correct play in the last 50 and under in large mtts

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deffcity

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hello ppl. new here.

so my problem is, playing in a field of over 2,000 + players, i keep getting to the final stages but i always mess up and get busted, usually holding a good stack and in the top 10.

whats the correct play here, i mean, if i become i nit, I'm falling behind, if i play aggressive i get really bad beats..

pretty frustrating to get so close so often and not take it down.

any advice here is appreciated

thanks
 
SBEP

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Follow whats going on, on your table, learn positions in poker, learn opening ranges, always try to spot the fish on the table and stay away from the aggressive players, and most of all, adopt your play according to your table, if your table is full of NIT`s u play agro if its full of agro players u wait for those AA or KK in late position to score a scalp of those agro players :D play smooth and relax music in the background, and pay attention ALWAYS at whats going on at your table, and im more then sure ull be more then fine when playing MTT`s.
 
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deffcity

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thanks for the reply SBEP . yea i do have a problem where i lose concentration don't pay full attention, usually watching poker games on youtube at the same time, sounds pretty dumb to think now lol. i think my biggest problem is handling a big stack also, bad management . I've watched several videos on this but nothings hit the spot yet where i can identify my problem
 
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MMarshall89

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thanks for the reply SBEP . yea i do have a problem where i lose concentration don't pay full attention, usually watching poker games on youtube at the same time, sounds pretty dumb to think now lol. i think my biggest problem is handling a big stack also, bad management . I've watched several videos on this but nothings hit the spot yet where i can identify my problem

Lol that is true poker passion, watching and playing poker at the same time. Crazy. How often do you do that and end up having the same hand as the player on tv? Funny I did that one night and ended up doing better then when I just normally get into a movie or tv series and loose focus. Might not be such a bad thing if your playing and learning at the same time...

Poker is such a random but very probability type game. Almost as confusing as women, you just never really know what's going on in the other player's mind but if you pay enough attention they might just give ya what ya want :D ( no I'm not sexiest and yes that was probably a very bad corny joke )

But it is true, the last poster hit some many nails on the head...
focus, pay attention to what players are what, and just be patient.
I think the hardest thing in Poker is making lay downs, hands that just temp you to call but seem to always run them pocket jacks deep stack into a bigger stack holding queens or kings, happened to me the other night when I was 10 people from being in the money...

Making it that far in a big tournament is not easy though and I comment you and that feet, winning one does also require some luck, getting them big hands late in the game and in position. Position is so important in this game. If you get that far that late in a tournament, I just do my best to conserve, one thing I try not to do a lot late game is limp in with mediocre hands then tend to get you caught more than they pay off sometimes. For example being in early position with a jack ten, suited or not suited, hands like that I tend to just let go when blinds are expensive and knowing even somebody with queen jack, king jack, ace jack, automatically have me dominated. Being aggressive really only pays off when nobody has a big hand and when everybody is playing tighter than leather pants. Pays off when you make a raise on the big blind and they call you and you hit the flop, when you get lucky like that it pays off but you could also try not playing in hands when there is more than just one opponent with a big stack involved in the hand, picking on smaller stacks that are more compelled to double up and not risk as many of your chips in the chance of knocking them out thus moving up in pay out place and in chips, unless your sure you have the nuts, then just don't hold back and get your chips in when your certain you have somebody beat. Typically, there are only a few hands I am certain to play and make big pre flop raises with late game, big stack or short stack, Aces(of course), Kings, Queens, and Ace King. I almost always feels comfortable calling an all in with those hands. Duh right. Hands like Ace Jack, Ace ten get me in a lot of trouble, I normally like to see a flop with those before I go all in unless I'm calling a short stack under 20% of my chip stack, more times than often a short stack will be quick to call or go all in with any pocket pair or any high ace. That's just what I seem to come across a lot anyways. But in general I try to play conservative when in early position and somewhat freely in late position or if somebody raises just under 2 or 3 times the big blind when I'm in small or big blind, if the hand is reasonable enough, small pair or two face cards suited or not suited, good chance the flop will hit you good enough to continue the hand. Play it hand by hand and take your time.

Sorry about the long reply, I just got done playing a free role and got deep stacked just to loose when I had King Queen and was all in after loosing to a bad beat. My bad.
 
