Is sitting out a strategy?

[jtberrym]

It works

Yes it works.....I do this sometime ealry on in a deepstack tournament or later on if I have a huge chip stack and its getting close to the bubble. It depends on the tournament you are in and what it is worth to you to make it to the money....but pros do this all the time. In the wsop they will be in two tournaments at once and may not get to the 2nd tournament until they are at the thrid level of blinds....its not a bad thing...yes you may miss an early opprtunity to chip up but hey tournaments are marathons and you have to pace yourself and the object is to survive all the while accumulating chips...its tricky...I know on;ine torunaments usually last about 4.5 hours so if you can make your chips lat that long whether or not you ever get above 10,000 chips or not then you will be in the money which at the end of the day is a good thing. The final table is the goal but if you get in the money then at least you came out ahead.

 

[zachvac]

There is no poker hand that cannot be beaten in an "all-in" except a royal flush and I have seen very few of them. No matter how good you think your hand is...your playing bingo with these donks!!!!

When in bingo do you have an 80% chance to win and 20% chance to lose the exact same amount of money?

 

[Egon Towst]

Hilarious thread.

Let me recommend to you my strategy for the early stages of tournaments:-

I play as many hands as I reasonably can, whenever I have cards, or position, or both.

I believe that I am an above average player and will be more likely than not to outplay opponents. However, I obviously cannot outplay them if I do not play.

It seems to me that the only sensible reason for not playing would be if one expects to be beaten. But, if you expect to be beaten, why enter the game in the first place ? Find an easier game, or study to improve your play.

 

[SusieP]

people usually play there best poker for the first 20-30 minutes of a big tourney. I am not talking about a freeroll but a probably $20+ buyin. People are calling to get reads and sitting out is a good approach, or even just fold every hand while your there. After the first little rush people relax and that is when, unless they are really paying attention, they will make mistakes. Take the time your sitting out to observe the game and try to pin down some playing styles before you even start playing.

 

[vanquish]

i generally sit out for the entire tournament, thereby avoiding the tilt which comes from inevitable bad beats which is +lifeEV

 

[Worak]

i generally sit out for the entire tournament, thereby avoiding the tilt which comes from inevitable bad beats which is +lifeEV

I sit out life for the same reason, lol.

:dito:

 

[LoveBass]

I always play late if i can. Lets the donks smooth each other out. Also I like to sit out in the rush for the money when all teh little stacks are being dumb and trying to get in the cash. Before the final table is another time. I take mealbreaks. You have to have the stack to do this but I would say that there is no shame in blinding away in this idea.

 

[houcowboy]

The only time I sit out is after a bad beat, if it didn't take me out. I do it to calm down and reduce the chance of going on tilt.

 

[zachvac]

The only time I sit out is after a bad beat, if it didn't take me out. I do it to calm down and reduce the chance of going on tilt.

This is the only legitimate reason I've seen so far. It's basically expanding on what I said, where the only way you should sit out is if you don't have an edge. Basically this is smart because you have no edge when you're tilting and if you sit out you can gather yourself and come back and make better decisions. But if you feel you're at the top of your game, why not play against donks? Not only that, early in the tourney is when stacks are deep and mistakes are biggest. Why not play in the stage where opponents will make the biggest mistakes (and where the average skill level is lower). Basically you're turning down a bigger edge and taking the small losing play (bleeding blinds and not increasing stack size to keep up).

 

[diamond_06_06]

Being a donk myself, I like to sit ot until all the good players believe all donks have been busted. Then I start sucking out on them when they least expect it, thus building a huge stack and putting everyone on tilt in the process. This is the most awesome of awesome strategies imo.uke:

 

[chrismonk123]

i gotta agree that this is an aweful stratergy! whats the point of paying to play if you are going to sit out of the tourney anyways! just shows your not good enough or playing well out of your bankroll limit to play properly in the tournament!

 

[Insaneasylm]

i don't like it but what are you going to do. some people use it as a stragety and it works some time. I won a freeroll on cake and there was a guy sitting out at the final table and he made the final 7 for the ticket. He was low stack also so people could have just waited and blinded him out. But like always people push when they don't have too.

 

[whitewolf]

I will not play for a few hands sometimes early in but to sit out you may miss some monster hands. I want to see them not sit out and miss those early double ups.Thats not for me.

 

[big jingles]

I thought about sitting out to study the table but I found it was better to fold all but the top 5 hands and unraised blinds.

 

[Archinutz]

Exactly what i thought....waiting for the donkfest to end. If you got discipline and patience, its advantageous to more skilled players. I think its prime opportunity to test out your reading skills as well as some "exotic" plays.

Actually, this is a known strategy for re-buy tourneys.

Some folks like to load up on duckets, and wait for the donkfest to end (first break). :icon_sant


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[GordonStr222]

I would think they are studying the players but then again they are also giving up good opportunities to double up early on.....

 

[No Brainer]

Nice way to bring up a funny old thread

 

[ratmantoo]

With that mentality you should not be playing a tournament.

Yes they should!! I want them at my table though

 

[LuckyChippy]

Stupid strategy /thread

 

[witl69]

I think sitting out dureing a toujrnament is reaLLy a bad choice to make but i love sit outs at my tables ill let them sit out and steal there blinds all day long..sounds like a good thing to me so sit outters find me and plz join my table you are more then welcome there i guarentee it hehe

 

[Dorkus Malorkus]

Stupid strategy /thread

this.

also resurrected for no reason and full of spammy crap. locking.