How to survive until ITM of a regular tournament?

[niphon56]

aggressive attack before bubble.
fold at bubble period (3~5 players before IMT)
of course, your stacks must match the requirement of fold period.

 

[dnegsisabadreg]

You shouldn't be so focused on getting ITM. Min-cashing is not going to be super-profitable for you long term, given that most of the prize money is locked up at the final table.

Your focus should be looking for profitable spots to pick up chips with an eye towards winning the whole tournament. You can tighten up near the bubble if you're short-stacked, but otherwise just look to punish the nits who are trying to min-cash themselves.

 

[MrEsprectro]

Just play solid poker. Be patient and wait for good spots. Take advantage of position, and be aggressive instead of passive. It is better to 3BET and take it down than call-folding on the flop.

Also, don´t panic if you get down to 1/2 average stack. Just be patient and wait for the "double up" hand. Many players will call more wide against a shortstack, so you might be paid of with your monster hand.

 

[Akwind]

you should play MTT to win , not to get ITM
play solid - if you have stack aply pressure at bubble
but watch out

 

[ribaric]

I am by any means an exper ton the subject, and i still have huge amounts of my own game to sort out. but i play in the freerolls on pokerstars fairly often and i regularly hit mid/late-late game simply by understanding the dynamics of the game at various points.

Most of the freerolls are 5k+ entrants and the first 10-15 hands are generally for the donkeys.. i tighten up alot around this point.

As the tournament progresses into the 2nd quarter i open up a little and look for the opportunity to multiply my stack... if people have multiplied up then they are only looking for an increase or two when they have the hands. not many will risk losing half a stack to a semi decent hand.

When it comes to the bubble if you have chips you can play aggressively... if not i generally shove when i have the cards.

seems to work alot for me, but being new myself this is probably common knowledge.

I like to mess with peoples heads as well as play my cards... my added flair to the game ^_^

hope this helps.

SP

very good advice you helped me a lot TYVM

 

[zam220]

I agree,the MTT are playing to win and not to get into ITM

 

[VinnyStrat]

I like this advice and endorse it ... game is not won during first hour or second ... usually only 'starts' around the 'bubble' so be there when the real game starts.
Wally

This is great advice, so if you are folding hands around the bubble just to get ITM, you are hurting your chances of doing well. If your goal is to play the 2nd game that starts after the bubble your goal is to at least be somewhere in the middle. If there are 200 players ITM, then being around 100 at that point puts you in pretty good position.

 

[mariel619]

^ very true unless you have enough chips to sustain a ridiculous amount of folding, otherwise you still play as you did before, do not fold a premium hand unless its just too much to call, if you can smooth call please do so.

 

[ThanJay]

I usually find it is easier to be a little more aggressive than usual when facing a bubble situation with a high medium/big stack. You will get a lot of folds if you bet well in position. Avoid the big stacks that can crack you, but put pressure on the other medium stacks and short stacks. The thrill of making the money in a tourney quickly goes away when you get blinded out right after.

And remember that there are huge pay increases as the tourney continues to progress and you want the chips to be able to make plays later on. Good Luck!