Using the clock in MTT...

I am curious about how some of you feel about using the clock in MTT's?

If I am short stack - AND just cashing is for some reason important to me - I am using the clock when we near bubble.

The obvious question you will ask why would just cashing be "significant"? There are a fair number of situations when it is. Ie. a special freeroll where itm is say $25+, if I entered a game - out of some impulse - and the game is actually above my range - sanity now says - at least try to recover what you can...
Also in some MTT's the prize just really grows very fast - it might make a significant difference to reach the next pay level.

Obviously - one is giving himself fewer opportunities to get some real hands!

Looking forward to hear some opinions - however please keep in mind I am fairly new and please do not chop my head off :ridinghor

BRM
BRM
BRM

All the money that makes mtt's worth playing are at the top.

If I have like 0.5BB left I might time down or if I satty into the sunday millions and I'm on the bubble I might be willing to sacrifice some equity by timing down to secure a pay out that isn't insignificant.

Using the clock is some thing i didnt do because of the jeers of other players, "your wasting time, we could be playing more hand" etc. Then i started bubbling tournaments too often and losing the buy in when i could have broke even and had another buy in plus a little.
It was explaned to me that the time im allowed is mine and and i can use it any way i wanted. It seemed that cashing or not cashing is worth using it to my advantage.
One thing i do do when using the clock this way is watch the other tables and fold when they are waiting for my table to finish, theres no reason to waste
every ones time and my time bank when they are waiting on me.
Also if you do break the bubble and cash, there are now plenty of opportunitys to double and move up the pay scale.

I use the clock when I'm in a position to force an upcoming blind increase on someone who's about to be in the BB and short-stacked, pressuring him more if someone raises.

Take advantage of the tight bubble play instead of playing like the villains you should be stealing from.

JOEBOB69 said:

Take advantage of the tight bubble play instead of playing like the villains you should be stealing from.

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Joe tell em again!

i suppose i should have mentioned that i dont do this as often as i used to because im not in situations that call for this strategy very much anymore... very much a beginner response.

I use to use the clock with slow blinds in the ss situation, but now that we have to play merge and cake, their blind structure is so aggressive it doesn't seem to make sense. If you're ss near the bubble, chances are one more blind level will kill you, might as well see as many potential shoves as you can.

for the most part we want more hands per level than our opponents because we're better than them. For sure there are spots where me might want to milk it.

I sometimes believe in clocking if on the bubble but not if there 3 or four left before the bubble. Now most sites when it comes to the bubble go to hand for hand play so really doesn't make since to clock there. There are very few times it's advantages to clock.

elwood said:

i suppose i should have mentioned that i dont do this as often as i used to because im not in situations that call for this strategy very much anymore... very much a beginner response.

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I'm impressed, took me well over an hour to move from beginner to whatever the next level is, don't remember cause I've been playin online poker for several hours now, so am pro.
By the way, since you are new here, I'm just kidding.

gl, see you at the tables.

i can understand a bit of time wasting if i have just been crippled and i am on 2-3 bbs on the bubble, in those situations, your better off waiting a couple of minutes to min cash then shoving

but in any other situation, i am folding as fast as possible, to get as many hands in as i can so i can play aggressive and steal chips from the other people hanging on for the money (and in the micro's thats most people!) soooo much money to be made in that period of the game

ahahhaa i hate players that use clock if they short stacked and u near prizes...But i have to admit it that i also did that few times, even used time bank if i rlly need that even small prize, because if u are out of cash, small reward is very helpfull...

the goal justifies the means. ;D

"it depends"
If I figure to not have FE on a stack of say 3-8bb's'ish' I may time down a bit if I feel there's any advantage to it (ie. doing this just before blinds go up to next level, & moving up to next level puts other players in a bad spot(s), making it more likely for me to cash).
Yesterday in my last two tourneys left, I was sitting in 119th/122 & 28th/30 (ITM at 118 & 27... but then I discovered it was bubble at 108, lol). I was extremely short where shipping it & doubling up (no FE) probably wasn't improving my tourney equity by much if at all (also cashing was ~ 2x buyin).
Ended up in 35th & 3rd. (< not a typical outcome obviously).

Clocking

I will use the clock to my advantage any time I see a clear goal for doing so.i.e raising the blinds on a SS who is in front of me.Most of the time i only "clock" when i have built a big stack early on I like to let as many people bust on every rotation as possible at the same time I dont ever take more than half my time as a general courtesy to the other players.(unless I really do have a hard choice)

Often I see clocking used to irritate the other players at the table... especially when it is a site that does hand for hand... so no advantage to clocking. It is just another part of the psychology of poker. Close to the bubble or next pay level it is still a crapshoot if clocking will get one into the $$

if there's like 5 people to go in a big field before the money, and you've got 4bb or something, nothing wrong with using the clock given you'll cash within a couple of hands rather than it taking an orbit and cashing is going to be a big boost to your hourly

witchywitchy said:

Often I see clocking used to irritate the other players at the table... especially when it is a site that does hand for hand... so no advantage to clocking. It is just another part of the psychology of poker. Close to the bubble or next pay level it is still a crapshoot if clocking will get one into the $$

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that i hate.

but imo its alright using the clock when close to cash even if it can be annoying if you are not the short stack other way around others obv found it annoying as well if you are the short stack doing it, guess most did it some time themself anyway xD


15th April 2012 2:01 AM Foxhound3857 I use the clock when I'm in a position to force an upcoming blind increase on someone who's about to be in the BB and short-stacked, pressuring him more if someone raises.

lol you are evil

I think it's all fair to use one's time bank in any way a player pleases, I never blamed anyone for doing so. If for someone is the mincash so significant that he choses this way, I won't say anything. It happens often when one qualifies or gets a token into a good tournament above his usual buyin rainge.

Surely the most experienced tournament players are always striving for tournament wins and top positions and don't want to lose time stalling for mincash, but it's player's own choice.

This is what I do: I wake up with a huge hand near the bubble, end up calling a players all-in who I have out-chipped but losing to him would basically cripple me and leave me in last position in the tourney but with enough chips to clock into the bubble so I clock every hand until I make the bubble.

Actually did this recently and the only time I use the clock other than when having to make a tough decision

I hate when players do time for $6 or less. Is really bad for those players who really wants win the tourney, because every minute is 1 hand less or maybe more...perhaps in other tables somebody is taking advantage at the moment playing more hands.... so I really hate those rats doing time for miserable money...I put all of them All In when the blind comes.

xtrigemino said:

I hate when players do time for $6 or less. Is really bad for those players who really wants win the tourney, because every minute is 1 hand less or maybe more...perhaps in other tables somebody is taking advantage at the moment playing more hands.... so I really hate those rats doing time for miserable money...I put all of them All In when the blind comes.

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You da man!
Question: Why "$6 or less"? Why not say $10 or $18?
Last time I played a tournament it was hand-for-hand play on the bubble. Yah the players stalling would make the blinds increase but I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any hands because of it