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barry craig

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What a great reply mmarshall and very true.I have been going deep for the last few weeks ,getting well in the money only to call min raise with mediocre hnd hit top pair then getting busted with an overpair.It's one of those occasions where you think they are just raising and if you hit you have them,boy dumb or what.I'm definitely taking your advice and actually try thinking properly before i act,and have position.I'll be first to admit that after winning a lot of tournies from the beginning of the year my game has gotten worse by being over confident(i was winning and could win with anything)mmmmmm not good attitude,so i've been tightening up lately especially early on and it's working,i'm getting to the money but need to stop playing dumb starting hands and get to the final table then the win!!!:)
 
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deffcity

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Lol that is true poker passion, watching and playing poker at the same time. Crazy. How often do you do that and end up having the same hand as the player on tv? Funny I did that one night and ended up doing better then when I just normally get into a movie or tv series and loose focus. Might not be such a bad thing if your playing and learning at the same time...

Poker is such a random but very probability type game. Almost as confusing as women, you just never really know what's going on in the other player's mind but if you pay enough attention they might just give ya what ya want :D ( no I'm not sexiest and yes that was probably a very bad corny joke )

But it is true, the last poster hit some many nails on the head...
focus, pay attention to what players are what, and just be patient.
I think the hardest thing in Poker is making lay downs, hands that just temp you to call but seem to always run them pocket jacks deep stack into a bigger stack holding queens or kings, happened to me the other night when I was 10 people from being in the money...

Making it that far in a big tournament is not easy though and I comment you and that feet, winning one does also require some luck, getting them big hands late in the game and in position. Position is so important in this game. If you get that far that late in a tournament, I just do my best to conserve, one thing I try not to do a lot late game is limp in with mediocre hands then tend to get you caught more than they pay off sometimes. For example being in early position with a jack ten, suited or not suited, hands like that I tend to just let go when blinds are expensive and knowing even somebody with queen jack, king jack, ace jack, automatically have me dominated. Being aggressive really only pays off when nobody has a big hand and when everybody is playing tighter than leather pants. Pays off when you make a raise on the big blind and they call you and you hit the flop, when you get lucky like that it pays off but you could also try not playing in hands when there is more than just one opponent with a big stack involved in the hand, picking on smaller stacks that are more compelled to double up and not risk as many of your chips in the chance of knocking them out thus moving up in pay out place and in chips, unless your sure you have the nuts, then just don't hold back and get your chips in when your certain you have somebody beat. Typically, there are only a few hands I am certain to play and make big pre flop raises with late game, big stack or short stack, Aces(of course), Kings, Queens, and Ace King. I almost always feels comfortable calling an all in with those hands. Duh right. Hands like Ace Jack, Ace ten get me in a lot of trouble, I normally like to see a flop with those before I go all in unless I'm calling a short stack under 20% of my chip stack, more times than often a short stack will be quick to call or go all in with any pocket pair or any high ace. That's just what I seem to come across a lot anyways. But in general I try to play conservative when in early position and somewhat freely in late position or if somebody raises just under 2 or 3 times the big blind when I'm in small or big blind, if the hand is reasonable enough, small pair or two face cards suited or not suited, good chance the flop will hit you good enough to continue the hand. Play it hand by hand and take your time.

Sorry about the long reply, I just got done playing a free role and got deep stacked just to loose when I had King Queen and was all in after loosing to a bad beat. My bad.


thanks for taking the time to write that, its much appreciated.
your absolutely 100% right..
i play with mediocre hands catch a 2 pair think I've hit jackpot just to see the other guys set ...lol... heartbreaking. like finding out the kids not yours (my bad joke. lol)

i started learning the game about 6 months ago when i joined pokerstars, prior i played with friends but had no idea about position play, or even split pot rules, lol. just general hand strength. so you can imagine how much arguing use to happen between us at 3 in the morning trying to figure out who won the hand.

I've watched every video there is on youtube on pros, and constantly watch guys like Gripsed, Dutchboyd, Jcarver etc. streams also, these guys really help and give great info, I've fallen in love with the game to the degree where i go to sleep and dream about it lol..

also barry i did the same thing, i only play micros but i managed to win a $109 buy in ticket through a MTT challenge few months ago, and went on to win the actual tourney and got just over 2k .. after that i thought i knew it all, i was phill ivey... lol didn't go well.
 
