Sitting out?

[Brentsn]

I need to gain the ability to sit out in mid late stages in my tournaments. So many times I sit in the top ten in tournaments and struggle to stay out of hands. Or I have bad luck with the hands I play. I’m not playing bad cards, I should be playing them mostly, but I just deplete my stack. Make a bet with good cards and some schmuck with a short stack will push and I pay him off almost every time. It’s my superpower. I tell myself to sit out but I can’t take my eyes of the game and find myself with great looking whole cards and I need to bet. Do you sit out and what do you do to keep yourself from jumping in when you see great looking cards?

 

[black and]

I take into account many factors. It is very important to take into account your position at the table and the position of your opponents, in addition, you need to pay attention to the stack size of your opponents to predict their possible actions. And of course, you should not play with junk.

 

[Risto234]

I’m not playing bad cards, I should be playing them mostly, but I just deplete my stack. Make a bet with good cards and some schmuck with a short stack will push and I pay him off almost every time. It’s my superpower. I tell myself to sit out but I can’t take my eyes of the game and find myself with great looking whole cards and I need to bet. Do you sit out and what do you do to keep yourself from jumping in when you see great looking cards?

This is why you should never only count on good cards
Also i sit out quite often - for example in 888 tournaments still guarantees you ITM-place most times

 

[018smitty]

I hear ya, I have the same problem.

 

[MrPokerVerse]

I need to gain the ability to sit out in mid late stages in my tournaments. So many times I sit in the top ten in tournaments and struggle to stay out of hands. Or I have bad luck with the hands I play. I’m not playing bad cards, I should be playing them mostly, but I just deplete my stack. Make a bet with good cards and some schmuck with a short stack will push and I pay him off almost every time. It’s my superpower. I tell myself to sit out but I can’t take my eyes of the game and find myself with great looking whole cards and I need to bet. Do you sit out and what do you do to keep yourself from jumping in when you see great looking cards?

Don't see the logic of sitting out on hands you should be playing based on bad luck. Should be using the stack to take advantage of a short stack getting lucky. Playing the odds in your favor is better than some subjective fear of a bad beat. If you are getting in bad, that is a whole different reason.

 

[pavel1111111]

you don't need to sit out , you can play a range of cards more lower and quality , i usually start hands only with premium hands , but i defend my bb more often

 

[abgvedr]

Well first of all, mtts is like fishing. If you struggle to wait and focus, then you should work on your game. Siting out is certainly not a solution. Also note that if you go sit out being in top 10% a half hour later you could find yourself in bottom 10%. So siting out to save your chips is also a bad reason to sit out.

 

[LosJay]

Before you want to sit out, you have to calculate, how many chips you need to get far in the tournament (in the money).

But I personally don't play differently than with low stack, except playing tighter and from good position. And from my experience, low stacks don't bluff that often against me, when I have a huge stack. If you think your opponents play like this, you can maybe adjust your game on this fact

 

[Lochika]

In any action in the poker table you have to consider a lot of factors. When you are top ten at a tournament, of course that you have more to lose then win so you need to change your strategy. But this is doesn't mean that you should fold AK because you afraid to be in a flip.
Try to focus on your game and consider all the factors to make the best decision. Don't be afraid from tough spots and understand that in the end poker is a game that you will need the luck in yourside in the short term, so there is no reason to let that effect your game.

 

[Nochaser]

I need to gain the ability to sit out in the mid-late stages in my tournaments. So many times I sit in the top ten in tournaments and struggle to stay out of hands. Or I have bad luck with the hands I play. I’m not playing bad cards, I should be playing them mostly, but I just deplete my stack. Make a bet with good cards and some schmuck with a short stack will push and I pay him off almost every time. It’s my superpower. I tell myself to sit out but I can’t take my eyes off the game and find myself with great-looking whole cards and I need to bet. Do you sit out and what do you do to keep yourself from jumping in when you see great-looking cards?

Truly understand your situation. I simply step away when I accumulate so many chips. I also ask several questions about how many are in the hand, am I willing to go all-in especially if I going up against a short stack. Also am I in position.

