How to reduce variance in MTT's?

[Foxhound3857]

So when should I start opening my risk window then? I have to play tight in the early stages to conserve my chips, wait for a hand to double up with.

 

[RamdeeBen]

How is it a bad strategy to want to consistently place ITM?

You may as well play a heads up game if you want to double you money often enough and instead of playing for 2hours+ to do this, it can be done within a few minutes in a HU.

It's terrible to min cash for any significant volume, you may as well of not bothered playing to start with.

 

[baudib1]

So when should I start opening my risk window then? I have to play tight in the early stages to conserve my chips, wait for a hand to double up with.

when you are dealt cards and particularly on the bubble.

 

[Foxhound3857]

To min-cash, you are often getting less than double your buy-in, so to profit you'd have to cash in over half of your MTTs. Not likely.

I know Marty Smith advocates cashing first and going for more later, but I believe he is referring specifically to 180-seat tournies, where you only have to outlast one more merge to get to FT and more $. In the larger fields, you can play for a long time ITM and not get much more than the minimum.

I think the idea is that there is nothing wrong with finishing ITM, but if you are tightening up your game too much on the bubble, you are going to often be so short stacked if you do cash that there isn't much chance of going for more -- which you are going to need to do from time to time to maintain a profit.

These are the videos which I was referring to earlier:

I'm also looking heavily at his Forum Tournament video series where he makes 12th place in a large-field MTT using his "play tight and passive early on until you get ITM" strategy.

 

[Poker Orifice]

I'm also looking heavily at his Forum Tournament video series where he makes 12th place in a large-field MTT using his "play tight and passive early on until you get ITM" strategy

I'm guessing this is/was a vid. of him playing MidnightMadness $10 mtt on FTP as he played it regularly. Play in that tourney was ridiculously over-aggro-tard bad in early levels.
Marty's vid. series would be of some help to newer players but tbh, even when just starting out I'd recognize alot of incorrect plays (< sub-optimal, or just out & out bad) he'd be making. His free video series is pretty much a promo to purchase the TournamentIndicator software, although he does seem to genuinely like helping out others with their game. I just don't think he's that good of a player.
Get into the Cardschat HomeGame League (it's FREE) & get on a team in hopes of winning a 30-day membership on DragTheBar. You'll see much better vids. on there. (just playin' the League can help your play a bunch too... especially for newer'ish' tournament players).

 

[doomasiggy]

How is it a bad strategy to want to consistently place ITM?

Because playing for 7 hours and then mincashing is worse than playing for 1 hour and not making anything. The goal is to win, not to mincash.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I'm also looking heavily at his Forum Tournament video series where he makes 12th place in a large-field MTT using his "play tight and passive early on until you get ITM" strategy

I'm guessing this is/was a vid. of him playing MidnightMadness $10 mtt on FTP as he played it regularly. Play in that tourney was ridiculously over-aggro-tard bad in early levels.
Marty's vid. series would be of some help to newer players but tbh, even when just starting out I'd recognize alot of incorrect plays (< sub-optimal, or just out & out bad) he'd be making. His free video series is pretty much a promo to purchase the TournamentIndicator software, although he does seem to genuinely like helping out others with their game. I just don't think he's that good of a player.
Get into the Cardschat HomeGame League (it's FREE) & get on a team in hopes of winning a 30-day membership on DragTheBar. You'll see much better vids. on there. (just playin' the League can help your play a bunch too... especially for newer'ish' tournament players).

I think it was a $5 MTT on Stars.