final table?

what type of changes do you guys make when you get to a final table of a mtt? ive recently started playing mtts again and feel that i am good at them and always feel like im capable of making it deep into a mtt, which i have. in the last few weeks since ive been playing mtts more, ive made the final table about 6 or 7 times but can never seem to win, or even make it to heads up. i have usually been reaching the final table with about an average size stack, i just cant seem to crack the top 2 spots, which is where the good money is. i also haven't lost in 8th,9th, or 10th so im surviving past a few players at the final table. so if anyone has any ideas or strategies they use at the final table, i'd be glad to listen and try the next time i reach a final table so i can finally pull down a mtt win.

I'm about to make a final table right now *knocks on wood* but typically when I"m at a final table I play only premium hands and wait for others to beat each other out. Unless, I'm in position to make a good bluff and take down blinds which are pretty high by the time you make the final table.

Waiting for premium hands will only work if the blinds aren't deadly, and the blinds are usually out of control by that time.

Getting to the FT is a time you should be tight. People are excited they are there and don't mine gambling a little. You don't want to gamble with 10 people left. You can steal in poisition and play premium hands, but otherwise stay tight until about 6 people left. BY this time you should have good reads on everyone and stealing will become easier. If you are agressive at this point you can build a huuge stack, just don't risk alot of it without a good hand (unless your read tells you that you have someone beat or can make them fold).

yesterday, before i wrote this post i was at the final table of a $25 freezeout on the Prima poker network. There were 250 or so that started. when it was down to 6 players, i had about 45k in chips, average stack was about 65k, only one player had less chips than me, he had about 25k. blinds were 2k/4k, no antes. I am dealt AhTh utg so i raised to 10k. the guy behind me calls, everyone else folds. so going to the flop i have 35k chips with a 26k pot. flop comes 8,3,5 rainbow, and i have him on maybe a middle pair since he didn't reraise, so i check the flop and he checked behind me. turn comes 4 and gives me the nut flush draw with 2 overs. i no longer have him on a middle pair because he surely would have bet it on the flop when i checked to him. so i figure he probably has A10, AJ, or AQ, and wanted to just see the free turn card. so i thought since i had the flush draw and 2 overs, my 2 options were to either push all-in to take down the pot because any other bet would make me pot committed if he reraised over the top. my other option would be to check and call a very small bet in hopes of hitting the flush on the river or fold to a big bet. how would you guys play this situation, do you push all-in in hopes of taking down the pot that would make you average stacked or would you just check and hope he gives you a free river?

Blah, I ended up in 5th place..I was low stack at the table at the time and went all in with pocket 3's and lost to A10.

well i just got back to a final table right now of paradise $25 freezeout with 191 entrants, average stack, still 10 left, lets see if i can take this one down for a win

damn, 8th place.. late position with a middle pair decided to raise for a steal and big blind short stack went all-in with AQ and i had to call and lost the tossup when he flopped his Q. this left me short stack. couple people went out and went out when i pushed all-in with J5off to steal the blinds and 77 called and held up from the blinds. but figured i'd rather go out pushing and trying to steal than getting blinded out.

almost made another final table, decent stack, 16 left, i get AK, im raised, I go all-in from the blind with AKs, he calls with AKoff, hits a 4 card flush to beat me, and he had me slightly stacked so i get fucked once again late in a tourney

I ended up placing 11th in a tourney yesterday out of about 300 people and today I was the first person to bust out of the final table of a 500 person MTT..Both losses were ridiculous, I don't know if I'll be able to win one of these things.

Another thing to realize is there is always a big element of luck at the final table. The blinds are huge compared to the stack sizes. I finished 6th yesterday in a 900 person MTT. The guy that won it was about to be blinded out at 8th. He was the BB and he could not completely cover the BB. He won the hand. Next hand he gets KK in the SB and more than doubles up on another player's failed steal attempt. This puts him back in the game heavily and he goes on to win after 50 more hands.