Hey guys,

I am completely sure that everyone have been in that situation, but can not find the way to overcome it - starting a MTT tournament and a lot of times I am having very strong pre-flop hands, but then on the flop I could not catch anything and the only one way to win the pot is to bluff. And during the tournament this is the only thing happening and then when you loose a lot of your chips you go all in again with good cards and you loose. And that continues in every single tournament after that. What I have to do to overcome that and to get on the winning way again - I have tried to play with not so good hands , or to take different decisions, but it can not help and the the dollars in the cashier are getting down and down. That is always happening to me when I have won something very big in the previous day, e.x reaching final table or won a tournament with a huge prize win?

This will happen a lot in MTTs where in the beginning there will be a lot of players that will call raises too light. This is good for us in the long run but yes on a hand by hand basis it can be tough when we are not connecting with the board. I would say to continue to raise your good hands early in a tournament to the normal size and then your premium hands you can raise larger as you will get more value from the loose callers.

On the non premium hands but still good opening hands I would raise 2.5x ish and then play the flop accordingly. Meaning see how many opponents you are going against and what the board texture is like. If you are going against 2-3 callers regularly then you can and should C bet rarely when you dont hit. The times you hit with 2-3 callers and you c bet will make up for the loss you take on the hands that you have to give up on the flop. With fewer callers and dryer boards you can still c bet bluff as it has a better chance of getting through.

By no means should you start playing garbage hands. If you want to tighten up that is fine but don't resort to playing the 74 offsuit type hands as those will get you into more trouble than the hands that you have to raise and check give up on the flop.

Originally Posted by gichka97

Hey guys,

I am completely sure that everyone have been in that situation, but can not find the way to overcome it - starting a MTT tournament and a lot of times I am having very strong pre-flop hands, but then on the flop I could not catch anything and the only one way to win the pot is to bluff. And during the tournament this is the only thing happening and then when you loose a lot of your chips you go all in again with good cards and you loose. And that continues in every single tournament after that. What I have to do to overcome that and to get on the winning way again - I have tried to play with not so good hands , or to take different decisions, but it can not help and the the dollars in the cashier are getting down and down. That is always happening to me when I have won something very big in the previous day, e.x reaching final table or won a tournament with a huge prize win?

Thank U 4 posting

Big swings in MTT are common. We can only control how we play not how we win due to variance.

So you may wish to spend more time hand reviewing to see if you are making mistakes. You need to have notes on player pools. There is a vast difference in when we can bluff, in a player pool that folds only 20% of the time vs one that folds 40%.

Knowing if players will only fold to 3 street bluffs not 2 Streets also very important.

Also bet sizing, if your V do not fold often betting value hands with pot plus size betting is a good idea.

Checking when we miss when our V seldom bluff. Checking when we miss when our V check raise. Checking when we hit big on the flop when our V will not fold after we check also a good strategy.

Take the time to know how your V will give you their stack. Know how they play and use it against them

Hope this helps

Keep in mind that when stacks are deeper at the beginning of a tournament draw hands have higher value than in later stages. Try playing more hands early in the tournament that can make nutted hands (suited aces, mid-pocket pairs, suited connectors, etc...), but getting away from hands early if you don't catch anything.

Try playing smaller pots pre-flop with more holdings, rather than trying to build big pots with AK/AQ type hands if you know you'll be multi-way post-flop. Also, don't feel your 'owed' a pot for having a big hand -don't be afraid to fold big hands on coordinated boards if your opponent is playing aggressively. For example, if you're 100bb deep with KK and your opp calls a raise, then check-raises on a 678 board you can fold.

Thank you very much guys about the very good detailed and explained posts. Most of the things you shared here I agree with. I have thought about reviewing the hands and to see where my mistake is, because we all know that in most of the time in that game, loosing the hand is because the person is making a wrong decision. Garbage hands for sure is not a solution to the problems with nothing connected from the flop and avoiding them is the best decision.

I would not start playing junk hands. Yes your 72o may flop 2 pair or trips but how open and will you get paid. Play the smart hands. Also remember Poker is not about making hands or bluff. Poker is a skill game and situational timing. If you raise with pocket 9's and get called by 3 players and the flop is AT5, you should never bluff. The situation for you is bleak and you are very likely to get called. AK with 3 caller's on a T84 same thing. Someone has hit the flop so why play it. Now you have kings and get called by the BB and the flop is AJ6, yes you could be behind but here a bluff could work. Will someone with pocket 7's call? would 65s call? you can get and get people to fold if they dont have the ace. You also get value from a ten or a draw. Now ask yourself why type of player you are against. If he folds a lot of flops you can make a bluff and take down the pot but if he calls a ton you should not bluff. Poker is a long term game. Looks for your spots and take them. Some days it works and others it dont. Just remember, if there are 8 other players at the table, you never play the same way against them all. Play the player you are against.

also tilt from such situations - this is not a game of poker, but very weak poker - you need to understand that the preflop situation and the situation on the flop and other streets are different things!