Cant turn corner from ITM to Final Table

[BobbySalami]

Hello all,

I am still a newb, however in my cheap tournaments I have been playing, although I have been playing better, I cant quite seem to turn the corner. Towards the end of tournaments for some reason I try to trick myself that I have a good hand...any tips on how to avoid this/

For example....Late in a tourny, Im 3rd in chips and get dealt K6s, I decide to take a cheap flop to see if a flush draw will hit. However, I flop a K.

For some reason after playing countless hours I look at this hand as a monster when I am bet into....and end up loosing my stack to KQ, when I decided that I was pot dedicated.... .

Well, Thanks to FTR, I have learned to become an aggresive player, but late in tourneys I become a Maniac for some reason which costs me the big payouts. But I dont want to tighten up and be a rock.

I know I am rambling, and if this makes sense to anyone I would appreciate some feedback. Thank you.

[vqc]

when u make it ITM. Tighten up. Simple. You can steal blinds but dont play K6s.

Gunther is awesome. The Ding Dong Song and Teenie Weenie String bikini!!!!!

[BobbySalami]

when u make it ITM. Tighten up. Simple. You can steal blinds but dont play K6s.

Gunther is awesome. The Ding Dong Song and Teenie Weenie String bikini!!!!!

Lol....somebody else knows who that is.....

Anyways, yes I should have folded, but was on the button and the blind was only 1/100th of my stack size, so I though I'd take a look at it.

But I should have let it go as soon as I saw no diamonds on the flop. But I just cant seem to stop turning into a maniac. Also, since you suggest tightening up, I geuss I have trouble switching gears. I play very aggresive after the first 45 minutes of a tourney where I will try to win most of my pots without a showdown, unless I have the nuts.

Is tightening up when your ITM a winning strategy?....or only because I tend towards maniacal?

[vqc]

This is a quesiton for aces and michael and the countless other relaly really good MTT players here.

All i can tell you is that you seem to recognize your weakness. If anything, the otherplayers will just restate what you know. Next time you make it ITM, try playing opposite of what you usually do, and see how it turns out.

[drmcboy]

If you can't get away from A/K small suited when you make a pair, you shoudn't be playing them. You wouldn't go broke playing your 76s if you hit top pair, don't do it here either. Pretty much the same hand, you're looking for two pair or better, and even two pair/trips is pretty iffy if someone is calling you down, especially if there was pre flop action.

I'm no final table expert but in general it sounds like you're getting a little impatient on the end. If you're a big stack, look to steal but DON'T look to play big pots. Most small/average stacks are probably at AI or fold mode, so if they show speed they probably have something.

[Hubris1]

If you're ITM with 100bb then you shouldn't be limping k6s on the button you should be raising it, even with a limper. You want to set yourself up as table captain with that much BB to spare while its still relatively cheap for you. If you have such a monster stack you need to raise, raise, raise. Raise with small pockets, raise with ace high, raise with offsuit connectors raise with whatever. This does not translate to be loose with your calls, your calls should still be premium hands, small pockets (if stacks justify) or if the guy's stack can pay you off low suited connectors (56s, 67s). Unless there's a metric ton of limpers I won't limp Axs or Kxs at this stage of the tourney, 8 to 1 odds does not justify it.

Anyway, the key to making a final table is by being smart aggressieve, stealing stealing stealing. Make people regret limping into a pot before you, and when they start trying to trap you, do it again just to make them think you didn't learn from your lesson, then give them a couple of free limps and start doing it again. When you do pick up a hand you can really shove it down people's throats and they'll call you down with TPTK thinking they have you trapped.

There's a short stack to your left? :Put him all in every hand with nothing if its 3-5bb. Keep doing it, eventually he'll finally make the call when he has 1.5bb left and got AQ or AJ and you've got 42 and you'll give him a suckout gambing with money you already took from him and you'll put the whole table on tilt.

[BobbySalami]

Excellent, Excellent advice all thank you.

Obviously after this tournament I couldnt stop thinking about it and was so upset cuz I realized what a humongous mistake I had made, not because of the money I missed out on.

I should have definately raised it preflop.....and when I got called on the flop, I shoulda let it go. I just need to stop getting impatient.

After I get a chip lead I play smart aggresive like you mentioned until I'm ITM, then it seems like my brain flips a switch to fishie mode.....thanks again. Ill let you know how I do in my next few tourneys.