Pp Mtt Strategy Questions

[stylez09 0]

With the stack starting at 3000 and blinds at 20/40, I was wondering what kind of strategy the players here at FCP have. I usually play in the 10+1 tournaments and will sometimes venture up to 30+3 depending on the prize pool. My goal is not to cash a few dollars, I want to reach the final table at the minimum.I seem to play too tight in the early stages of the tournament and by the time I make a move the average stack is well above mine. Is it correct to play fairly loose and agressive during the early stages of the tournament and accumulate chips? Or should I play tight until the blinds are significant enough for me to make a move on big pots. Even if I progress through a tournament, I always seem to get stuck around average and never get a large amount of chips during later stages of a tournament. I am thinking I need to open up my game a bit earlier in the tournament and use the chips to make more moves.Thoughts / Advice?

[benhoug 0]

Is it correct to play fairly loose and agressive during the early stages of the tournament and accumulate chips? Or should I play tight until the blinds are significant enough for me to make a move on big pots.

Arguements are made for both cases. A player like Daniel or Ivey will play a lot of pots early in a tourney and try to accumulate a lot of chips or go home early. In the other camp you've got Players like Mattusow, who plays tighter earlier, but loosens up as the tourney progresses. Supposedly Stu Ungar never played a pot until the antes kicked in.You'll have to ask yourself what kind of playing style you feel most comfortable with and cater to that.

[Drwnded 0]

Generally, early in online MTT's the tables are filled with very weak players. When the blinds are very small compared to your stack early on, I find it to be very profitable to be in a lot of pots from late position, especially with any medium/small pocket pair or suited connectors. I'll even call small raises in late position with these types of hands for several reasons. First, if you hit your hand well and make two pair, trips, or a big draw, you can often double up against players who hold big pocket pairs or TPTK and just can't let it go after the flop. Second, if you miss the flop it's easy to release these hands when someone bets out. Third, even if you miss the flop, if you're in late position, many of your opponents will be weak enough that they'll check around to you when they also miss the flop and you can steal the pot by betting out from late position.I then tighten up when my M drops to about 20 or less. By then, hopefully my table image is of a loose aggro type player, and when I do pick up a premium holding I'll get paid off on that as well.

[amarillotg 0]

i used to play extremely tight for the first hour of pp tournies. i now find that with the big starting stack of T3000 and the relatively low blinds there is know a lot more room to manuver.typically now, i'll play fairly loose for the first 2 levels. (20/40 & 30/60) i usually tighten up around 50/100 depending on my M.but for the first 2 levels i'll limp in most any position with marginal hands. if im opening from late position i'll make a small raise. i don't go out of my way to play trash hands but i will call small raises with suited connectors and small pp's in position. i try to play small ball during these levels, keeping the pots small and playing somewhat passively when i have good but not great hand.if i do happen to flop a monster than im doing my best to get it all in the middle and double up.hope this helps.

[GABMAD 0]

I like playing Tight/Agressive in the early stages especially in these stakes. Most people don't try to make reads on people online because of various distractions, so I get paid off when I have a hand. I play it really agressive, and it pays off for me. You should loosen up your game when the tournament has 1 more person till the money because most people will fold semi strong hands preflop in fear of losing right then and not getting paid. Especially since you developed a tight image (even though most don't know yet, those who do will give you credit, and those who don't are amateurs who want to get paid and will also fold semistrong hands. That kind of strategy works for me, it might not work for you, you have to feel comfortable with how you play. You sound like you also play tight in early stages of a tourny, but you should play agressive when you enter a pot. That way you wont be shortstacked. For example, I was 12/600 in chips after only winning 13 pots in a tourny that started with 5500 ppl. It's not how many pots you win, it's which pots you win. You have to play TAG, and not Tight passive, that's a losing strategy.

[rog 0]

I dont think you can just say "play TAG" or "play LAG" and just let it go at that. For instance, being aggressive with made hands is probably good, but stealing blinds and making aggressive bluffs can get you into a lot of trouble.At a table that rarely raises, I play loose preflop, and limp with a lot of crap, especially with position. I'm passive until I hit my hand, and then try to extract value. At a more aggressive table, I'm looking to play premium hands, and trap when I hit. In either case, I need something close to the nuts to continue aggressively with bad position. Pocket pairs and suited aces are usually worth a look at the flop at aggressive and passive tables as long as you're not calling big raises or re-raises to see it. Pay attention to pot size and position.

[gregdon8 0]

I agree that there is no right answer, but for what you are describing I think a LAG (loose agressive) style would help. Enter as many cheap pots as you can with a wide variety of hands, and either get out if you miss, or play hard if you hit.In the beginning of these tourneys there are a ton of weak players. You must compete and try to win their chips or someone else will. Think logically....you want and try to play as many pots as possible with the weak players and as few as possible when the field stregthens (big hands, or timely steals).Please be aware that it takes a while to get used to a LAG style especially coming from a tight background, so I would suggest playing the cheap tourneys to practice this.One key to no limit MTT's is to accumulate enough chips that when you do take a bad beat (and you will) that you have enough chips that it does not knock you out of the tourneyExploit the weak players found in the early stages of these tourneys

[copernicus 0]

A starting stack to blind ratio of 3000/40 (ie 75x bb) is big enough for some LAG play, but you need to be careful to pick your spots as stacks move around and blinds move up. If your stack or the stacks of most of the players remanining in a hand drop below 50x bb then its tough to conjure up the implied odds for LAG play.