MTTs - Turbo/Freeroll Tactics

[Thunder]

Hi all,

I'm currently noodling around playing freeroll MTTs on a number of sites. The highest prize I can win is £25 (and that's the big game, lol.

These are typically turbo style, where the blinds are relentlessly increasing every 4 or 5 minutes and with 500 to 1000 entrants. I typically play early stage strategy and through precision play (playing few hands but winning big each time) am usually among the chip leaders very early on.

So after 15 minutes or so, I'm sat there, with say 7000 in chips (from a start of 1500) and with 40 bbs am looking quite comfortable. Before you know it though, it's 22 bbs. The short stacks (<2000 chips) really start to feel the pinch with <10 bbs and shove with anything and due to being chased out of pots, or choosing not to get involved with garbage hands, those 22 bbs can quickly be eradicated to 11bbs - simply by the blinds doubling and by not playing a hand.

When I get to <10 bbs, and am now way off the chip leaders, I start to shove and invariably get caught in the melee of a coin flip.

I've tried being ultra aggressive and shoving with any ace from the start - which often gets caught out by a pocket pair or or higher ace. And I've tried sitting back - even if it means losing ground as the blinds increase - but here I just end up moving with less than premium hands due to my decreasing stack to blinds ratio.

How do you reccommend playing these as whatever I do, I end up in a coin flip. If this is always gonna be the case, then fine, but if there is something else I should be doing, I'd like to know. Considering Jesus amassed $10,000, starting out in freerolls, there must be some method (apart from being a monster player as he is!).

[drmcboy]

win the coin flip.

it seems based on your post you're getting too involved with being an early chip leader and feeling like you 'should' win from there. If there are still 500 people left you're still a huge dog to win and as you mention, everyone will be short stacked before long.

There is a freeroll strat post about 10 posts down.

[Thunder]

Thx for the link, I'll check it out.

Nah, no preoccupation. As I said, I play typical MTT early strategy - sit tight and move in position with premium hands.

I keep an eye on the remaining contestants - and it's like a stopwatch as they drop like flies. By playing just a handful of hands in 25 mins, there'll be less than half. And this is where sitting back just doesn't cut it as the blinds just double up.

[drmcboy]

here is the link, also do a search, this gets asked about every 3 weeks.

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...oker-61955.htm

[Thunder]

HAd a fab day today. inal 20 in 5 tourneys and chip leader in many of them.
Last tourney was 1000 entranst and up until final 3, I was the chip leader.

3 games running busted me - with opponents calling without the odds to do so and my stack went from a domineering 825,000 to 300,000 and in 3rd with blinds at 20,000/40,000 and so I tilted a bit and pushed all in with Q9os,- got called by J5 os of all hands, and though I hit a 9, he hit a J.

But still, very good. Especially as I was bad beat to go from 65,000 to 20,000. I then had my very own suckout (I finally had one!) to get back up to 64,000. I had pocket 7s, Villain had pocket 5s, both all in. Flop comes 959 to make his full house, turn comes 3 and river comes 9. I thought I was out but I scored a higher boat!

What was unexpected was that as the blinds got bigger, the time period extended.

[dalbearve]

hi everybody this is my first post

[stardustakos]

All these races are typical in Mtts. If you really want to get into the realm of MTTs you must get used to situations like these. There will be a time when shoving Q9 is the optimal thing to do and the caller shows you AA and you lose, or somebody shoves Q9 and you call with AA and you lose.

Situations are countless but it all ends up in playing good poker which means, make the optimal move in any given situation and let the cards come as they come.

[drmcboy]

[ ] cool bump

[stardustakos]