MTT Tournament help

Hi guys,

I've been with GGpoker for a while now and seem to run deep in almost every tournament I play in.

They are quite low traffic compared to say Stars around 150-300 entries.

The problem I have is that when I get into the money or in recent tournaments final table I'm definitely doing something wrong.

In early stages of tournaments I'm fairly aggressive almost never calling big blind but feeling if my hand is good enough then it's good enough to raise.

I've made final table 4 times out of 10 tournaments either as chip leader or sitting in top 4 or 5.

The problem lies here I end up 7th or 8th and not sure if I should keep the pressure on it pick my spots?

Any mtt help appreciated

Final table means usually the best players. Play only great hands with aggression. Don't overplay your hand preflop.

FT also often means each hand is life or death due to the relative sizes of the blinds and the stacks. You only have so much time left to draw strong hands. You're going to play those strong hands against aggressive, skilled players. You may not survive losing a single draw. The more evenly matched the players the bigger the role luck plays.

When you make the final table you need to be looking an thinking about the other stacks left. I you are the largest stack and there are several very short ones you must make sure the hands you play are smart so you dont get knocked out before the really short stacks.

Congratulations on doing so well in your tournaments. Making the final table 4 out 10 is impressive. You got there, I think, because you used aggression earlier on in the tournament. That is a necessary part of your game if you hope to make it past the middle stages of a tournament. Once you are near or at the final table. though, aggression can be a problem.

Think how many times your aggressive move got the other players to fold and give you chips while you were in the early and mid stages. That result is more difficult to obtain at the end. If you raise of re-raise a small stack they will more likely shove on you instead of folding because they are already in the money. You probably already had this happen to you leaving you short on chips at the wrong time. If you have a hand that you think is worth raising just don't do it unless you have position and, you are targeting a middle stack. Players with mid-range stacks know they have a chance to level up if they hang till the short stacks exit. These are the players you can use aggression on. Basically, at a final table you are playing the players, not your cards.

ICM! ICM! ICM!

How much do you know about this?

It factors most prominently during bubbles and at the final table.

The good thing is you are generally doing well and know exactly where you are falling down. You're not losing with no idea when or why...

Spend some time specifically studying MTT late game, final table play and ICM.

I'd happily wager that if you spend a couple of weeks studying these and put into practice what you learn, you will start turning those FT's into 1st & 2nd place finishes.

Now if you'd just like to sign this contract entitling me to 10% of any and all future winnings.... :deal: