Moving from Cash to Tournaments

akaRobbo

akaRobbo

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Total posts
656
Chips
0
Im a 10NL 6 max cash game player. Pretty much break even over 40k hands (small sample I know).

I just began to play tournaments and have cashed in 4/6 of them.

6th/180, 12th/180, 14th/180 in $4.50 and 16th/586 in a $11.

Pretty meaningless sample, but im having immediate success. Ill be playing like 10 hrs a day pretty much everyday for the next few months.

I play completely different in tournaments than I do when I play cash. Very tight early on and then loosen up when the blinds increase. I seem to protect my chips and play much more "seriously" than I do at 10NL. When I loosen up later in the tournaments there seems to be much fewer idiots too, who are calling with garbage pre flop. Which leads me to my point.

In cash games escaping fish and donks is impossible. This can be seen as a good thing, but I really feel like I dont have the patience for cash games anymore. Ill play perfectly and pretty aggressively for ages, making like $10 only for some idiot to call me pre flop with some ridiculous holding and will crush my WR. There is literally no way to read them or get away from them. Late in tournaments, you can usually make decent reads on people and know they aren't just playing bingo, like they are in cash, and will be taking things seriously.

"In the long run you come out on top". Yeah, but it happens so often I really don't know if its worth grinding 10c, its like a bloody minefield.

Im playing only tournaments for the immediate future I think. Would you recommend continuing with the $4.50 180s, and $11 MTTs? Im thinking about having a shot at a $27.50 MTT. What tourneys should I be entering with a $300 BR?k

Have any of you given up on cash games and moved to tourneys?
 
suby_rafael

suby_rafael

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Total posts
1,039
Chips
0
I would recommend playing $4.50 180s and anything lower but nothing above that either a sit n go or mtt. You seem to be doing tremendously well in these sit n go tourneys so just keep grinding them and try to go even deeper so that will help your bankroll make a steep climb. master the art to make the final table in these sit n go's and then it is pretty easy to make the top 3 to take away a good share of the prize pool.

As far as giving up cash games is concerned i find it difficult to not play cash games as it gives me much more freedom to play my game whereas tournaments i feel like my hands are shackled sometimes so no i cannot give up cash games completely but that's just me.
 
O

OGslikrick

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Total posts
60
Chips
0
If I was you I would not go over the $11 games till you build your BR up a little more. I don't know what site you play on (sounds like poker stars) but most sites have satellites to bigger games. It might take a little longer to reach your goals playing satellites but in the long run good BRM will help you get through the variance. Good Luck
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
What MTTs should you play with a $300 BR? It depends, and various factors can have different weights in the decision. For instance, the larger the fields, the more buyins you should have. The more skill advantage you have, the more likely you can get away with fewer BIs.

As for taking shots, I either set a goal to increase my BR by the amount needed to buy in directly (e.g. if I have $300 and want to play a $27.50, I have to build my BR to $327.50 first), or I set a target to increase my BR by $X, which I can then spend on satties (e.g. if I set a $50 target, I can spend $50 on satties after I build my BR from $300 to $350. There are of course other possible ways to take shots. These fit me.
 
H

hffjd2000

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Total posts
2,329
Chips
0
It depends on your BR at this time.

For me, Ill join tournaments where buyins are at least BR/100. Considering this as no reloading or redepositing.

If you can reload, then you can loosen up with buyins of BR/50.

This is just my system and you can make yours, depending on your past experiences.
 
L

luchoq10

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
May 17, 2014
Total posts
72
Chips
0
i think same at hffjd2000 if you have time, play tournaments BR/100, this is the form to will come good player without busted your BR and read all the articles that you can to learn more!
 
JPoling

JPoling

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 13, 2014
Total posts
756
Chips
0
Poker Orifice

Poker Orifice

Fully Tilted
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Total posts
25,599
Awards
6
CA
Chips
968
Ill play perfectly and pretty aggressively for ages, making like $10 only for some idiot to call me pre flop with some ridiculous holding and will crush my WR.

"In the long run you come out on top". Yeah, but it happens so often I really don't know if its worth grinding 10c, its like a bloody minefield.

Wait til' you've played a decent amount of tourneys.


"Have any of you given up on cashgames and moved to tourneys?"


I'm pretty sure you'll find more players doing the opposite of this ^
(tournament play can be grind on the mind)
 
dj11

dj11

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Total posts
23,189
Awards
9
Chips
0
I would suggest finding a regular tourney, one that happens at the same time every day. Call that your 'base' game. Learn it inside and out, and take lots of notes on all the players. Make it comfortably affordable. <<< very important IMHO.

Mine happens to be the morning $2.20 HORSE game at carbon.

Keep BRM in mind when choosing any significant deviation from your base game. After a couple hundred tourneys, you will begin to feel comfortable, and perhaps find that the differences between $5 tourneys and $10 tourneys is not as different as some might suggest. IMO, even the bigger tourneys are not significantly different once you get past the beginning stages of the cheap tourneys.

Every now and then, after a nice win I 'treat' myself to a shot at a tourney above my normal range (BRM wise). Ideally I do that the same day, with the same frame of mind. I know that life can interrupt the 'flow' fairly easy, and something as inane as a comment at dinner can tweak my mood such that poker is disrupted. Never assume you are immune to outside influences.
 
Real Money Poker - Real Money Casinos
Top