A Recurring Pattern

[CDNMAN 42]

I have noticed that over the past month or so I am experiencing a disturbing pattern in my play and results. Almost without fail I start tournaments with good hands and good results usually getting into the top 50% or better very quickly, in a lot of instances before the second or third blind change I am in the top 5, then I guess my play tightens up and for quite some time I mostly fold and when the Money bubble gets close I will start getting good hands again and of course start losing, invariably I am knocked out prior to the money. This is becoming a regular thing to the point that I think after I get high in the standings I should just sit out? Any advice on a better strategy?

 

[Sopt]

I kind of know the feeling as this was happening to me a lot (still is sometimes). The short answer is, you most likely play way too tight.
By that I don't mean that you should start calling all small stack all-ins with random hands. It's just means you might want to get involved into the pot with hands you usually wouldn't.
Let me give an example of how I used to play and you can compare yours to mine. I got a really good stack in early stages (top 10s by chips), by getting insanely good hands and those hands holding. Then I just continued playing tight, as this is/was kind of my style. I've been folding hands like A10, KJ in early and mid positions and to 3 bets of my opponents, because it felt like it's not worth going into the pot and risking my chips on wild goose chases.
So by being extremely tight, while I should be bullying smaller stacks a bit, blind slowly chipped at my stack, where I got into position that I'm left with like 20BB and I started feeling I need to play some hands. 2 bad beats away and I'm out before money.
Lately I've swapped my play a bit. If I manage to get a bigger stack at start, I will loose up a bit and start playing some of speculating hands. I had no problem playing J10s and such from early position. If I start losing too much of my stack, I just tight up a bit again.
With this strategy I do loose early sometimes, but most of the times when I get in the money, I'll get there with healthy stack and I can make a push for final table.
I'm still pretty weak at playing bully at the table sadly. Might need to learn that hehe.

Hopefully you find some of this wall of text useful, so it can help you with your play.

A final thought: We don't play to get in the money. We play to win it all.

 

[CDNMAN 42]

Thanks for the reply and yes I am going to start loosening up while I still have chips to play with

 

[fundiver199]

Obviously there should not be any pattern in, when you get "good hands". But you might be playing to tight, when the tournament enters the stage, where stacks begin to get short. Which in pokerstars SnGs are more or less from around the 4. blind level. At this point blinds go up to 80/40, and a starting stack of 1.500 is then less than 20BB. At this stage of the tournament are you ever rejamming light with hands like QJs or A5s? Or are you sitting and waiting for premium hands like AK or a big pair? If the latter is the case, you will tend to blind away. Maybe start by rewatching the sections in the CC 30-day course about preflop push-fold play.

 

[dannystanks]

Sounds like you should stick with your offensive style like you have early on. There it seems like you play without fear. You’re playing to win! But as the tournament goes on you start playing more defensively and playing not to loose. Loosen up, it’s only a card game. Sometimes by trying to play too perfectly we play too tight. Good luck!

 

[Kurchina]

Do you check the rank obsessively? If yes, try to stop. That helped me.

 

[mattiebumpo]

I think this is a common pattern. It's tough to try to play to win when you are afraid of losing your chips. I agree that checking the rank is probably not helpful. Just keep playing solidly with an emphasis on position and hand ranges.

 

[raskopain]

I kind of know the feeling as this was happening to me a lot (still is sometimes). The short answer is, you most likely play way too tight.
By that I don't mean that you should start calling all small stack all-ins with random hands. It's just means you might want to get involved into the pot with hands you usually wouldn't.
Let me give an example of how I used to play and you can compare yours to mine. I got a really good stack in early stages (top 10s by chips), by getting insanely good hands and those hands holding. Then I just continued playing tight, as this is/was kind of my style. I've been folding hands like A10, KJ in early and mid positions and to 3 bets of my opponents, because it felt like it's not worth going into the pot and risking my chips on wild goose chases.
So by being extremely tight, while I should be bullying smaller stacks a bit, blind slowly chipped at my stack, where I got into position that I'm left with like 20BB and I started feeling I need to play some hands. 2 bad beats away and I'm out before money.
Lately I've swapped my play a bit. If I manage to get a bigger stack at start, I will loose up a bit and start playing some of speculating hands. I had no problem playing J10s and such from early position. If I start losing too much of my stack, I just tight up a bit again.
With this strategy I do loose early sometimes, but most of the times when I get in the money, I'll get there with healthy stack and I can make a push for final table.
I'm still pretty weak at playing bully at the table sadly. Might need to learn that hehe.

Hopefully you find some of this wall of text useful, so it can help you with your play.

A final thought: We don't play to get in the money. We play to win it all.

This is an excellent response to the query.

I think the great players are the ones that somehow manage to take a good early stack and balance when to see a flop with non premium hands or press ahead when they might get "there."

When to chase and when to fold when you have a good stack is the question in many instances.

As you said, the goal is to win.

 

[takinitSLEAZEE]

Do you check the rank obsessively? If yes, try to stop. That helped me.

I agree w/this statement. I quit doing that a long time ago and then the sites started adding it to their hud, lol. But this actually did help me focus on the hand and players at my table even more.

 

[Luvepoker]

You should really do a good review of you last 20+ tournaments this happened. During the times you're folding a lot, write down what decent hand your folding. If you start seeing decent quality hands you know your just over tighten up.

When I have reviewed during some odd downturns, I have found some very odd things at times. One time I was playing what i thought was awful play. I actually did not have AK, AQ and Aj, and AA-TT over a 475-hand run. Worse still, I ended at just over 1K hands and had pocket KK and QQ I time. I was just so card dead and did not realize how much of it was just the cards over a decent run. Another time I thought I had played really well but was unlucky. Nope, I was making dumb errors.

 

[puzzlefish]

Obviously there should not be any pattern in, when you get "good hands".

I think what OP is trying to say is that there's a pattern in the way that he plays in those tournaments where he gets an early chip lead. Which may coincidentally be most of the tournaments that he is playing in the past month, perhaps due to getting lucky with the board early on.

As for good hands losing close to the bubble, with small stacks shoving with these losing good hands, that's a whole different story.

 

[puzzlefish]

Thanks for the reply and yes I am going to start loosening up while I still have chips to play with

Just have a good idea of what "good" loosening looks like. i.e. you still prefer suited hands over unsuited and use your position and stack size to your advantage.

 

[Igor Popadyk]

I think that it's just selective memory that works, or the variance bends, but anyway, to be sure, try to play tighter after the flop