Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ?

[^Newbie^]

Didn't really want to play in big tourneys but i have no choice , entered the wrong tourney in bodog and got tournament credits instead of cash (finished 1st for $55 tourney credits :wall:wall:wall:wall) Would have preferred cash though . Plan to use this for a 5k gurantee ($10+1) and a 30k Gurantee ($40+4) . Any good advice ?

[georgej]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? Only thing i can tell you is don't bluff - at least not until after the first break. Play tight and try to trap players with your cards as long as you don't leave yourself open. If wanting to put in a sizable raise when you have "probably" the best hand - raise to the size of the pot (as long as your stack can take it). When i have played these games, i have found that the chip leaders have hit something good on the flop and really make you pay to see the next card. Hopefully get rid of the limpers, and while there should be less muppets in these games, there are still a few.

[^Newbie^]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? point noted . :ok Thing is , i seldom do bluffs early on in the game . Makes no sense to do that as the blinds are real small . Not worth the effort in doing that . May end up getting worse off .

[philossify]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? My advice (for what its worth) is based on an article I think I remember reading about 6 months ago written by some pro which basically said that for MTTS then until you get down to the money stage you ahould generally only play "premium" hands . those being pocket pairs 77 and up and also AK, AQ ... these hands you should play "aggressively" bearing in mind your stack size and position. Additionally I seem to remember suggestion to play Axs (where x is 7 or above). KQs,QJs and JTs non aggressively. Now thats the general advice and IMHO you need to modify that with some rules about position in the betting order, stack size and nature of the table . If you are dealer or hand before dealer and its all passed round to you then a bit of intelligent stealing is in order ... intelligent meaning don't risk too much of your stack with really crap hands and have an escape plan when and if you get reraised. Of course if your stack size relative to the blinds gets low then the quality of hand required for "all-in" gets lower. If the table is a particularly shy one with a tendency for lots of limping and no raising before the flop then you can (in the early stages) be a little inventive in staying with suited connectors or low pairs. On more normal tables then my advice would be to forgo limping - use the rule that if you can't raise the bet before the flop then fold. So in general its no playing Axo, KJs, KTs in early positions no all-ins (unless absolutely desperate) on low pairs, ignore suited connectors most of the time ... you get the idea? Resist bluffing in the early stages - ok its irritating to see some muppet go all in with crap and win big pots at the start (which is a somewhat valid move in freerolls) but generally these playes will get their comeuppance in the mid stages of the tourney. When it gets to the money stages one thing to remember is that the game has lost nearly all the easy pickings so in a 500 player tourney when you get to the last 50 its much the same as playing in the Punters Lounge specials (the $1 Challenge is a superb training ground). Most of all remember to be pragmatic... if its a 400 player MTT and you are better skillwise than 50% of the opposition then you are doing well if you get in the money 1 time in 5 amd if you win 1 time in 50 that is a very good result. When you do have the luck go against you and suffer bad beats then provided you can legitimise your decisions and betting (right action - wrong result) then don't beat yourself up. A lot of the above describes my theory rather than practise - the hardest part of this game is patience and concentration - make sure you play your important games when the conditions are best for you. Apologies if I appear at all preachy in the above. Lots of luck. :beer

[68allin]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? i for what it is worth find it more profitable to bluff early (or play with worse hands) in a tourney of more value. Although most 10k 20k guarenteed tourneys with buy ins of $10 - $33, i play in, normally come from qualifying through mtt's or sit and go's of about $3-$5 's. Id play the first level very tight and see if u can suss out a few players style, if a 10-15 min 1st level then u may get a pretty good idea of the whole table! i find there to be alot more chancers(face card with suited kicker, or lot of ak off's) or very tight(fold anything less than poc pair jacks or above) with the 'chancers' they are likely to raise or call a say 5x'blind' but fold qiute easy too a significant raise or a reraise if they dont hit! The tight players are the ones u gotta watch as although possibly easier to bluff (as if u put them on only playing premium hands, eg theyv'e got A T off they fold pre flop in early pos) u can raise small or call a small raise by them knowing(thinking) they are on a poc pair, say 10's or j's they will be likely fold too a pot size bet if a K or A flops, but always be prepared too fold too a significant re-raise as they may have tripped! i always try to stay about roughly chip average, although try not to get too desparate(all in's) unless i am down too about 3x bb or say 5 rounds of blinds. till about ther is about double they prize places left(50 paid then 100 left) if im above average stack at this point, then i will start palying uberTight, and use every second available too me(no matter how many people start zzzzzzzzzzz'ing or whingeing, use every advantage u can(IMO) try too play the blinds(as in if u are 2 hands from BB u may need too fold quickly, too try and pass through the BB before the blinds raise) when(if) u pass the bubble and are in the money, then its a tottally different story if its a big payout(pesonally i want to go for the win, so thats what i play for(but everyone will play from here different. some may see as playing for the win as tight, some will play looser, this is where i would play very tight again, as some peope will think at least theyv'e profitsd so they might aswell go for it) but in a freeroll or cheap mtt thats how i would personally play at this point(very aggresive, not too bothered) so in an expensive tourney i think from playing very tight( even not playing a single hand but taking evry second available too u, u can make a bit extra(say instead of coming in the 40-50 u may come in 20-30) but each too there own! Sorry if this makes no sense, been on the beer for last 5 hours, but thought id throw my 2 penny's worth in! basically IMO im in a big payout tourney , id play tight very early, try get a feeling of your table(id start at this point again if i get moved) then when u get a rough idea be abit more looser pre flop, pre turn but be prepared too fol too significant reraises unless youve got a good hand(trips, top pair with ace kicker, overpair, 2 pair with str/flush draw) at witch point id reraise(then prolly fold the over pair or the top ppair with ace kicker too an all in) then its upto u how u play the pro bubble part of the tourney depending on how u feel your table is playing and where u would (be happy/want too) finish!! Just my opinion(although it be slightly intocicatedly) :beer :beer and slightly ((((baracketly)))) :ok

