Having to play out of your comfort zone and not knowing which zone to choose.

[A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 1973]

Dudes.. I know it's a bit weird to say it's out of my comfort zone, when I've met some of you while doing £110 ($178) PokerPlayer legs, but I had no choice in those once I'd qualified. The 'ticket' was for those and those only. But now I've got a $215 ticket to use on something and don't know what. I see an iPops main event coming up, but that's like going for glory from 30 yards when I could slip in van Persie or Rooney with a better chance of scoring. I could be more sensible and do a double or nothing/heads-up, maybe. I won a €100 one of those with a free ticket just last week. Or just sell half and take on that iPops dream. Dunno.. :D

[Danshot]

Depends how much the money is worth to you , even in a heads up match where have more chance to win then in a MTT you will put pressure on yourself and this can cause you to play a sub-optimal game as you will find yourself not wanting to take any risks and therefore possibly passing up EV. So as with a lot of poker questions a lot depends on how you feel at the time. You will probably play closer to your A Game / normal game in the iPops main event but if you want a more consistent return safer bet is still a heads up or double/nothing. Sent from my GT-I9100P using PL Forum

[reb33]

Re: Having to play out of your comfort zone and not knowing which zone to choose. As Danshot says it is a personal choice. I play small stakes satellites trying to win high value MTT seats so I would always choose a big MTT over a HU or DON game where you will notice lots of specialists sit waiting for novices to join them. My mindset when playing in a $215 game is it only cost me $5 or so to qualify and play not $215 so I just relax and play my normal game. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

[Bart(UK)]

Re: Having to play out of your comfort zone and not knowing which zone to choose. Bow locks! Just wrote war & peace and browser failed losing it all lol DOH! To summarise without having to write it all out again:

• Forget the value, it isn't cash, it's not currently convertible into cash so it has no tangible value to you. It's just an opportunity to play poker with a possibility of receiving cash.
• Assume you will not cash, I have no doubts of your poker ability and you shouldn't either, but variance in poker is huge. It's a game based on the turn of an unknown card which you have no control over. If you play the ticket assuming it has no value and you wont cash, you will either meet your expectation or exceed it. If you play thinking "this is £150" you will more than likely feel disappointed, gutted or worse. You won't lose £150, the token isn't currently worth £150!
• If playing a big major online series event is a dream of yours, this is a great opportunity at doing with at minimal cost! If you're more concerned about cashing some sort of value, explore all other options but bear in mind that even a hu sng is no guarantee of a cash.
• Poker is a long hard grind, you have play lots over a long time frame to fine tune a small edge and to reap a return. Converting tokens into cash and spreading the risk over many different tournaments is the sensible long term option and provides you with best chance of make a profit long term. However taking "shots" is good for the soul and as long as done sensibly it can give you a quicker route to levelling up the stakes and/or paying off bills without adversely affecting your main ringfenced bankroll.

I think it was Jake Cody or Toby Lewis that won £5k in a GUKPT or similar and used the whole amount to buy into their first EPT main event. The fact that they went on to win the EPT is now legendary. I will never be a Cody or Lewis because I will never risk big amounts on a single tournament. For every Cody/Lewis there are hundreds that did similar, didn't make day 2 and you never hear of them again. I will however still try to get into bigger tournaments via a cheaper satellite option. Sometimes just playing a bigger event even without cashing is sufficient enjoyment & reward in itself. If you fancy playing the bigger tournament or always wanted to do one and you have sufficient funds available to you to continue the longer term grind, then go for it. Just play it for what it is and enjoy the journey. Finally, as the guys have already said, you will encounter difficult situations and be put to the test as in any game. You need to think clearly on what is the best move, effectively play it like any other game you play, don't play scared or let the occasion affect you.

[A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 1973]

Re: Having to play out of your comfort zone and not knowing which zone to choose. You know what. Yeah, it's never been real money. Even if I won a Heads-Up, so what... $400 ain't gonna last very long. And as I don't play those normally, it's THOSE where I'm probably out of my zone. I'll be playing their game for a relatively insignificant amount of money. I should go play my game where it's theoretically worth more and potentially make an amount of money I haven't come close to having before. Now, if anyone else is in it, and it could be possible to make it official publicly through here, I wouldn't mind swapping some five or ten percents.. :D