MTT play on a loose table when you don't get the cards.

[Iwind]

Today I was playing the 20+2$ MTT on PokerStars, thought it was going pretty well getting to first break with average stack without taking any risks at all. Then after the second break, I got no decent cards at all, not even a single pocket pair, no suited connecters above 8, and not even unsuited AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ, QJ that I could have played with.

At the table I was the big stacks were playing really loose, several of them were limping in with stuff like 56o and even calling raises with it. It was like 5 seeing each flop in average, and they were playing really badly, going all in with crap and getting lucky.

I knew that if I got the cards I could most likely double up easily, but what can I do when I don't get cards? I was sitting there for like 25 minutes, blinds raised to 200 and my stack was getting close to 2000.
Then the blinds got to me again, and I was BB with ATo, and that's the best hand I after the break. 4 people limps in front of me as usual, and I decide I have to make a move, I probably have a tight image now so I go all in and get 1k in blinds, great. On the next hand I got knocked out of the tournament, I posted that hand in another tread.

Anyways, what I'm wondering about is how to act in this situation, can I do anything else than wait for the cards? I mean I never even got position to steal, always limpers or raises in front every single time. I think I made the right move pushing AT here, what do you think?

[chardrian]

You played fine - gotta be patient. And got bad beat, and are now focusing on results. Stop focusing on results (although it is really really hard to do). I have been dying for a better than $5 k win for the last couple of months now, and although I really really wanted that result I have been focusing on my decisions not the results. I know for a fact some of my decisions last week were horrible... and I think that was because I wanted that big pay off so bad. After losing (but losing well) Friday night, I stayed and watched the table because I had actually changed the dynamics of the table through my play and wanted to see how people used that to their advantage or disadvantage. I ended up giving someone else a peptalk about focuing on his decisions not his results and that refocused me.

Badabing, badaboom. Out early in the $100 + 9 at Bodog when my small stack AQ ran into a set with a flop of 82Q - but my play was fine. Less than 8 hours later, I finally made my > $5 k payoff that I've been waiting for.

Sorry, long post (as usual) - I'm still on a bit of a high. Long story, short: patience, it will come. Re-read aok's sticky.

[Theeggman]

A move I have found valuable if I'm at a loose table is to limp any two from the button when the table allows it. It gets me a lot of limped pots when I make a 2x minbet when I'm checked to on the flop (don't minbet though). Of course sometimes I'll actually pick up a hand and get a nice pot but mostly it gives me a chance to pick up the limpers' (3 or 4 of them max) chips on the flop - or then take out one remaining caller on the turn with a big bet.

You could also rep hands at a weak table. Raise it from the button or CO with limpers in front and then put out a standard cont flop bet (your tight image will help take the pot).

But my favorite play without cards has become what I call the "post-flop button steal" which gives me a good shot at picking up 3-4 bbs on a raggy or scary flop when the pot isn't contested. I think this works because I can rep overcards when I don't hit and people don't want to gamble 1/4 - 1/3 the pot to chase out of position. Yesterday I played 53o from the button and destacked tpgk w/my bottom 2 pair using this tactic.

[Iwind]

I do try to focus mostly on how I play and not the results, but it's so much nicer to see my BR growing than shrinking. Played 4 MTTs today and not even ITM one single time, wich sucks. Grats with that big win of yours, hope I'll manage to get to a FT and take home such a nice pot some day

Thanks for tips Theggman, that would certainly be something I can try out when I don't get the cards. Just worried that these type of loose limpers will also just call me down on flop, but I might get lucky and get a good hand, and it's certainly better than just sitting there and letting the blinds kill me off. After raising pre-flop I usually rep a hand even if I miss flop, and that pays off, so might work well just after I limped too then. Will see how it goes