I have taken a few shots in higher buyins. I find myself making dumb mistakes that I don't normally make. Any advice on how to trust your abilities and to view it just as another MTT. I have good results at the 1.50 to 4.00 MTTs range. What level should I be buyin at if I was to take more shots?

you should be taking shots at the next buy-in level after the $4 games. or possibly taking shots within the same buy-in range, but against bigger, stronger fields.

if your decision making is affected because you're playing a larger buy-in, then you're likely not ready to play said buy-in. i would suggest sticking with the highest buy-in level you're comfortable with where you can play optimally.

it's better to play $2-$3 mtts to the best of your ability and do well than it is to jump to the $5-$10 games and play poorly because you have a fear of losing, of losing money, etc. just because you have the bankroll to do so doesn't mean you have to play bigger stakes if you're not 100% ready.

at the same time, if you do want to move up, give yourself a stop/loss so you don't have to worry about your bankroll. say you have 100 buy-ins for $5 mtts, maybe make your stop/loss 5 buy-ins. so, if you drop down to $475, you drop back down to $4 mtts until you build it back up to $500 and then try again at the $5 games. this allows you to take shots at bigger stakes, maintain majority of your bankroll, and gives you a good indication if you're actually ready to move up.

Hve a 100 buy ins ready for next stakes jump. You should feel more comfortable to try it out with a max of at most 6 tries per day. And should you miss an entire week without cashing maybe you should consider stepping down.

Keep building where you have good results and when you are over-rolled for those buy-in levels then mix in a few of the next level.

Double-guessing yourself isn't productive, the players one step up aren't suddenly going to be much better, but if you struggle just move back down.

Assuming your fundamentals and skills are better than your opponents' it will go well eventually and you can make the new level your new home - rinse and repeat.

Good luck!

Proper Bankroll Management and you shouldn't have any issues stepping up and down and then back up when your roll dictates. Always work on your game both on and off the table, relentless pursuit ......

what are your goals when you go for an mtt promotion? why do you want to play with a higher Deposit? mtt poker from 3 to 4.50 is a very good limit, where you can increase your bankroll very confidently without any problems. As you say you have good results, why do you need to go higher? Are you bored?

This is a really interesting situation that can help a lot of guys here let's look at this problem.

the problem apparently is that you push yourself when playing high Buy-in works on that by building a more solid Bankroll and then level up

I suggest taking a closer look at Chris Ferguson's bankroll management. By adapting it for promotion by limits.

Probably the easiest thing is to read information about bankroll management...

Originally Posted by LFC_yllnwa

what are your goals when you go for an mtt promotion? why do you want to play with a higher Deposit? mtt poker from 3 to 4.50 is a very good limit, where you can increase your bankroll very confidently without any problems. As you say you have good results, why do you need to go higher? Are you bored?

This is a really interesting situation that can help a lot of guys here let's look at this problem.

I value your opinion - although I think this might be the first time vocalizing it in text.

I have been playing the same buyin levels for nearly 6 months (the buyin level you mentioned) and have been steadily increasing my roll and making regular withdrawals.

I'm interested in making a move - when the time/BR is right, possibly around the new year. My interest in moving up is to increase earnings - and to beat stronger competition as a result of improving my game.
I will not discontinue playing in several of the games I currently play in, but I will reduce the amount of games at this level when I start playing in bigger buyin events on a regular basis.

I agree totally with your point that at the level you mentioned BR increases can be achieved - and that is exactly what I'm doing.

I guess it depends on short/long term goals for each person. I'm looking to match/exceed my monthly paycheck, so moving up is part of that goal.

Not sure what OPs response to your question is - but I thought it was a good one to chime in on.

Originally Posted by Jeff121m

I have taken a few shots in higher buyins. I find myself making dumb mistakes that I don't normally make. Any advice on how to trust your abilities and to view it just as another MTT. I have good results at the 1.50 to 4.00 MTTs range. What level should I be buyin at if I was to take more shots?

I guess, it depends on, what these dumb mistakes are? I cant really relate to it, because I think, in general I tend to play better, when I take "shots" at a higher buyin or just play at the top of my buyin interval. Whereas if I play tournaments, I am overrolled for, there might be a bit more temptation to go something like "ah whatever this is just a 2,2$ tournament, and I am kind of fed up with it anyway, so I call".

If the "dumb mistakes" are folding, because you get scared of busting, then first of all dont play above your bankroll. Be patient and dont move up, until you have increased it to the nessesary level. 100 times your highest buyin or whatever, you decided to go for. Should probably be a bit more if you play in large fields.

And second try to not focus on the money at stake. When you are playing, you have fake money chips ahead of you, so just see them as play money, and dont open the lobby to see the payouts. You want to know, where the bubble is, because it typically warrant adjustments. But other than that just forget the payouts, until its all over.

maybe try experimenting with only small rates. And this experiment will show how much you need to raise rates

Always play your bankroll, have 100 installments for the tournament you intend to play. Sometimes it is possible to make a larger contribution if the tournament has an increased guarantee. But I still recommend not to engage in gambling addiction

Originally Posted by Jeff121m

I have taken a few shots in higher buyins. I find myself making dumb mistakes that I don't normally make. Any advice on how to trust your abilities and to view it just as another MTT. I have good results at the 1.50 to 4.00 MTTs range. What level should I be buyin at if I was to take more shots?

Thank U 4 Posting

You have to dive deep into what the mistakes were and why you made that mistake.

First of all you say "Just another MTT" that suggests you view the buy-in as important but when you click the register button it is gone. Good players are going to cash 1 in 6 tournaments. We need to know this is the truth and live by it. You may need to spend some time preparing yourself mentally for this fact.

Jared Tendler's "The Mental Game of Poker" vol 1 -2 would be very helpful to you.

In the books you will learn strategies that prepare you to be in your best mindset while playing.

One of those strategies that will help you right away is to take the time in game to remind yourself the buy-in is gone. You know that it effects your play, so before it does, before you are in that hand that you make that mistake, prepare your mind to be thinking of only the correct play.

Activate your reasoning brain refocus it on the task and the emotional brain cannot take over.

As we sit there waiting for a hand our mind will drift to emotional thoughts like-
If we win this we can move up full time
If we min cash we can take another shot
It would be so great if we ran well in this
We need just one big hand and we can cash this.

This leads us to thinking thoughts like these in the hand.
If I can get this player to fold now to a big bluff we can final table
I should fold but if I hit I will have a final table stack
They will fold to an over bet and we can take this pot.

We have to refocus our brains so that it it is ready to make rational choices during hands because while we are under pressure in the hand, that is the most dangerous time for emotional reactions to effect our thinking.

We do this be focusing on tasks that activate the rational brain before we are in a hand.

Taking the time to look at all your villains stack sizes
Reviewing your notes on all the players on the table
Taking the time to clarify those notes
Estimating players ranges in the hand that you a currently not in.
Thinking about what your strategy would be in the above hand with X range.
Making a plan on the most effective strategy for stacking each player based on their player tendencies.
Thinking about our range adjustments based on our stack depth.

Again Jared's books will help you do this.

Hope this helps