Is it ever a good strategy in online MTTs to sit out for a while?

teepack

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I did this in an online MTT (rebuy) recently. I got on a good roll early and had a sizeable chip stack that was well above the chip average (I had around 42,000 chips when the chip average was around 6,000 with a starting stack of 1,500). I won a pair of 5-way all-ins (low stakes rebuys are crazy in the first few minutes) and within the first 10 minutes and almost immediatelyk had 20,000 chips. About 20 minutes later, a guy with a larger stack than me went all-in preflop with A-8 when I had AA in the BB and I doubled up to more than 43,000 chips. After that, I sat out for more than 45 minutes, until we got through the rebuy/add-in period. I decided I just wasn't going to risk that big stack any more with idiots going all-in at the drop of a hat. The levels had not gotten to the point where we were paying antes on every hand, and so I only lost about 2,000 chips during this time. When I started playing again, I still had more than 40,000 chips while the chip average was up to about 24,000, and there were less than 100 players left. I eventually made it to the final table and wound up 4th.
 
crusinnn

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I did this in an online MTT (rebuy) recently. I got on a good roll early and had a sizeable chip stack that was well above the chip average (I had around 42,000 chips when the chip average was around 6,000 with a starting stack of 1,500). I won a pair of 5-way all-ins (low stakes rebuys are crazy in the first few minutes) and within the first 10 minutes and almost immediatelyk had 20,000 chips. About 20 minutes later, a guy with a larger stack than me went all-in preflop with A-8 when I had AA in the BB and I doubled up to more than 43,000 chips. After that, I sat out for more than 45 minutes, until we got through the rebuy/add-in period. I decided I just wasn't going to risk that big stack any more with idiots going all-in at the drop of a hat. The levels had not gotten to the point where we were paying antes on every hand, and so I only lost about 2,000 chips during this time. When I started playing again, I still had more than 40,000 chips while the chip average was up to about 24,000, and there were less than 100 players left. I eventually made it to the final table and wound up 4th.

Congrats . Obviously sitting out worked for you. IMO I would never ever sit out in a tourney , I would rather play tight than sit out. It's never a time in a tourney that I say I have enough chips. When i build stacks it makes me more aggressive . I have the major advantage here, why would I want to sit out. I just take advantage of the small stacks and keep building . You can't be scared and nervous when playing poker. Just think about it, what if you didn't sit out and you could have build/double your stack size giving you the better advantage at the final table, and probaly taking first place. Good luck
 
NCDaddy

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If I had a stack like that I'm playing it all the way through and not sitting out.

I do sit out if I feel tiltish or my wife is yelling at me for something....
 
Arjonius

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It seems questionable to give up chips intentionally in a tournament where continuing to play appears to be +EV.
 
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How about if you check previous hands and are dealt with so many monster hands. And in those times, many are all in and should have won 3 or more monster pots.
I believe sitting out = missing opportunities.
 
EvertonGirl

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I try to never sit out but sometimes we cannot help it.

When I am sitting out because of stars disconnecting me or any other site I am always wondering what cards I am getting and it frustrates the hell out of me that i can't see what is happening.

So no I don't use the sit out mode unless I really need to do so and the only time I do sit out is if I urgently need the loo, if I am hungry then I will just wait for the break or if a hand is playing out very slowly then I will go and get something to eat, but I never sit out :)
 
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Is it ever a good strategy to sit out


No.
Although it might be a good idea during the rebuy period (while in a rebuy tournament), to avoid big confrontations if you've already built up a big stack.

I don't like to sitout ever.... this is where the Gatorade bottle can be ideal!
 
the lab man

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Is it ever a good strategy to sit out


No.
Although it might be a good idea during the rebuy period (while in a rebuy tournament), to avoid big confrontations if you've already built up a big stack.

I don't like to sitout ever.... this is where the Gatorade bottle can be ideal!
Prefer the large Cranberry bottle myself :D
 
Diogo Jorge

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It is a akward ask :S I've never heard that question but i dont think it helps in your game. Like someone said there arent enough number of chips when you want to win.
 
suby_rafael

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Considering the situation you were in it was an excellent strategy. I feel it can tackle variance to an extent and thats what you did. If you had continued paying normally the variance might have fluctuated your stack and you might have lost chips. So congratulations on the result and i personally think it was a good idea. Even i will try this in near future.
 
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its not a gd idea to walk away if theres no reason you might have missed a great opportunity.now, maybe pretend to sit out while watching hands then sit in right when u see that opportunity sounds more logical to me maybe not for everyone.however this time cards went well u did gd and placed .cant really say it was a bad idea at the time;)
 
IntenseHeat

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I'm personally never going to sit out at any point in a tournament by choice. I'm always looking for opportunities to add to my chip stack. From that point of view, I can't see any good arguments for sitting out.

