after the bubble ...

demibar

demibar

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You are in the money .Now how do you play in order to get on FT.When you are short stack it's kinda easy shove with the most decent hand you have.But how you play when you are in medium or big stack?
 
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TpaEnforcement

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Once I am in the money, with medium stack, I still play, the way I have played to get to the money. Low stack always in with the best cards I feel are good. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It is poker you have to gamble at some point even if you lose.
 
Vallet

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I'm never in a hurry. There are many people to be behind you in the table. The main thing is to play carefully and not overestimate the hands against large stacks.
 
tauri103

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I close my game. I play only the max hands and I consider my position at the table and the bet of my opponents.meme if I have a good preflop hand and the spot does not suit me. I do not hesitate to fold. I avoid as much as possible to pay all-in preflop especially if I have a good stack and I just fold to reach my goal. I bluff as little as possible and I do not hesitate to cheke or fold instead of giving my chips because I have not been patient enough. I hope that these tips will be useful to you.
 
fickleberry

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At this stage you need to preserve your stack and only play a hand when you intend to win it - either by brute force or simply because you have a premium hand.

Whatever you do, do not leak. Try to win hands preflop by 3betting notorious blind stealers. Use your stack by weaponizing your fold equity.
 
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rudy988

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I continue to play as I did before bubble , tight :)

With medium stack , I play a little looser , and with small stack , I'm very loose in that allin or fold game .
 
TheDude6622

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The way poker is now at a live tournament, most tournaments are a big blind structure. This means you get to see 8 hands for free. If it isn't worth risking your stack, then don't even bother calling pre-flop. Patience is key.
 
Jon Poker

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I tend to play tournaments aggressively from start to finish. If I have a healthy stack around the bubble - I tend to get SUPER aggressive because no one wants to bust and you can suck up blinds like its going out of style. That being said, when the bubble bursts I am in the money - the goal is to get to the final table, so I approach the rest of the game with that in mind. I flip when I have to, I shove when I need to, and try to stack opponents - in short, I still play aggressively but I play to win. This mindset is crucial - I busted 88th when 81 made the money in a $1k GTD on Monday night. I got my chips in good and it just didnt hold up - its ok, I was just happy I got my money in good. I could have sat back and tried to conserve my remaining 14BB or so, but I saw an opportunity to shove and get myself into a better position to run deeper - it just didnt work out. You have to be ok not winning all the time, its poker. It happens.
 
Loky13

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I usually try and pick up the blinds and get it all in only when i hit a monster hand,keep it tight,keep it safe :)
 
Gohaku94

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You take risks to get to cheap leading positions. Payjumps are not big after the bubble and in big fields mtts they are patetic.. if you get $10 when you are itm with 1k people payed you get $15 when there are 100 left which should make you risk more to get to top places instead of making to top 100
 
akmost

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Hmm , after the burst of the bubble many players will start shoving lighter because they are already freerolling the MTT. After the very first moments I play extra careful because of that!

After that phase I play my game and sometimes I may make some more risky plays simply because my only aim after ITM phase is the FT. By not having much to lose ,prize wise , I ''bully'' my opponents whenever I can.
 
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dompoker

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You have to play aggressive to find chips, to reach the final table, take risks to try to double the stack.
 
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tmsr

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I close my game. I play only the max hands and I consider my position at the table and the bet of my opponents.meme if I have a good preflop hand and the spot does not suit me. I do not hesitate to fold. I avoid as much as possible to pay all-in preflop especially if I have a good stack and I just fold to reach my goal. I bluff as little as possible and I do not hesitate to cheke or fold instead of giving my chips because I have not been patient enough. I hope that these tips will be useful to you.



I tend to lean toward this style, but it also depends on the table I'm on. If people are playing too tight, and I have a decent stack I'll try to steal blinds to build up my stack a bit more. If I'm a small stack, I'm managing my blinds and going for it when I have something decent to shove with.
 
