I'm on top now what?!?

G

GoSplat678

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Total posts
105
Chips
0
So I would like to hear other peoples strategies to avoid the oh so lovely and inevitable if you don't watch your step....tilt

I tend to get on top early in tournaments and I find myself getting long strings of great starts fantastic hits and the horrible suckouts on the river. 1st hour on top of the world 2nd hour every set you find is cracked by a straight or flush.

How do you play when you are on top?
 
Zvezda kz

Zvezda kz

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Nov 7, 2018
Total posts
1,479
Awards
2
Chips
33
I used to have online poker too. I filled the stack in the tournament in the first hour and lost in the second or third hour. Later, when I began to study poker more deeply, I began to go more and more often to the deeper stages of the tournament. But, unfortunately, at the initial stage of the tournament, he began to lose players with an unusual style of play, when AAs lose 72 different colors. This tactic poker sites to attract new players to give the opportunity to win in the first hour with any card.
 
kraemer

kraemer

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Total posts
871
Chips
0
Maybe you need to change your style of play after the initial phase and fold more often... play less hands but play those more aggressive?
Maybe you need to start to give more respect to opponents bets after an hour because all the donks who happily call against the nuts are already out and once your opponent bets a lot he will have a very strong hand...
 
G

GoSplat678

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Total posts
105
Chips
0
With the statistics you've collected: play only the odd hours:D



lol right! But my example statistics aside. how do you play when you are on top? super tight?just sit out? over aggression?
 
G

GoSplat678

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Total posts
105
Chips
0
Maybe you need to change your style of play after the initial phase and fold more often... play less hands but play those more aggressive?
Maybe you need to start to give more respect to opponents bets after an hour because all the donks who happily call against the nuts are already out and once your opponent bets a lot he will have a very strong hand...



I normally loose when im on top by getting pocket a/k/q/j/10 knocked in the dirt after hitting my set. I can respect bets all I want however I hit my set on the flop 1st to act and played it then turn and river out.
 
Last edited:
G

GoSplat678

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Total posts
105
Chips
0
I used to have online poker too. I filled the stack in the tournament in the first hour and lost in the second or third hour. Later, when I began to study poker more deeply, I began to go more and more often to the deeper stages of the tournament. But, unfortunately, at the initial stage of the tournament, he began to lose players with an unusual style of play, when AAs lose 72 different colors. This tactic poker sites to attract new players to give the opportunity to win in the first hour with any card.



I can usually sit 3-4 hours no problems as long as I don't go out in the first hour to the dreaded 7/2 suited in the BB lol
 
cleder7

cleder7

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Total posts
124
Chips
0
This happens to me sometimes, too.
Having more chips I try to control the game, put pressure on the opponents.
But the roller coaster in tournaments is inevitable, there are times when you go up, where you come down ... the important thing is not to get off the rails.
 
R

rmcneice

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 30, 2018
Total posts
218
Chips
0
When you're up try limiting your stack commitment to 25% of your stack to a hand. So don't shove if the effective max stack size is more than 25% of your stack.

Or when the betting hits that size fold unless you have the nuts and don't see a draw to beat you. Which means with just about any hand fold it and play the 3/4 of your stack you kept later.
 
MAGICUZ

MAGICUZ

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Dec 6, 2018
Total posts
3,097
Awards
2
Chips
53
The odds at the poker table are the same. Your stack should be monitored,
can't be like that all the time that you grew up.The further, the more adequate players remain,there are no roller coasters!Here you need to either be aggressive or lay low,of course, you need more luck

 
N

neptun1914

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 22, 2018
Total posts
1,656
Chips
0
It is very important to adapt your game to the relative stack sizes and stage of the MTT. Playing the same style all the time will not work well.
 
SPANKYSN

SPANKYSN

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Total posts
1,445
Awards
6
Chips
41
Players have a tendency to play fast and loose at the beginning...the thinking may be, " if I'm going to lose, don't waste your time; lose it fast". But once you have accumulated a nice stack, you may be playing too defensive; missing out on good hands because you are too afraid to get knocked out.
 
revizor

revizor

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 28, 2019
Total posts
82
Chips
0
With the statistics you've collected: play only the odd hours:D

You know, I have not tested this theory yet. Specially for the next few days I will try to play the 1st hour normally, and the second will drop everything that cannot be considered a nuts!:D:)
 
MishkaZL

MishkaZL

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Total posts
2,111
Awards
2
UA
Chips
203
At the initial stages of the tournament, I try to be very careful and play only with strong cards. Then, I start to play more aggressively and risk more. Of course, everything depends on the speed of the tournament, but in my opinion it is always better to play cautiously and only with good cards.
 
