Stupid MTT tricks; running down the timer.

I notice that sometimes people who are playing XX number of cash tables decide to play a MTT as well. Then you have to wait as their timer runs down each and every frigging hand because they are playing upteen tables at once. Some just actually think this is a good strategy and play the entire game like this. Every single hand, they wait until the last minute. They are constantly being placed on auto-sit-out.

This is just horribly BAD strategy in any MTT!!!

I only wish more people were smart enough to realize it! The reason this is a really bad strategy is that it dramatically lowers the number of hands played per hour for that entire table; yet the blinds keep right on increasing right on time. I cannot believe some do not realize this, but there it is; many do not.

So, you might end up table captain, far exceeding the other players chip stacks, until you get moved to another table; then you find out you are one of the short stacks at the new table, if not THE short stack there! Now, I realize that when you are close to the money and know you are so short stacked that you can only make it into the money if you can outlast the bubble, that this is going to happen. I can deal with that. No problem. But constantly running it down, either because you are multi tabling or think somehow it is a good strategy is just silly as well as rude.

I also see players with a huge stack start to do this in order to screw the short stacks. That is, IMHO, a cowards way of winning in addition to bad strategy. And it still keeps that big stack from getting any bigger in proportion to the increasing blinds! Then they get moved to another table and suddenly realize they need to start playing at a higher rate of hands per hour to catch back up. I really LMAO when it fails after they end up risking more than they would have had to, if they had simply played right in the first place and get nailed and railed. Serves them right. Where I come from this is called "shooting yourself in the foot".

I also know in the end it is their time to do with what they want. Yet it is a proven loser as an overall game strategy and really screws the other players at the table. I just wish they would wake up, realize what they are doing to their own game and everyone elses and either sit out or just not play if they cannot give proper attention to the game at hand.

I agree, in a tourney you want to see as many hands a possible to be able to have a large stack deep into a field...

Yea this is stupidly frustrating. I would say about 90% of the time it is because they are multi-tabling a large number of tournies, but that other 10% it's to "prevent online reads" or something...such a joke. Just play your cards, auto fold when you're not gonna play, and take a bit of time if it is a tough decision.

Check out the TOS of the particular poker room where you are playing. Many of them include a clause to the effect that unnecessarily delaying or disrupting play is not allowed, in which case you can legitimately complain about the player.

Egon Towst said:

Check out the TOS of the particular poker room where you are playing. Many of them include a clause to the effect that unnecessarily delaying or disrupting play is not allowed, in which case you can legitimately complain about the player.

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Good idea. I seem to recall hearing about a site where if you get sat out twice in a row after running it down, that's it, you are out of the game.

God, it must be nice.

when i'm low stack and close to the bubble, i tend to do this. it usually work.

R3DRANG3R said:

when i'm low stack and close to the bubble, i tend to do this. it usually work.

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well everyone does, sometimes it work but when to many people use the same strategy on the table it is just pointless, antes and blinds go crazy high and when is you time to have position you just went from 5BB to 2BB... I play some daily freeroll on one lokal poker room where first 13 pl are payed and the field is about 300 to 400 when game comes to last 20 it took at least an hour to the bubble, really annoting

Michael Paler said:

Good idea. I seem to recall hearing about a site where if you get sat out twice in a row after running it down, that's it, you are out of the game.

God, it must be nice.

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It is actually if you are sitting out the first few orbits you will be removed from the game (I think UltimateBet used to do this & some others on microgaming network (ie. 'PokerTime').

We are talking about 'freerolls' here though .... right?

i think ive only done it once on bovada i rarely think a long time before making a move haha

It was Ultimate Bet PO, used to get kicked out of freerolls at third level.

Poker Orifice said:

It is actually if you are sitting out the first few orbits you will be removed from the game (I think UltimateBet used to do this & some others on microgaming network (ie. 'PokerTime').

We are talking about 'freerolls' here though .... right?

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Good question. Maybe it's only freerolls they do this? I have noticed that I do not see it much in games I pay to get into. By the time I am in a $5.00-11.00 game or higher, I almost never see it (not constantly running down the timer every hand).

I see it a lot in freerolls too, particularly when somebody loses a huge pot that essentially leaves him as dead money. It's almost guaranteed this loser will now take max time on every hand and probably will be cussing up a storm to boot. Oftentimes whoever he's fighting with will start doing the same thing and it screws everyone else at the table.

Another thing I find annoying is when a sit-out gets transferred in and you have to wait for their time to run out all over again.

You know, I had a great time and won 10.50 in the $500.00 CC lock saturday freeroll.