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subdylzep

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this used to happen to me all the time. Im guessing your problem is attention. You MUST pay attention to the players and their tendencies at your table. That is going to give you the most information and give you better chances at what to do in most situations. playing tight or agro is all about how the players around you are playing, you must adjust in these situations, there is always something you can take away. And i will say this, in most online tournaments late ONLINE, you always run into coolers, and i mean KK beats AA cooler, or boat v boat cooler so i like to play postflop much more and see the entire hand play out before i get a ton of my chips in the middle. I understand thats hard to do but a lot of times you can play hands softer when you think you should be playing them more aggressive. So be wary is my advice and watch what everyone else is doing. Gl in future events.
 
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rule72

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I agree with what's been said and I'd only add know where the big stacks are and the small stacks are. People adjust their hand range based on their stack sizes.
 
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deffcity

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@subdylzep yea my attention needs work... talking about coolers.. i just busted out of the 1.10 rebuy at 89 position with qq against a5... feel sick... lol. guy hits ace on flop.. blinds were 50k . stack was 320k so all in of cause .

rule72 agree. the big stack was behind me. i thought about laying down the queens, he had me well covered. but with those blinds. when was i gonna catch a decent hand again..

ahhh.. gonna watch a movie now... try again after. lol
 
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rule72

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rule72 agree. the big stack was behind me. i thought about laying down the queens, he had me well covered. but with those blinds.

What! lay down QQ with a short stack. What're you going to wait for. This was played perfectly and I'm ok with with him having only one over, even 2 overs. You got it in good and he hit. This is variance. I leave wishing him well knowing I'm getting more of his chips than he's getting of mine over the long haul playing A-rag.
 
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Az tha producer

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NEVER LAY DOWN A PAIR LOWER THEN 99 WITH A LOW STACK!! NEVER, TOO MANY DONKEYS
 
pocketelf0

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practice the jackpot poker games, or SnG poker. You should be able to play SnGs perfectly, before you take a shot at tourneys IMO. Hope this helps
 
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deffcity

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yea thats what was going through my head. it be stupid to lay down the queens.
honestly not a big fan of micro stakes rebuys. its an all in fest. every hand 3 or 4 ppl all in. rebuy.. 1 guy spent over 30 on rebuys and didn't even make to the bubble. by the time u get to the addon. unless u have a decent stack. its push fold again. but its great prize money if u hit the final table. i guess thats what gets ppl going crazy.

@pocketelf0 i play SnG poker. I've won the $1 180 a few times and the $3.50 45 a bunch. the 45 is a walk in the park really, sit tight, stack up slowly first few rounds, trap players when blinds are still low, double up and go from there,
no where near a pro lol but its much easier than mtts thats for sure.

i just watched Eddy the Eagle. pretty inspiring movie. gonna hit the tables again. thanks for the replies fellas
 
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deffcity

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currently playing another 1.10 rebuy . last 22. had 1.5mill stack.. all in with tt JQ off called.. yuk. caught a j on the river. went down to 400 k. now back to 800k.
blinds over a 100k. ... even if i bust out can't complain. been running really good on this one
 
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deffcity

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busted out at 18. getting closer. pushing with tt was a mistake, i got greedy, should of waited for a better opening,

but thanks to the advice i got i really payed attention to everyone and kept my concentration even when getting bad beats.

will try again tomorrow
 
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subdylzep

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yeah you cant lay down your QQ, and its not so much of a cooler as it is just bad luck. Bigger stacks are expected to make calls w over cards and you should as well when you have chips. Im more speaking of post flop cooler, boat v boat, flush v flush late. happens alot. But i like what rule 72 said about chip stacks. Often this is crucial late in tournaments, especially if a low stack is behind and you have something like 99 w an average stack you may want to think about adjusting your play. Same as if they were all larger stacks behind you, maybe more aggressive or more passive depending on the stack sizes. Remember the short stacks need double ups so if you arent willing to call their all in, think about mucking preflop rather than limping or raising preflop.
 
