my best finish at a pp tourney..

[stylez09 0]

Hi all,My finish is probably very modest compared to most of you here in the forum but I would like to share with you my experience last night on party poker. The buy-in was $15+1 and with about 30 minutes left to register there were about350 signed up, so I liked my chances and decided to sign up. Next thing I know, the tournament starts and there are 1521 entrants!! First place would get just under $5000, how sweet would that be? Anyways, I played tight and played in late position (thanks for the strategy here at the FCP forum) and was able to weed through the mine field of overly aggressive and weak players. For most of the night I was able to stay above the average stack until the blinds were at 500-1000 and I only had about 10,000 chips. The average chips at this stage was around 13,000 so those blinds were killer. I ended up being blinded to elimination finishing in 48th place with a payday of $77 (net of $61). This is my best finish ever but I know I have a lot to improve on.My question for everyone here is based on strategy during the late phases of the tourney when everyone has already made the money. At what point do you just need to go all in (chip stack in proportion to blinds). What hand do you need to push it and where do you want to push it. Waiting for the blinds to eat you up was a bad strategy on my part but I did not want to push in with mediocre suited connectors. I was unable to get any premium hands in the late stages to push and was also wondering if i just needed to go all in and just gamble. Anyways, thanks in advance for the advice.

[TheSkins 0]

I have a similar problem when I play longer tournaments, in that when the blinds start getting high I find myself with a sub-par stack and at risk of being blinded out. I think you need to be a bit more aggressive early on to build up a large stack so you can start pushing around the smaller stacks and take advantage of their desperate all-ins when you finally do pick up some hands.Basically you need to play to win from the very start rather than thinking of getting into the money and taking it from there.Not very helpful I admit

[HoosierAlum 0]

As with most strategy related questions.......it depends. What was your goal going into the tournament? Did you just want to cash or were you motived to win the whole thing? If you were happy just cashing, then playing tight and squeezing into the money isn't such a bad idea. But in order to make any serious money at a MTT, you need to make the final table. With such a large field in an online tournament, you are eventually going to find yourself in coin flip situations. If you are playing to make the final table, you have to gamble up. Try and exploit any small advantage that you think you might have, because playing tight and waiting for premium hands is not going to work with the rapid moving blind structure of online tourneys. Everybody at the final table has gotten lucky and won their share of coin flips, so don't be afraid to do the same. You arent going to be able to always put your money in the middle as a 4.5-1 favorite. It just isnt going to happen. Also, when you find yourself close to the bubble, you have to get very aggressive especially in late position. People tend to tighten up at this stage, so start pushing! Pick on the low stacks and try and pick up as many blinds as possible. Yes, there is the chance that someone will wake up with a monster and you will get caught stealing. This is the chance you have to take, and in order to win a tournament you have to be willing to bust on the bubble. Study your table as the blinds increase, and take notes on each players playing style. Pick out a few weak tight players who are trying to squeeze in the money and bully them.In your particular situation, you had 10,000 chips with blinds of 500-1000. Generally, it is a rule of thumb that once you are down to 10X the BB, it is all in or nothing. The thinking behind this is that 10X BB is a large enough raise to make your opponents fold marginal holdings. I follow a rule of 8X the BB, but once you get down around this area, it is time to double up or go home. You are going to have to take your shot with a marginal hand, because after all, you will have to do it a few more times if you plan on making the final table. But....procede with caution. Here are a few examples:You are in the CO with A6o. Fairly solid player who has 3 times as many chips as you raises 4XBB(400) UTG +1, everyone folds to you. Now, you figure "hey I have an ace, I might as well push here." Well, dont be so impatient. This player is raising from early position, and you figure to be dominated. He would obviously call your all-in, and at this point you would rather just blind steal if at all possible. Wait for a better spot.The next hand you pick up 109s on the button. Folded to you. I think its obvious here that you push. If someone wakes up in the blinds with a big hand, your 109s is still a good drawing hand. And you are pushing with 10000 chips, which is still a large enough raise to get your opponents to fold marginal hands. Remember, focus on what your opponents do in front of you before you make your decision. Dont make any rush judgements before you weigh the entire situation. Phil Hellmuth wrote an article in Cardplayer about short stack play a few months ago. It discusses similar situations.Anyway, I hope this helps you a bit, and congrats on your finish.

[stylez09 0]

Hoosier,Thank you so much for your insight on my play. Very helpful post and I will definately be using this in the future. I did want to win the whole thing and not just creep into the money. Now i know.