Then I made a big mistake; I decided to play two games on Lock. One was a 140 man turbo MTT and another was a 9 man SNG.

Both games had morons running down the timer. The 9 man was not too bad, it had 10 minute blinds. I went out on the bubble to a clever fellow with 22 to my AK. Nice, right? One odd thing was that the chat was turned off for the whole table, only in this game. Makes me wonder why.

The other game was just about as stupid as you could get.

Easily half the table was running down the timer each and every hand. By the time it got to 80 people, my table was in horrible shape. No one had more than 17 BB's left. 80 players left, mind you, 2-3 hands per level max. I actually had a decent stack, but it did not last long. How could it when you have 4 people constantly being sat out only to reseat themselves next hand and do it again? No way were they all having connection problems.

So I got to watch as my BB count effectively got a big chunk sliced out of it every few hands. Guys were getting desperate and had to shove. Bad enough you have to open your range in a turbo. With these idiots you were almost forced to play any two cards in the hope you could keep your stack ahead of their little strategy.

I will not make that mistake again. I will never play another turbo on Lock. I might as well use the money for toilet paper.

Yeah I hate it when people run down the clock over and over, it's just annoying.

I remember several years ago when one of the pros said to do this every time to prevent reads. EVERYONE was doing it. Over time, those who were smart realized it cost too many hands in MTT play.

I can't stand it at Bovada I will only play turbos. I find myself running into this too much and with a 30 second timer...i just can't deal

I don't understand how this is happening, if I am multitabling cash with tourney on the side I play the fastest in the whole tournament since tables keep popping up and I can't wait around on any table.

Only if I am really well playced in the tournament then I start shutting down cash tables to focus on the tourney more and then I can do the whole timing thing if I want to.

i usually play 6 to 8 tables.. so i don't even notice... but if you're playing just 1 table and someone is doing that, is aweful, i agree...maybe you should try more tables? it could be good for you

This is one of my biggest gripes, it kills me seeing one round of cards before an increase....It is such bad strategy to see a minimal amount of hands an hour.

hey all,
thanks for listing the benefits to winding down the clock.
will try to keep them in mind.
sounds like a potentially useful strategy in the right circumstances.
best,
donvic

hobonc said:

I remember several years ago when one of the pros said to do this every time to prevent reads. EVERYONE was doing it. Over time, those who were smart realized it cost too many hands in MTT play.

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This would not be the first time a "pro" gave out seriously bad advice, eh? lol. I also notice (keep in mind, It could just be coincidence), that sometimes a person will make a certain play with a certain hand, and some who see it on T.V. take it out of context and then always play it, with vigor!

For example, a recent WPT game saw a player at the final table make a huge preflop all-in call with J-2 off (?!?), putting a big % of his stack at risk. Everyone thought it was a horrible call. I have to agree! He then spiked a deuce on the river and won. The other guy had an ace and he was looking at a 4-handed table when he shoved preflop. Now, just wait; I would not be at all surprised to see some, who maybe believe in luck over skill, who calls someones all in with a J-2 off every time they hold it. For their game life, no less!

A while back, I noticed a lot of players opening UTG with a Q-7 off, for a 4x (or more!) opener! Maybe it was after seeing (I think it was Esfandiari) do it once, and solely based on the situation he had at the time? It worked for him that one time and he won a huge pot with the garbage hand UTG. I think he even said how lucky he was, as he was trying to steel and certainly not looking to get a call.

That (Q-7 off) finally proved to be an overall loser. But for a while, I was seeing Q-7 left and right, UTG and everyplace else, IP and OOP; some would overcall with it. Q-7 off, lol. They would spike a Q and lose to a bigger Q or stubbornly refuse to let it go, with overcards others had clearly paired on the board, and lose. They would chase a st8 and lose to a better st8. They would also play it suited, losing to a higher flush. So, It was not until they woke up and realized it was a loser in the long term that they gave it up and I no longer see it near as much.

Sigh. I think Esfandiari could have told them that was not a good idea to play Q-7 off everywhere, based on just one specific success. Yet some still would not have listened.

So, watch out for J-2 calls when you are all in, lol.

But those J-2 callers and Q-7 off who give us their chips so we could ship the tourney hehe

stevenright said:

But those J-2 callers and Q-7 off who give us their chips so we could ship the tourney hehe

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My own self admitted hypocrisy; I love it when they play J-2 or Q-7 and I beat them and afterwards hope they always play it. Then, after I lose to J-2 or Q-7, I wish they would never ever play those hands again.

LOL, typical, huh?