[68allin]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? also add yes your position in play is hughey significant as id say poc 7s is alot better hand in late position when its folded too u than say poc 10's in early positin knowing youve got chancer's (e.g q j suited) early on left too act aswell as a few tight players(as if a face card or two flop, u raise where are u when they reraise?) :ok thats me done i think Gl in your tourneys how ever u play them! Actually best bet is just play your game! Good luck

[^Newbie^]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? thanks for the input guys . Much appreciated . If all goes well , should be playing the 30k gurantee later on . A much more decent time in the morning for me compared to the wee hours . Right , off to bed and get up fresh for it later on . :ok

[^Newbie^]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? alright , i played in the 30k gurantee . Well , i won't say it was a poor performance but there are seriously some areas where i need to wake up :wall:wall:wall:wall:wall:wall I got busted by aces Twice which took away most of my stack . Think i finished 87 out of 500 + after 3 hours + . 54th pays $105 so i'm quite pissed anyway that i didn't finish in the money . Was my primary aim anyway :loon:loon:loon:loon The game was pretty tight but starting chips were 3000 , 15 mins blinds . First break gone and i'm left with 2500 , not sure if players were bluffing or what . Everyone puts in big bets and i'm not very sure where i am even when i hit top pair ( Cause i didn't raise and its not worth doing so with a weak kicker) 2nd round at this stage , i look to be heading for early exit with 1000+ left . Hovering around 1000-1500 at this stage and pushing all in whenever i had position . Suprisingly , all folded . :loon:loon Finally got some decent hands like KK , AA around this area and quickly pushed my stack up to 8k . Got some more big hands and suddenly my stack flew up to 16k or 17k . Found 77 in late position and one early player went all in for about 7k of chips . All folded to me and i was thinking whether to call . Decided not to risk it and folded instead . (God knows what will happen if i call) Got into trouble with KK when someone in early position raised . Given that the table is very tight , i went all in and as u know it , he turns over AA . No help for me and i'm down to 4k . Have to adopt that policy of shoving in when in position . Again no action , and i end up having 11k coming to 2nd break . 3rd round started and first hand dealt AKs . Someone went in with 79s . Same kind of suits with me and i went on to increase my stack up to 18k . Next , one player just sat down after the player was knocked out and first hand he called . Not too sure what he had in the end , but after the flop , i had a flush draw with k high . Kept betting until the river and the spade didn't come for me . Gave the huge pot to him in the end and i'm down to 6k . The deadly hand finally came though . Someone who is first to act actually flat calls . Blinds was like 400/800 i think . All folded to me in 2nd late position and i had AJ . I was actually thinking that he was trying to trap someone but its very hard to fold AJ and i felt i needed some chips without action i feel . So i went all in . The next player calls . Showdown of AA :@ , 88 , AJ begins . Flop comes blank blank J , turn blank , river blank and i got knocked out in 87th . As i said , disappointed to finish like this as the flat call was a clear hint not to have went in . Still , i felt the 3 hours + work was probably worth it . Shows that the high gurantee tourneys are real tough . Rant over :lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

[georgej]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? Unlucky Newbie Looks like you hit a bad run, but also looks like you started playing a bit too loose in the final stages. Did well to get that for though. Next time... I just qualified for the 35k on Betfair (just). Hope fully be able to get as far as you did or in the money :loon (Qualifying hand, headsup - BB for 200 with TT raised to 400 SB went allin - Showed K4d flop 6c Td Qd - now i'm nervous turn 6d - anything but a diamond :cry oh hang on FH river Ts - quad tens. Never in doubt :lol ) Edit: having problems with my internet connection. Looks like i'll need to play a very tight game - don't want it to be like SO where i couldn't finish a hand :\

[68allin]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? Unlucky newbie, but well done for doing aswell as u did, and good luck george :hope

[^Newbie^]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? good luck george , go take home the tourney .

[georgej]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? Came 1st and last Tourny cancelled due to server meltdown :( That was hours ago and still not got my refund. Buyin was $270 (i qualified through $50 stt) 108 entries - hopefully get $320 but who knows

[^Newbie^]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? Ouch , just hated that don't we :spank:spank:spank:spank

Came 1st and last Tourny cancelled due to server meltdown :( That was hours ago and still not got my refund. Buyin was $270 (i qualified through $50 stt) 108 entries - hopefully get $320 but who knows

[chewyscot]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? My best finish so far was 5th in a $20000 tournement. I reckon its a case of biding your time for the early rounds, and just wait for that hand to come around - chase the flush and you'll catch the bus - call All ins and you'll get sucker punched - if you weren't intending to go all-in pre-flop, why be perusaded to do so just becuase somebody with a low chip count has. Save your brave moves for the later stages - where usually fortune will favour the brave.

[deamon]

Re: Any advice for playing in big tourney such as 10k , 20 k , 30k gurantee ? The best way to win such a tournament is to relaaaaaaaax and believe in your cards :D :D