My last 5 tournaments

[melinda27]

I've started keeping track of my statistics for my sitngo's and I seem to be doing well knowing I'm gonna have to put a 5th or 6th place finish in my little poker journal (dont laugh) its helping me to not make dumb mistakes when I dont have to so far. Anyway on to my question, I've started looking at the stats for my tournaments for the first time and i've noticed alot of strange numbers that might seem out of place, like, i lose way too much at showdown for what i would like. I think this is because I like to bet strong on top pair on the flop and make people pay more for their draws or take it down right there, but if they make their draw I dont just automatically lay down and i'll just call it out unless its just a ridiculous amount to call it down. Also I dont stop being aggressive when an overcard hits the board and sometimes this comes back to burn me. Anyway i'm talking too much, here are the stats from my last 5 tournaments if you wanna look and see if theres anything I can look on improving. Am I seeing too little/too many flops, not protecting my blinds enough over protecting my blinds, not playing good post flop and losing too many showdowns etc. etc. Thanks for the time guys.


01. You finished in 1st place

100 hands played and saw flop:
- 13 times out of 22 while in small blind (59%)
- 13 times out of 22 while in big blind (59%)
- 19 times out of 56 in other positions (33%)
- a total of 45 times out of 100 (45%)

Pots won at showdown - 7 out of 16 (43%)
Pots won without showdown - 22


02. You finished in 2nd place

104 hands played and saw flop:
- 13 times out of 29 while in small blind (44%)
- 22 times out of 28 while in big blind (78%)
- 14 times out of 47 in other positions (29%)
- a total of 49 times out of 104 (47%)

Pots won at showdown - 7 out of 18 (38%)
Pots won without showdown - 22

03. You finished in 2nd place
73 hands played and saw flop:
- 8 times out of 19 while in small blind (42%)
- 11 times out of 18 while in big blind (61%)
- 10 times out of 36 in other positions (27%)
- a total of 29 times out of 73 (39%)

Pots won at showdown - 10 out of 14 (71%)
Pots won without showdown - 13


04. You finished in 3rd place
111 hands played and saw flop:
- 10 times out of 24 while in small blind (41%)
- 12 times out of 24 while in big blind (50%)
- 17 times out of 63 in other positions (26%)
- a total of 39 times out of 111 (35%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 out of 14 (42%)
Pots won without showdown - 24

05. You finished in 1st place
140 hands played and saw flop:
- 6 times out of 31 while in small blind (19%)
- 15 times out of 31 while in big blind (48%)
- 15 times out of 78 in other positions (19%)
- a total of 36 times out of 140 (25%)

Pots won at showdown - 8 out of 16 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 34

[Fnord]

First off, it sounds like you're finishing in the money a lot, so treat anything I say with a grain of salt.

In a SnG I don't want to go to Showdown unless it's against a short stack or I can get there cheap, I might lose. I'm looking to fold or put down a bet that puts me all-in and/or gives a chaser unthinkable implied pot odds. This isn't ring, where I can walk away or rebuy knowing I got the best of it, rinse and repeat. In a tourney you want to just keep collecting chips (mostly from forced bets) and dodge big hands until someone shows you a better hand, then hope you can suck out on him

[melinda27]

i think thats right too fnord, thats why i've been trying to win more hands without showdown. Last sng i got 34 hands without showdown, i thought that was pretty good. I'm learning to be more aggressive when I have it just so i dont get sucked out by someone who doesnt. if that makes any sense.

[fishstick]

based your finishing in the money, i would look at "how" you're managing to do this. in other words, if you review a hand history for one of your winning tournies, did you make the money by really playing well (good cards, reading your opponents, aggressive betting, etc.), or did you win by catching a lot of lucky river cards.

be brutally honest with yourself. if you can honestly say, "geez, i played that really well" - i wouldn't change a thing. if you conclude you got lucky a lot of times, you'll need to change your play because it won't last. just answering these questions will tell you a lot.

now just looking at the stats, i would say are you playing to loosely, e.g. seeing too many flops (my % flops seen runs about 20%, but i play on the tight side). the "pots won at showdown" isn't that meaningful because is doesn't indicate how much was won (i would rather win a few huge pots than a lot of small pots ).

anyway, it looks like you're off to a good start. if you're really into tracking your stats, check out poker tracker (www.pokertracker.com), it's a very hand tool.