 

[MrPokerVerse]

Truly understand your situation. I simply step away when I accumulate so many chips. I also ask several questions about how many are in the hand, am I willing to go all-in especially if I going up against a short stack. Also am I in position.

That is a very good point regarding position. Out of position, some "good hands" just don't look that strong to a raise or re-raise. Being selective with position is a valid concern to fold some hands.

 

[makisaa]

I don't sit out, but I play the game without hiding from it. I like to go better and better. In order to imroove our game we need to play and exercise these critical moments, because it will lead us higher.

 

[danoscar]

My question is why sit in in the first place. If you don't want to bet, just fold.

 

[Zapahlohotrona]

I have the same problem. It's all because there is no normal bankroll. I know that it shouldn't be that way, you have to play to win. But when you don't have a bankroll, you start playing tight in front of ITM and it doesn't lead to anything good.

 

[mushthebush]

I don't see a good reason to sit out. Unless you fall asleep while playing as it happens. If you don't play but want to get in the money, you might as well use the thinking time in your favour. I know it's bad advice but why sit out and miss those aces or whatever else or miss the chance to get in the money. I just don't see any advantage in this. Besides, you miss the chance to grow your stack. Losing the stack could be a downside but isn't that what poker is?

On the other hand I love it when people sit out as it makes the game easier for me. Heads up or three way on a supposedly 9 player table always gives me an advantage. I won a tournament this way and didn't feel proud as I felt like I cheated. It took me a while to convince myself that I won fair and square taking out the active players one at a time.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Never!

 

[Newzooozooo]

Hi.
I always keep playing, no matter my stack size or my place in the tournament. I just try to make the right decisions, and no matter what the outcome is, it is my right decisions that are most important to me.
Good luck.

 

[henriquemaduro]

I need to gain the ability to sit out in mid late stages in my tournaments. So many times I sit in the top ten in tournaments and struggle to stay out of hands. Or I have bad luck with the hands I play. I’m not playing bad cards, I should be playing them mostly, but I just deplete my stack. Make a bet with good cards and some schmuck with a short stack will push and I pay him off almost every time. It’s my superpower. I tell myself to sit out but I can’t take my eyes of the game and find myself with great looking whole cards and I need to bet. Do you sit out and what do you do to keep yourself from jumping in when you see great looking cards?

After I got ITM I never sit out, and whats the problem to play if you receive great cards?

 

[redmast]

If it is necessary for my own good, then I will resist the temptation to play and throw the card.

 

[COMIRRR]

When I sit down at the table, that's what I do, I play, I can't sit! I don't enter a tournament with the thought that I have to enter the last paid place, I enter with the thought that I have to finish in the top 3!

 

[akmost]

Sitting out for what? This will never be the solution. You just need to understand the dynamics of the table/situation and the game. I am not a coach to pinpoint your mistakes but I can tell that you don't trust your abilities so much and you try to avoid tough spots.

Poker is just a game , pick up some good preflop ranges to have a solid preflop game and understand some basic post flop strategy, it is not that hard. All losing players don't have at least a strong preflop strategy and I don't mean that they play only the strongest hands. Understand the power of position , your table image , the board texture and all that wonderful things about the game and playing poker will become super easy. After that , trust me , you will be able to add more tables etc!!

Good Luck

 

[Phoenix Wright]

Sitting out might get you ITM occasionally, but it doesn't give you as good of a chance to win, or place where the "real money" is made. Accumulating a bigger chip stack over the course of the event is a big key to success because naturally you have a better chance at a deep run if you have a mountain of chips.

The "correct" strategy is probably a way of patience (securing your already high finish by not spewing chips) and being selective, but just HOW selective is complicated and varies from game to game. Opponent skill levels compared to yours, ICM considerations, table image and many other variables impact how you should likely be playing your stack.

The process of figuring out how and when to play hands with a larger stack is something which you'll get better at with practice and adapting (learning from mistakes and adjusting for next time).

 

[MAGICUZ]

If you play poker like that, it's better not to play at all.Poker is a game where you need to take risks and experiment, otherwise nothing good will come of it

 

[Luvepoker]

I can see the point of making sure you get past the bubble but the problem is it could cost you more money in the long term. I think sitting out is a mistake.

 

[gambit1983]

just play tight in the late stages...its not hard