Alekxandrovi3

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Medium and large stacks play loosely. Hands k7 + A2 + are strong hands. Play aggressively with medium strength hands.
 
zinzir

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I don't play the same all the time, simply because I play poker for the same reason I play soccer with my friends: entertainment. I would rather have fun and bust earlier than worry all the time about "making the right decision". I'm still trying to improve my understanding of the game, observe and learn from other players, discuss strategy with other people, but I like to play relaxed and enjoy myself. Sometimes I am more aggressive than "optimal", sometimes less, sometimes I just leave in the middle of the tournament and let the stack get consumed by the blinds. I'm not saying that other people should abandon their goal of achieving mastery or becoming successful pros, just saying that even if you enjoy the ride you are still gaining experience and becoming a better player, maybe at a slower pace, but why do we have to be in such hurry all the time? However, from a theoretical standpoint, I would say pre flop aggression should also be influenced by the player's perception of the opponents' skill level in comparison to his own, regardless of the stage of the tournament. The less experienced the player feels in comparison to his opponents, the more likely he should be to go all in pre flop, preferably by making the all-in raise himself, but also calling the opponents all-ins.
 
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Aremaz95

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I try to play a strong hand and get the most out of it, but if I'm far behind I wait and try to see if I play it looking for a color project or ladder
 
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3gdata

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Mostly I play the way I played before the bubble, maybe a bit more aggressive (but not much more) cause the bubble zone has already gone. No point in hurrying when you are not short.
 
leogetz79

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it can shift pretty quick. i will for sure play a lot more loose. specially with i have a decent stack. with me it will depend on my objective that day. sometimes i want to get as far as possible so i will play tight, but some days i will get to the money and just let it loose.
 
zinzir

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I close my game. I play only the max hands and I consider my position at the table and the bet of my opponents.meme if I have a good preflop hand and the spot does not suit me. I do not hesitate to fold. I avoid as much as possible to pay all-in preflop especially if I have a good stack and I just fold to reach my goal. I bluff as little as possible and I do not hesitate to cheke or fold instead of giving my chips because I have not been patient enough. I hope that these tips will be useful to you.

I tend to play tournaments aggressively from start to finish. If I have a healthy stack around the bubble - I tend to get SUPER aggressive because no one wants to bust and you can suck up blinds like its going out of style. That being said, when the bubble bursts I am in the money - the goal is to get to the final table, so I approach the rest of the game with that in mind. I flip when I have to, I shove when I need to, and try to stack opponents - in short, I still play aggressively but I play to win. This mindset is crucial - I busted 88th when 81 made the money in a $1k GTD on Monday night. I got my chips in good and it just didnt hold up - its ok, I was just happy I got my money in good. I could have sat back and tried to conserve my remaining 14BB or so, but I saw an opportunity to shove and get myself into a better position to run deeper - it just didnt work out. You have to be ok not winning all the time, its poker. It happens.

You take risks to get to cheap leading positions. Payjumps are not big after the bubble and in big fields mtts they are patetic.. if you get $10 when you are itm with 1k people payed you get $15 when there are 100 left which should make you risk more to get to top places instead of making to top 100

Hmm , after the burst of the bubble many players will start shoving lighter because they are already freerolling the MTT. After the very first moments I play extra careful because of that!

After that phase I play my game and sometimes I may make some more risky plays simply because my only aim after ITM phase is the FT. By not having much to lose ,prize wise , I ''bully'' my opponents whenever I can.


Very different approaches, each of them backed by very good points. In poker, as in life, there is more than one way to skin a cat :)
 
dimon4ik89

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If I have a medium stack, I will play only with very strong hands and premium hands, I think with such a stack I can tolerate in order to achieve my goal. Well, if I have a big stack or I'm a chip leader, then of course I will play much bolder, bluff more often, and steal blinds more often. I will use my advantage.
 
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Medium or big stack, you are looking for scenarios to pick up chips risk free, uncontested pots are the key to strong tournament strategy.

The bigger the stack you are the more opportunity to open your range up obviously as you have the flexibility that you don't with less chips.
 
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