I have been playing poker for some time now and never been really competitive. I have turned things up a notch over the past weeks and find myself on the bubble most of the time. I am a patient player and dont get nervous easily. I have played mostly freerolls and eventho you have to overcome many idiots who go all in with basically any hand I always get to the later stages. But there it all goes wrong. Can someone please give me some tips to make it to the final table. I practice a lot and got the hang of things but its getting past the last hurddle that gets me everytime.
Joined: Sep '07
Location: Sweden
Age: 48 (M)
Posts: 244
Maybe your should try to play a small buy in tourney. Its much better play there. And if you are as patient as you say you should have a much better chance to reach the final table. BTW i played lots and i mean lots of freeroll. But never one. But i have lots of 2nd places. In a buy in tourneys its different i win almost 60% of the heads up matches there Gl and see ya at the tables
Joined: Mar '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 68 (M)
Posts: 197
sounds to me like you are playing TAG is this correct?, if I am right and you are well thats the best way in the early stages. If you are getting near the bubble as you say, you must be playing well. I reckon myself to be a good tourney player and what I find is that to get on that final table when on bubble or close you got ta steal those blinds which is a basic rule of tourney play, you have to loosen up some and play hands harder when you get one. As you know by the time you get to the later stages the blinds are killing the small stacks and they will be forced to play hands they would not in the earlier stages so if you have a decent stack you can call with caution, if you have a small stack ,,,,well we dont like it ,, but you have to gamble! and hope the poker Gods favour you that day,,,,,apart from that if like you are saying you are reaching the later stages in freerolls , you cant be doing to bad,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
gl
also,,,the 1st reply is good advice,,,,,buy in tourneys are much better,,,,the higher the buy in the shorter the field and the better the poker, usually!,,,,but bite the bullet deposit some cash and have a go,,,,, but! you will find that unless you are going to enter 5-10$ tourneys you will still be up against big fields,,,,,,anyway kaysara ,,,, gl
I much prefer buying into 10 or 20$ tourneys ,, in this way the fields on the site I usually play are always under 300,,,,sometimes less
Well I feel when I am playing more aggressive and up the stakes most of the time the bad players eliminate themselves. Its frustrating because I believe I am a good player with potential. I think the biggest problem with me is that I do tend to go for some dodgy hands which ultimately cause short stack and eventually the blinds do kill me. Thanks very much for your advice I will keep battling on, hopefully I make it to the final table sometime and start work on my bankroll.
------------ I think I will start playing some 6 player tourneys and see if I can win a few. I feel with my patience but aggressive play I can dominate most of them. I dont go down on big hands a lot, its those small pocket pairs and hidden straights that kill me....
Joined: Mar '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 68 (M)
Posts: 197
hope you do bud,,,,,there is nothing like playing on a final table with a decent stack,, I have had 14 final tables this year,,,, 3 seconds 2 3rds ,, I aint won one which is so anoying,,,,,,,, to get back to your post,,, you say you think you are playing some dodgy hands,,, well,,, we all ! do on occasion,, but only exspierience will sort that out,,,,gl
also u say u are going to try some 6 stgs,,, be careful they are so hard to win,,,,,gl
If You really want to make it to the final tables then You have to play VERY agressive right before "In the Money". Many successful tourney players are doing this. When just some people need to be eliminated, then usually the smaller stacks are playing very defensive, because they hope that someone else will be eliminated before them, so they can reach the money.
If You play very aggressive at that stage then You can steal a lot of blinds/pots and build Your stack.
If You are playing tight poker through the early stages of a tourney then many people at Your tables will rather fold then call when YOu make a big bet in a later stage, because YOu have shown to play with good starting hands only. This table image is perfect for stealing some pots when the tourney is on the bubble.
Try to get Yourself a copy of "Harrington on Holdem" to learn almost anything on NL Holdem Tourneys. It`s a great book that has helped me to improve my tournament results dramatically.
I find myself a lot of times tempted to go for big pots pre flop. Holding JK suited or something and pushing to get people to limp with me.....but specially in the early stages with blinds 30/60 you get idiots limping 32 not suited and running off with the pot of gold after hitting trips on the river or something. So how can I protect my stack without losing out on the chip leaders.
Joined: May '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 15
I was once in the same situation you are. The best advice i think you need as you clearly know how to make the bubble already is LOOSEN UP, remeber the other players at the table are thinking the same as you are "i dont want to go out now"... Dont be thinking but if i raise someone WILL CALL most of the time they wont, even with good hands they will fold because they are scared to risk there chips. You must raise and get those blinds. Trust me they WILL giv you them..
Main advice would be RAISE MORE and DONT feel like beause you have raise and sum1 has shuvoed over the top of you that you HAVE to call.. look at your stack if it can still double up to put you in a good position FOLD.. unless its a short stak looking to steal.
Joined: Mar '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 68 (M)
Posts: 197
if the the blinds are only 30/60 you dont really have to be playing jk unless in position ie,,, a raise on the button or minimum call in the blinds,,, like i said play tag early ,, any pair fromm 88 upwards push,,,,,aa kk ,, all in,,,,,ak aq even aj consider bets of 4 times big blind,,,,but early stages its a matter of wait then pounce,,,,the key is to make the first break usuall if u can get there ahead of the blinds or double original stack you will have a chance. This advice only counts for tourneys with a reasonable buy in,,, freerolls are a different kettle of fish and to tell you the truth i wouldnt play them ,, only for practice or when broke,, but any freeroll with a prize less than 1k with fields over 1k just aint for me,,,,,,,
jk suited on or near bubble when blinds are big and in position is a nice hand for me,,,,but early bin it
also check out VC,,,when u get some player points there they have some decent pps tourneys with smaller fields
I have used some free bankrolls already and find the microgames so boring that I get stuck in the NL0.50/1.00 immediately most of the time not succesful since you get pushed by the stacks immediately. I made it to 70 dollars at some point and found myself all in with AA losing to a dissapointing fullhouse 2 over 3. Sad and very frustrating. Is it better to play SNG or Tourneys at the start to build your bankroll.......
------------ What are the percentages that AA will lose all in preflop.....I see it happen so many times and I wonder if in early position going all in is the right move or to sqeeuze some stacks with the risk of going out against trips....