B

B1BOMBER

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Total posts
1,139
Awards
2
Chips
67
I have been coaching 2 players on 64spades that were going through long cashless streaks. One of them had a 430 game streak with no cashes. Both took my advice and cashed in their next game. However 1 of them went back to his old style and even though I was giving him money(chips) to play with was always broke. I told him my charity was closing because he was not listening. He then cashed in 3 tourneys in 1 day. The advice I gave them was to see the flop with any 2 cards while the blinds are low if they can see for just a big blind. Once they get a big stack slow down and think. Remember with marginal hands to consider position,position, position. Pick the hands you want to play tighten up from your earlier stack building mode. Remember position(or did I say that) and play a narrower range of hands and don't try to force with just a pair for ass soon as the flop comes I try to put at least 1 opponent on 2 pair or trips. If there is a flush or straight possibility on the board in most cases I dump a pair even if its aces. If you use a little common sense and read the board cards well you should do well. Don't think because you have a big stack you can take more chances or you stack may very well leave you!:D:D
 
8bod8

8bod8

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Total posts
1,492
Chips
0
lol right! But my example statistics aside. how do you play when you are on top? super tight?just sit out? over aggression?
When on top: still play carefull, but also avoid being exploited.
Take care not to lose chips, keep track of you odds.
 
N

Nano5722

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Total posts
1,007
Awards
2
Chips
0
I have the same problem. I can start some tournaments really well and for some reason i just can,t control myself and especially my patience. Sometimes i can loose all my chips in a few hands and this is really hard to take that.
Right now, i,m not sure, what to do with this.
Maybe just i need some break in the game.
 
MrPokerVerse

MrPokerVerse

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Total posts
2,825
Awards
2
Chips
57
Have to remember, chips are lot harder to get than to give away. Nice thing about having an above average stack is you can get into a few pots and to use pot odds to call or fold. Sometimes getting away from a hand will be huge benefit in the late stages.
 
VMVarga

VMVarga

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Total posts
217
Chips
0
People get all fixated on what size stack they have at what stage of the game. I have played games where I was short stacked the whole time and made it to the final table and placed in the top five, and I have had games where I built a big stack early and kept it all the way to the final table. The latter is pretty rare; I can think of only a couple times it has happened. I have also played a few games where I enter right before late reg ends, with only 10 bb to play with, and I quickly double up a few times and suddenly I have an average stack and I am in the running to make the FT.

I think it is a bad idea to get fixated on this, a lot like putting too much importance on day to day cashes and measuring your performance based on how much money you are winning or losing from one day to the next. That is not a good idea; it is not a great way to measure skill/ability, and it is a bad way to approach the game, because when the inevitable down swings come, you will go crazy after days, even weeks of not cashing at all. You will start to mess with your own head, and things could just get worse from there.

It is not that easy to put ideas about money and winnings aside when you are playing a game where everyone is trying to win a big piece of that prize pool for themselves, and it might even seem stupid to not worry about how much you are winning or losing in the relative short term. But in reality, there are probably zero pros or big money winning players who gauge their success at the tables by how often or how much they are cashing on a short term basis.

When you get a great early start in a tournament, what you should do is continue to play the same poker you always play when trying to win, so it is basically the same thing you should do when you have a slow start and are short stacked; make as many good decisions as possible, and make the least amount of mistakes as possible. These, along with the perpetual goal of always trying to improve, should be your goals in poker. If you are satisfied with your performance when measuring it by this metric, rather than by the metric of only profit/loss, you will keep having fun playing, even when you are not always winning and profiting, and this is crucial to becoming a good player. If you do not always enjoy yourself and have fun when playing, it is almost impossible to keep improving.
 
Drhat63

Drhat63

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 10, 2016
Total posts
69
Chips
0
98% of your issue, IMHO is table image. Even if you knock out folks with AK, AA or KK in big pots, early, people tend to see you as the type not afraid to get your chips in the middle. Play your game, always, but maybe adjust to a super tight image once you get the substantial chip lead. Let the other folks risk their stacks in odd spots. Sitting back and letting them smash each other, doesn't hurt you, so long as you are not getting involved very often.
 
Douglas Gonzaga

Douglas Gonzaga

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 1, 2016
Total posts
328
Chips
0
It is always good to have chips, and to keep them is even better, so stay focused and do not give them because the main goal is FT.
 
windstaressf

windstaressf

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Total posts
47
Awards
1
Chips
6
I am play whit A/K/Q/J/10
 
NBDG8477

NBDG8477

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Total posts
262
Chips
0
its tricky but more often then not I would be playing 80 percent tight aggressive ,and 20 percent bluffs / 3 bet folds … and also depends on who your opponent is and what type of information you have on them .
 
A

abyk

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 13, 2019
Total posts
135
Chips
0
I like to be more aggressive when I am on top and bully people more than usual. If you have a huge stack, you have the luxury to call more hands, but don't be a fish and still play proper poker.
 
R

RedRifle14

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Feb 17, 2019
Total posts
5
Chips
0
Thats a mistake a lot of players make, you shouldnt change your game because you have a big stack, if anything, you should be even more agressive.
 
Top