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subdylzep

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I will also leave you with this. If you are serious about poker I would stay away from micro online, or even anything under $100 live, anything under $10 online. Its just breeding grounds for gamblers, it doesnt extend your insight to the game, especially w some crazy late plays. If you play better players you'll be better, just like in any sport/game. Plus they will play better as well and you will find yourself at the end losing to a legitimate good play instead of a suckout usually. I always play better the higher the stakes (maybe thats just me tho).
 
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deffcity

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I will also leave you with this. If you are serious about poker I would stay away from micro online, or even anything under $100 live, anything under $10 online. Its just breeding grounds for gamblers, it doesnt extend your insight to the game, especially w some crazy late plays. If you play better players you'll be better, just like in any sport/game. Plus they will play better as well and you will find yourself at the end losing to a legitimate good play instead of a suckout usually. I always play better the higher the stakes (maybe thats just me tho).

i know what you mean, unfortunately my bank roll doesn't allow me to go much higher than mid right now, when i played the 109 buy in, it was a different world compared to micros, players respect a raise or a re raise, unlike micros.. call with anything and hope u hit. I've been planning in the next few months to deposit $1000 and stay out of micros, hopefully life doesn't go sideways and plans don't change,

also I've never played in a real live game, only with friends but those days had no idea what i was doing, lol.

im in london, england, i saw this and am thinking of making it my first game, qualifier to tourney.
http://www.gukpt.com/qualify/qualify-live/
 
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dgospa

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study study...

I've had same problems.... So i take few months to study poker game (position, starting hands..) And i have few sucesses on tournaments after that..So mine advice is take some time n study a bit game, watch some pro players, their strategy. Cheers!
 
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deffcity

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I've had same problems.... So i take few months to study poker game (position, starting hands..) And i have few sucesses on tournaments after that..So mine advice is take some time n study a bit game, watch some pro players, their strategy. Cheers!

haha yea i don't think i can do months off. i play everyday, regardless if its for money or not, i just love playing. but i do study, I'm reading a book called "kill everyone" right now, and i use online videos a lot too
 
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rule72

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If you are serious about poker I would stay away from micro online, or even anything under $100 live...

I've found sometimes that need to look beyond the cost of buy-ins before deciding whether or not it's a good tourney.

I play some regular live tourneys at $65 profitably, although you can't make a living at this level. I look at the structure and number of players for the low buy in tourneys and of course if you play with 80% regs and you work on your game you should be able to have a good hobby at no expense. My choice is slow structure with at least 30-40 players, more players is better.

I play bigger games up to about $250 when I can. (I don't play online or cash games)
 
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deffcity

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i was playing a 50 cent tourney, final table . last 5, went all in with AKs . i had about 1.3m stack, other guy had 100 k more than me, he called with a7 off and caught 2 pair,

i think i did the right thing and got unlucky, was i wrong and should i off waited for top 5% hand?
 
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rule72

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i was playing a 50 cent tourney, final table . last 5, went all in with AKs . i had about 1.3m stack, other guy had 100 k more than me, he called with a7 off and caught 2 pair,

i think i did the right thing and got unlucky, was i wrong and should i off waited for top 5% hand?

To eval properly you need to know five stack sizes, blind levels, pay out levels, 4 player types and your image as you think the others see you. With respect to AKs against any other non paired hand you dominate, against pairs QQ's and lower you're racing, only against AA & KK you are dominated. AKs pretty strong. There's a lot more to know than the hole cards before you can determine if this was a good move.
 
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deffcity

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the player i was up against was very lose, i crippled him down to 200k from 1.8 mill . he made very loose calls all ins and got lucky twice in a row, at that point i went all in, id turned 0.50 into 60 so i thought, what the hell, AKs should be better than any of this guys hand, seeing him make crazy calls.
first prize was only 130 so didn't affect my decision making
 
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3ccasd

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i was playing a 50 cent tourney, final table . last 5, went all in with AKs . i had about 1.3m stack, other guy had 100 k more than me, he called with a7 off and caught 2 pair,

i think i did the right thing and got unlucky, was i wrong and should i off waited for top 5% hand?

Of course you did the right thing, but he did the right thing if he was on the button, the blinds are huge extend the range of playable hands of opponents.
 
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