[Humphrind]

Combined total post won at showdown 49%

I love to see my pots won at showdown above 50% (100% is always the goal) but look at the finishes. You've placed ITM 5 out of 5 times? I can't see how you would be dissapointed or want help. But since you're askin'... I'm givin'.

There is a thin line between being cautious and being scared. I have seen too many pots won with 2nd pair to be scared of overs. However, people hold onto Aces too much for me to be comfortable betting pocket Ks with an A on the board. This sounds like a contradiction, because it is. The best tool to use in getting ahead of the game is experience. Redundant, but true.

When you are playing in a tournament, remember, a chip lost is more valuable than a chip won. My key to playing any tournament is to minimize losses. Don't make any bold move without the nuts or a commanding position to do so.

When you are playing against a draw can you tell they are drawing? If so, kudos to you. You are doing very well. If you suspect draws, watch out. People will commonly lay down drawing hands, but rarely if they are drawing to the nuts. This situation also is dependent. If you have top set, with 3 to a flush on the flop, play cautiously. Look for made flushes, if you feel you can eliminate those, I would overbet the pot to get flush draws out of there. Others would give them their pot odds knowing they hold the odds in their favor. I feel it's better to win the pot there. As I said, minimize losses.

One of the silliest things I have heard said is, "Well I couldn't lay that down." It is rarely true.
I have
The community brings :Ks: :Kc: :Ts:
my opponent goes all-in.
I am laying down my aces practically all the time, and replaying in my head where I could have pushed him out.

In a situation like that, you can lay your hand down. You'd be silly to call an all-in. However, there are many people out there who say, "but I just had to call that, I can't lay my hand down." and there are usually 3-4 people who say, "no, you're right. You can't lay that down." It makes me want to scream. It also lets me know whose money I'm going to take. It's rare that a game is that obvious, but those things happen in almost every game. Read the board, read the bets and if you think you are beaten, fold.

Overall your stats look good. I don't want to comment too much without seeing your hand history, but your flops seen percentage looks a little on the high side for games 1-4. My flops seen percentage is usually around 25% - 30% But I have won SnGs with a flops seen of 18% before.

[Fnord]

...can't wait for Ripptyde to chime in here...

[melinda27]

i'm not disappointed in my finishes. I just want to learn to be the best player i can be, and you guys know alot more about this game than i do. I dont always pick up when someone is on a draw but sometimes I can have them made for one or at least think i do. Like, if 2 spades come on the flop and i'm holding overpair and they bet into me and I call the bet, then the turn brings no help and they check then i bet back with a nice sized bet but not pot sized and they call and then if the river does bring an spade and they check, i will usually check and find them holding a flush they were planning on check raising me with i assume since I was betting at all the stages. If the river doesnt bring a spade usually they'll just check and i can come over with a minimum bet and they'll fold, if they reraise me i'll be cautious but usually call it down (probably a weakness by me) or if they bet overly strong i'll usually call it to find a busted flush or straight draw but sometimes i'll be beaten by someone holding two pair, i just think thats part of the game so i live with it (for now) I'd like to get all these things to where i can play them the best I can and take as much of the "luck" factor out of it as I can

[Humphrind]

bring 'em on. 8-)

[Xianti]

{Moved from Beginners Forum}


From the few posts you've made here, Melinda, I wouldn't really consider you a "beginner." Newbies don't finish in the money as consistently as you do.

[michael1123]

As everyone has said, you're definitely doing well with finishes like that.

The number of flops you should be seeing are very dependent on the type of table it is, as well as your own personal style. The first couple seems like an awful lot of flops seen, but with your finishes, this can't be seen as a problem in these tournaments. If you got a lot of cards, or the table was extremely tight and passive, that can definitely work.

What sticks out to me is the percentage won in showdowns. I also pick up a lot of pots without showdowns, but when I'm playing well I usually am winning over 80% of showdowns, and its a number I like to keep my eye on, to see if I'm making too many loose calls. But I think improving this will come with experience, as when you're still rather new, you have a feeling you're beat a lot of times, but aren't sure, and still call. When you have more experience, you can often know that there's a 90% or more chance that you're beat, even if you hold top pair and a good kicker. And there's plenty of times where I "know" my top pair, top kicker is beat as well.

For me, I thought my game took its biggest leap when I started to learn when to lay down a big hand. I think that's a defining step between being a good player that understands the basics and does pretty well, and being a very good player.