EnT2002 Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 hi folks..Am going through one of those runs at the moment where I just cant get into the cash in ANY tournament. Take last nights $2.5K freeroll on SO..I get a decent start playing TAG and getting plenty of hands to do it with and am top 10 at the break..Then I get a guy on the table who is raise raise raise and I clam up totally..playing nothing and putting hands down that I just shouldnt be folding. Any tips on playing later stages of a tourney would be gratefully received. I just dont seem to attack and end up getting blinded out.. Typical example...with 20 left (10 paid out) I get 88 under the gun and fold it. Needless to say it would have stood up and i probably would have taken 2 more out.. Have i just got no bottle????:wall:wall:wall Or is it a common problem? Ended up getting blinded out and gone in 15th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masterplan Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! read harrington part 2 if you havent already, the encouragement to play to win lies within its pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prowler Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! Any tips on playing later stages of a tourney would be gratefully received. I just dont seem to attack and end up getting blinded out.. theres ya answer..... dont play to make the money, play to win!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerBarney Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! It is a common problem, I often get chip scared towards later stages of tourneys. I think that I was playing to hit the money - playing safe. This meant I was happy to fold decent hands to avoid risking the safety net.. telling myself that once I made my buy in back I could go nuts and get aggressive. Of course, by the time that happens my only move is all in, and undoubtedly I get called by a big stack who sucks out on me (didn't you know big stacks attract luck like a magnet? :)) The general idea is right - play to win. You might not make the money as many times, but when you do it's likely to be higher. One good win (15-25% of the prize pool) is better that 50 scraping the moneys (0.5-1%). Start stealing more, bluffing more, and re-raising against weak, mid stacked opponents. They will feel like they don't want to risk missing the money and tighten up. Take advantage of these players, and don't become one! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelopeys Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! When you hit a bad streak... there are 2 factors involved... 1. cards 2. your game HOWEVER... cards will maybe have 1 % to do with it... and your game 99 % When you're constantly losing, you will stop playing to win... and start playing weak... basically you will start playing to AVOID loosing... ...and that is probably the worst thing that can happen to your game... When that happens to me... I play lower stakes to bring back my fearless game... because I have to risk an amount of cash I don't care about losing... That normally helps me getting my game back on track... :ok ...attack... attack... attack... Good luck...:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! Agree with Pene, when you starting thinking about the chips as money you're screwed. They are a weapon to beat people up with. If you're scared you'll get nowhere. Make people fear you. Raise agressively, steal blinds. One bit of advice I do have for the later stages is, never call, either raise or fold. no point limping a hand you don't feel good about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avongirl Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! EnT, I sympathise, as it's exactly where I am at too. :wall And I agree with the advice. I know that's what I should be doing, but even though I'm playing very small stakes, I can't get over the fear of losing. :( I believe the root of my problem is chasing a profit. I've been keeping a close track of my buy-ins/winnings and having made a profit in month 1, (see it's easy this poker isn't it!) found I was about break-even in month 2 until the last week, (hmm, not so easy) at which point I just needed to make up a couple of $s, and a week later I was $20 down. This month is dire, only a couple of times in the money, and that's only 2nds not wins. (OMG I'm rubbish at this):cry So I have decided, to hell with profit, I will play with the money I have in the accounts and use this for learning and enjoyment. When it's gone, I'll decide whether to put in some more enjoyment money. At the moment the amount is only what I would have spent elsewhere anyway (not going racing this year so saving on betting money). :) Thanks for posting this thread, as it's good to know you are not the only one having a bad time. I'm sure there'll be lots more good advice posted up here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masterplan Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! trying to show my mtt stats but having issues finding a simple page host, bear with me :) ok here goes. must be viewed in IE but here it is as you can see, making the money not often, but tending to do better when i actually do This page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prowler Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! the fact you are blinding out and not hitting the money is reason enough to play more aggressive towards the final stages as you have already found out clamming up doesnt work, personally i'd rather risk all my chips on one hand if it puts me in position to win than dwindle about and lose everything just to make the lower cash places! if ya gonna go out you may as well go out giving yaself a chance to hit the big money than hanging on for the pittances!! oh and for a page host try zoomshare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daftpegasus Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! I think the thing to do is concentrate on your opponents and remember they are likely to be thinking along similar lines to yourself. At that stage in an MTT you'll find that a number of people go all in everytime they bet. They can't always have pocket aces. The time that you get the most information about your opponents is when you get to see their cards (never show you're own if you have a choice). If they've gone all in with A,rag and manage to win then you know something about their level of thinking. They are also likely to go all in with low and mid pocket pairs. When they hit a great hand they'll generally raise as they want people in the pot. Equally concentrate on the size of their chip stacks. Bully those with low-medium chips stacks and avoid confrontation with the large stacks if possible. Use position. Pockets 7's when you're first to play is a completely different hand to pocket 7's on the button. My final piece of advice goes against everything else I've said but remember it is possible to win at the final table when you start with the lowest chip stack. In fact generally I've found the largest chip stack going into the final table rarely wins the tournament. I've probaly made this far more confusing than it is meant to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnT2002 Posted June 5, 2006 Author Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! :eek Wow what a response! Thank you all for you taking the time to offer advice and i will take a little from each of you if thats ok.. Thanks again all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelopeys Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Re: I cant hit the money....Help please!! :eek Wow what a response! Thank you all for you taking the time to offer advice and i will take a little from each of you if thats ok.. Thanks again all Anytime... :ok That's what we are here for really... ;) BESIDES: Meeting up somewhere in the world, play poker and drink beers together :loon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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