don't play it.
 
MrPokerVerse

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As close-minded and judmental as I may be, you do have to admit I'm right. They only created rush poker to make more money faster.
As for beating it, I have no doubt I could. I tried it, I didn't like it, I don't play it.

Haven't played it myself but it reminded me of the Matrix tournaments they ran and I hated those.
 
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I tried playing rush poker just 2 or 3 times but it was just for play money didn't feel like wasting money just in case, but I won any hoot but I just didn't care for it !!!
 
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swingro

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i was just thinking the same thing earlier today. since you play 6-handed you would have to tighten up your hand selection at least for the first few seats. you also have to be willing to take alot of risks when the blinds start to get high, you dont want to leave yourself with to few chips to work with.
In a tournament you have to risk less cose if u are out u are out. Of course i do not do that and that is why i play bad often :) But you should do so.
 
Wolfpack43ACC

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For me tournament play is for online poker and cash game play is for live poker. I like that balance so far.
 
jh1spartanfan

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But I suck at them..

I do okay at cash games, usually 6 max tables.. but I really prefer tournament poker.

Any tips for me making the switch?

I've played maybe 10 rush $4 SNGs at FT, and made the final table twice.. placing 7th both times.. so I basically broke even there. But that's still 2 of 10 that I've gotten anywhere.

Can't seem to last through the 1-9 table SNGs either. Not sure why. I really want to be decent at tournaments. Can anyone help? :D

If you really want to be a good tournament poker player, I would say that playing Rush poker isn't good practice. Tournament poker takes a lot of stamina and patience. You can easily go through a strech of an hour with no hands and you have to just sit there and wait. Rush poker if you have a bad hand you just click quick fold and get a new hand. It doesn't help you at all with patience. Also, don't excpect to cash in every tournament you play in. You said 2 of 10 tournaments, youv'e cashed. That is actually decent, because most tournaments pay out the top 10-20%.
 
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You need to fully understand the laws of variance to excel in tournament play. Chris Fergueson, whoever the hell that is, recommends never playing in an event that exceeds two percent of your bankroll. Because a good tourney player will only cash in about 10-15% of events, the two-percent rule is the best advice I have ever heard for bankroll management.

Also, multi-tabling can help a player squish the laws of variance down to bite-size portions. If you play at least four events at a time, the total cost of these events not exceeding more than 5% of your roll, your money will only increase, albeit slowly. Multi-tabling takes every bit of concentration a player has to give, but will quickly sharpen a player's ability to find good spots and minimize losses during hands. The overall gain in awareness is worth the extra effort needed to play at least four tables at once. Then, if you like, you can increase the number of tables you play at the same time( I play eight now), but NEVER exceed your bankroll management requirements. It's the fastest way to improve your play, and the most reliable way to increase your earnings.
 
dwolfg

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As close-minded and judmental as I may be, you do have to admit I'm right. They only created rush poker to make more money faster.
As for beating it, I have no doubt I could. I tried it, I didn't like it, I don't play it.

Yes making more money is the goal of any business, and poker sites are businesses. However, there are action junkies out there that don't want to wait for other people to finish a hand to play again. Also if someone wants to play poker but doesn't have a lot of time, rush poker is perfect for that.
 
qia1989

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However, there are action junkies out there that don't want to wait for other people to finish a hand to play again. Also if someone wants to play poker but doesn't have a lot of time, rush poker is perfect for that.
well,another choose is the super turbo SNG,it is very fast although it is not compare with rush poker which is the fastest poker in the world.
 
qia1989

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sorry for this post,i repeat to post it,the web site speed problem.....
 
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At 10 player tables you have to play tighter!
And you will need more luck to win a tournement even if you play right....
Keep on playing! Learning by doing! :D
 
lektrikguy

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Every time I read this title I can't help but think of Homer Simpson saying, "I'm tired of being a wannabe league bowler...I wannabe a league bowler!!"
 
fletchdad

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Have you done any study on MTT or SnG play? The HOH series or Moshman SnG strategy, among others, are good places to start. And always take time to replay your complete games, whether you won or not, and pay close attention to what you did, where you were when you did it, and so on.
If you have done, or do, this type of thing, maybe you just play to few MTT or STT games?
 
Four Dogs

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But I suck at them..

I do okay at cash games, usually 6 max tables.. but I really prefer tournament poker.

Any tips for me making the switch?

I've played maybe 10 rush $4 SNGs at FT, and made the final table twice.. placing 7th both times.. so I basically broke even there. But that's still 2 of 10 that I've gotten anywhere.

Can't seem to last through the 1-9 table SNGs either. Not sure why. I really want to be decent at tournaments. Can anyone help? :D

Where do I start? I guess you're looking for some very general but helpfull advice.

#1. Experience
There's nothing more valuable than experience. You just have to play a shit load of tourneys, and by a shitload, I mean hundreds if not thousands. But don't attempt to get your time in by playing 5 tables at once, remember, your objective for now is to get a feel for the game, not to maximize your ROI.

#2. Reading
Although they may seem a bit quaint by todays standards, in my opinion there is still no better way for a new tournament player to start their education than by picking up the three Harrington On Hold 'em books. They are chalk full of tournament hand examples which cover in detail many of the situations common in tournament play. He covers everything from tournament structure to short stack play and Heads Up. Granted, I've adopted a much more agressive style of play than the one he advocates but it's a great place to start and there are certainly many ways a cat can be skinned.

#3 Bankroll
Bankroll requirements vary widely depending on how agressive or passive you're style. The more aggressive, the higher the variance will be and thus the higher bankroll will be required. I think I read somewhere that Chris Ferguson suggest that even a 100 buy-ins is too low even for an experienced pro to overcome the erratic and often uncooperative fluctuations of variance, but let's be serious, not many new players have $500 sitting in there account at poker stars. That's ok, just be sure you can afford the $500 over the course of a year just in case. I know I've gone upwards of 40 tournaments without a cash. Which brings me to my final piece of advice...

#4 Never give up! Never surrender!
As I said, it is not uncommon for even the best players to go what might seem like eons without a meaningfull cash (or any cash). It is easy to get discouraged and to get down on onself. There might (will) be times when you're sure you're just not cut out to be a tournament player. When that happens, don't give up. Review your hands, take a break from the game for a while, do what you have to to get your head straight, but don't give up.

'nough said. GL tourney player.:)
 
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