Placing Very Consistently, Not Winning

[KathyT]

Hi. I'm playing online poker, and I bet odds pretty consistently and I play conservatively (no big raises, playing only good hands.) Mostly, I place 4th in 18 person tournaments, rarely higher or lower. I seem to arrive at the end with far fewer chips than 1,2,3 players. How can I adjust my play to arrive at the end with more chips? Play more hands? Bet higher? Thanks!

 

[terryk]

Hi Kathy! :wavey: First,Welcome to Cardschat! I think it would serve you better to post some individual hands to be looked at by more experienced members,:damnmate:who are more than willing to help,i`m sure. Stay active Kathy! Cheers! :tee:

 

[terryk]

You can post them in this thread- https://www.cardschat.com/forum/tournament-hand-analysis-51/

 

[This Fish Chums]

If you're placing very consistently, then congrats. That's impressive on its own. If your problem is not enough chips, I would suggest going with larger bets on hands you are sure you've won in order to give you a larger stack size towards the end of the tourny. I don't think playing more hands would be beneficial because you're clearly playing winning hands and you don't want to open up into a brick wall of losing hands. So i'd say try betting larger. You can gradually increase it to get more comfortable and to retain your 4th place finishes while you experiment.

And welcome to Cardschat!

 

[lovemiscou]

Welcome to CC Kathy, You must be playing tight, do you play positional poker? take advantage of the button and steal blinds in later part of tourny when blinds are high. If you are perceived to be a tight player, some time from early position play suited connectors with a normal raise, it might go threw and if not you might connect with the flop and make lots of cash, but be careful if you don't connect, just get rid of the hand.

 

[karl coakley]

If you can constantly place I think you need to start making small changes to see what works. The worst thing you could do is make big changes. Start incorporating small changes 1 at a time to see what works best with your style. \

 

[Amanda A]

Congrats on constantly placing! The people with the big stacks are probably those who play the big pots and take on more risk. They may call 2 or 3 all ins with less than premium hands, but hey if they win they have a big stack. They may not place as much as you, but I would bet that they risk more for more reward.

 

[gabpoker]

I am going through this same thing and I am learning that to win you need to take the +ev spots that you find and they may end up knocking you out of the tournament but when you win you significantly improve your chances of winning. Since most of the money is in the top few places winning can more than make up for the missed cashes. Also having a bankroll that supports playing many tournaments (100+) without cashing helps with this mindset.