Then again, I've seen people play horribly bad and get incredibly lucky, and thinking that there is no way that this guy is going to make the money. Then as the bubble approaches they sit out, and I find myself thinking that is the only way they can hold on to their chips long enough to make the money. So in the case of someone who can't help but play horrible, sitting out might be an option. Although playing tight and making good decisions would probably be the option I'd choose.
 
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It is okay, but don't do it for so long that your chips get dwindled down. Pre ante, there is some reason to sit out as not many players would bust especially if you are deep stacked in a tournament. It's better just to do something else and revert to playing ABC Poker with that beep noise when you are to act and keep quiet at the table. After all, if you fold 20 hands, that is twenty chances of picking up a premium gone to waste and your blinds and antes. But you know, if you have 1.25 big blinds on the absolute bubble and you are UTG+1, then sitting out is fine. After all, there is a great chance someone will bust in three/four hands. But there are some good comeback stories being micro stacked (like Greg Merson).
 
T0mmmi

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I did this in an online MTT (rebuy) recently. I got on a good roll early and had a sizeable chip stack that was well above the chip average (I had around 42,000 chips when the chip average was around 6,000 with a starting stack of 1,500). I won a pair of 5-way all-ins (low stakes rebuys are crazy in the first few minutes) and within the first 10 minutes and almost immediatelyk had 20,000 chips. About 20 minutes later, a guy with a larger stack than me went all-in preflop with A-8 when I had AA in the BB and I doubled up to more than 43,000 chips. After that, I sat out for more than 45 minutes, until we got through the rebuy/add-in period. I decided I just wasn't going to risk that big stack any more with idiots going all-in at the drop of a hat. The levels had not gotten to the point where we were paying antes on every hand, and so I only lost about 2,000 chips during this time. When I started playing again, I still had more than 40,000 chips while the chip average was up to about 24,000, and there were less than 100 players left. I eventually made it to the final table and wound up 4th.

Hi !

I see that you got pretty lucky with dealt cards at the beginning of the tournament :) .... and you nicely used that for your advantage !

After having good hands and some very loose AI calls I do believe that it was quite a good idea to sit out until all the BINGO players took them-self out.

But i still wonder what would you have done or how would you play it if you did not triple at the beginning ?

Do you always at the MTTs play quite loose and call AIs of loose Bingo players ? How is you ITM %/played MTTs?

If that is some really positive number ....I guess that might be interesting strategy to try....as I prefer playing tight at beginning phase of MTTs.


Good luck @TAbles
 
10058765

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I can see 1 reason why I would want to sit out on purpose for a while....TILT.
This might be positive tilt or negative tilt, but if I feel I cannot control myself I might sit out for a while to cool down a bit.

Just because of having a big stack I would def not sit out.
 
steveiam

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You wasted a good opportunity to win the whole thing. When your running good you have to take the max value.
 
horizon12

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This bad sit out, you're missing profitable decision , does not make money, it's better to just wait a good cards,,
 
eidikos

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no its not,you are missing opportunities
 
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Count me among the people opposed to intentionally sitting out. I'd feel like I was missing an opportunity to add to my stack. By sitting out, you are guaranteeing that your stack will dwindle. You are not required to take on the kamikaze players, even as the table captain.

With a small amount of discipline, you can play tight to protect your stack, and still take advantage of premium hands that come your way.
 
Vhyre

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I just sit at that point and watch for monsters, play my blinds and ride the good fortune.
 
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dont sit out ! you can play only premium hands...
 
B

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This sounds like a good idea, but I would more likely only play premium hands and bully
Next time this happens I am going to try your strategy and just see how it works out
-It always feels good to take a break in a tournament knowing that you are dominating the field :)
 
SyKoChiller

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I wouldn't sit out unless I was tilting or just needed an unscheduled break. Otherwise its a bad idea, although I see a lot of people do it but I don't know their reasoning.

Your reason was a bad move IMO even though you placed 4th. Having a huge chip lead is a time to use your stack to bully & pick off the weaker players.
 
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I don't get why you made that really bad decision.

How much value did you miss out by doing this? Yes, you finished 4th but you had every opportunity to finish 1st.

Please, don't do that again.

Shocking.
 
wanderingthehall

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I understand why you decided to sit out, but I would rather just tighten my game way up. I would even understand going as far as only playing AA, but I wouldn't want to miss a strong opportunity like that to build my stack even more. Eventually if you're going to win the tournament, you have to win all the chips, might as well not let opportunity pass you by.
 
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