Is it better to play higher or lower buy-in MTT tournaments?

Hello Everyone,
I am new to the forum, but I am really enjoying all the information everyone is providing. I'm also new to online poker in general. I currently only play Carbon, I used to play on bovada but the amount of 4 of a kinds that I saw at one time was making me question their algorithm. In any case I was wondering something.

Due to my bankroll size I can pretty much only play $1 or $2 buy-in MTTs, but I was wondering if it was better to just wait and play higher buy-in tournaments. Reason why I ask is because I feel that the people playing these lower tournaments are just going in with any 2 cards and I end up getting bad beats all the time. Example I had AA and was BB early in the tournament. Someone went all in with a 7-4 offsuit. I call, and they ended up getting trips. Am I just letting those bad beats get to me, or should I move up?

Don't move up unless you can afford to. The bad beats come no matter what level you are playing in and if you play at to higher buyin for your skill level then you will just lose your money quicker.

You want about 100 buyins for mtt's

How long have you been playing or are you a complete beginner ?

100 Buy-ins for small fields (100-1k) players
Up to 300 for 1k+

Variance can be brutal in MTTs - do not under-estimate it.

Hi !

From my experience ... which is probably similar to Yours, in Low Buy-In tournaments at least 50% of players play like they wanna win the lottery as they go AI with almost any 2 cards in early phase. I play on PP and PS and I see that this is happening on most of the poker sites.

I have had many bad beats like Yours with AA against K4os or even 53 ( he got straight ) ... But this might as well happen on higher limits.

The main think I can recommend from my experience playing such a tournaments is that you either play in early phase only premium hands (AA, KK or AK ) or if you feel like you have too much bad luck ..just sit out for first 10-20mins and they the BINGO players should get rid of themselves.

And then you need to keep an eye on such players at your table which likes to play in every second had....and play them with premium hands only.

I do honestly prefer playing against Solid players in Tournaments as I know what to expect of them and if they raise ..i have to respect the strength of their hand...not like some Calling Stations where you have to be ready for anything and everything.

Regarding the move to higher Limit Buy-Ins ...I would recommend the standard 100x Buy In so any bad sections wont get you Bankroll to 0.

Good Luck @TABles !

If you have much BR or can afford to, then why not.
Just remember:
-algorithm to small stake is same to high stake.
-the higher the stake, the tougher the game. Are your skills ready to move up?
-you must have at least 100bb at cash games or at least 100 buyins at tourneys.

Play the $1s and $2s and learn to beat them. Poker involves adjusting according to your opponents. It isn't just a matter of "I play my game". Sure, some people with this attitude move up and do fine, but only until they reach a level where enough opponents are good enough to take advantage of their unwillingness or sub-par ability to adapt.

I tried to move up and played a 3.30 mtt on PS. Man, there were even more bingo players than at a 50c turbo 360 players mtt. Luckily i adjusted well and got rather far (i think i played for about 4 hrs), but at that time my BR was around 35$ and i couldn't afford to play more at 3.30.
Stupid thing i did was not to play the 1$ 180 mtts, in retrospect that would've been better than losing all my money on 50c turbos. But i wanted to beat the game at microstakes and again, in retrospect, that isn't always a good idea. Most of the time the game beats you. Microstakes is bru-tal!

steveiam said:

Don't move up unless you can afford to. The bad beats come no matter what level you are playing in and if you play at to higher buyin for your skill level then you will just lose your money quicker.

You want about 100 buyins for mtt's

How long have you been playing or are you a complete beginner ?

Click to expand...

I have known the rules of the game since I was a kid and would play in casinos a few times a year for the past 10 years. I have been really getting into it over the past few months. Even though I have known how to play and have played for a while, I feel like I have no idea what I am doing online. LOL

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Don't get discouraged by bad beats and continue playing small buyin mtt's. Once you build a decent enough bankroll that you can regularly play higher buyins thats when you move up. I would recommend to build a bankroll of at least 200 buyins of the higher mtt which you want to play and then start grinding them. Until then stick to the low buyin's that you are currently playing. Never be in a hurry to move up. Follow the rules of bankroll management.
Secondly the bad beats with pocket aces which you mentioned, you will have to learn to deal with variance. You will get a frequent number of beats once you put in more volume. The important thing is to manage your tilt and not to lose focus because of such beats.

if you have good numbers and 200 buyins for a higher level maybe try mixing in some games at a higher level to see how it goes

I have played in both larger buy in tournaments and small micro buy in tournaments.
I find there are time bombs and excessive bad players on both sides of the spectrum so to say.
you have to remember that in some of those larger buy ins some folks won the buy in through a satellite or something similar,so you cant rule out excessive bad any two card play.
I myself to answer your question prefer to play the guarantee tournaments they offer usually in the 10/20 dollar range or as my bank roll allocates.
I also usually with play some satellites into the sunday 100k etc.