I have probably played in close to a 1000 poker tournaments. The number one goal is to "take it down" which means to win first place. The number two goal is to "make it to the money" which means be one of the people who gets payed for placing in the top 10% of the people who played the tournament. Tournament poker tables have 10 players per table so if you are playing in a 5 table tournament and all the tables are full generally 5 people will "make the money". The third goal is to walk away no matter what feeling like you played your best poker.
I believe I have a pretty solid poker game, I understand the mechanics of good hands and bad, I am pretty good at predicting what my opponents might do, I know the value of different betting strategies and I have a decent table image. Yet I am often frustrated by what feels like my frequent inability to make it past the top 20% in a tournament.
In poker tournaments everyone starts out with the same number of chips and then the game continues until one person has all the chips. I almost always outlast more than half the people who start the tournament. However, there is something that happens to me when it gets down to the last 20-30% of players. I haven't been able to figure it out and this has led many evenings of frustration as I leave the poker room.
I have tried to examine my game for a couple of obvious problems. The first, is that I may get too conservative trying to "save" my chips by not playing hands because I become worried I will lose and get knocked out before the money. I try to be very conscious of this behavior but suspect I am guilty of this flaw. The second thing is that to balance this out I might tend to take too many risks thinking that I need to make some chips so I can survive to the end of the tournament. In these situations if you don't get lucky you go home.
I suspect that the answer to my dilemma is somewhere in between. For non- poker readers thanks for giving this a read, for poker readers I would love some feedback on this topic.
Personally I would have goal 3 be number 1. U can't control how the cards run but u can control how u play. End game is the toughest part of mtts its amazing how tough it is to just focus on winning when u know pay jumps r involved but mtts in the long run r all about getting top 3. Yes cashing is good but top 3's r the way to show profit at the end of the year. I would recommend joining the training website pokervt.com and watching all of kidpoker videos but also all of Jason jcarver somervilles videos he is by far the best poker coach I've ever watched he will open u give u ideas about poker in ever video. Your game and my game r very different then his We both play more like john turner (another pokervt pro) but I would never be where I am today w/o jcarvers help. He really breaks down all stages of mtts and when and how to apply pressure in different spots. Hope this is helpful! Kyle
ReplyDeleteWell....I wish I had advice, but don't know if I'd be a very good person to get advice from...I could always use some of my own.
ReplyDeleteSo, realize that if the structure pays 10%, and you lose your money 80% of the time, you're absolutely crushing the game. Also realize that the exceptionally high variance associated with tournaments means that even the great result of losing 80% of the time frequently will entail longer losing streaks than you would imagine (on the other hand, if it weren't for variance, you'd never experience the joy of cashing twice in a row!).
ReplyDeleteThere is one secret to conquering variance, which is to keep detailed, long-term records of all your buyins and cash outs. Then, over time, you can get a sense of how well you're playing. And you can more easily relax about today's result and focus on the quality of your play!
When I first started playing poker my tutor gave two pieces of advice that is true all the way through the game. They are just two questions. I have read a couple of different books and listened to all sorts of players and boiling it down it still comes down to these two questions.
ReplyDeleteDuring the game ask yourself, "am I willing to risk my tournament life on this hand?" On the final table it is most important to use this question to gauge whether or not you play aggressively or passively. It also helps to keep your game changing and everyone else guessing what or how you are playing.
At the end of each game ask yourself, "could I have played any hand differently?" Win or lose, especially lose, if the answer is no, let the game go. There is no reason to beat yourself up over a game well played. This is the best time to remember that there is an element of luck involved. If the answer yes, evaluate what could have been done. The other players, the dealer, the flow of the cards, position, your thoughts (are you on tilt?) and all the other nuances of the game that affect the outcome of a hand. Fully realize what would have made the hand work best for you. Once you have done this remember only enough of the game to get you through the next one. Don't beat yourself up. Again, this is a good time to remember there is a certain amount of luck involved.
I like the idea of keeping records if keeping those records are not a way to beat yourself up and if that is the only way to remember the lessons you are learning from self evaluation.
When I was playing two or more times a week and was doing this for every game, I was making it to the final table 70 to 80% of the time and cashing about 50%. That percentage was getting better until I started playing only once or twice a month and sometimes wouldn't play for months at a time. I am still ending up on the final table most of the time. I wish I could cash that often.
One lesson I learned on my own is that has been invaluable is that you need to play one table at a time. It doesn't matter how many players are in a tournament you only have one table full of players you need to focus on. It doesn't matter what the players on the other tables are doing.