Why Do I Bubble So Much?

[Crackem 0]

i play at my local indian casino almost every thursday. It's a 350 dollar mtt with usually 130 players. Starting chips are 5000 and 30 min rounds. At 1000- 2000 level a 100 ante is introduced. I consistently make it deep in this tournament, but unless i double up when im deep i always get blinded down and than out. Over the past few months i changed my strat a lot and i stopped over committing myself in early position. I fold A10 and small pocket pairs i guess 4's or lower in early position. I got tired of limping with these hands only to be raised and have to fold. I try to push big hands when i am in late-middle to late position. What can i do to keep myself from blinding down, and what types of hands should i be playing to keep myself from being blinded out when i am deep. When i am in position and blinds are high i usually will wait for pocket pairs or KJ or better and fold everything else.I dont steal alot of blinds either cause it seems that when ever i do, i get called or re raised. Unfortunately i play a tight game but i still make it down to about 20 players when they usually pay 12. Tonight i let myself get down to 10,000 chips in small blind for 1000. One limper who was kinda of a maniac limped for 2000. I have A6 spades and push for 10k. He calls with 10 8 hearts and flop is 2 spades with a 10. No flush comes and i lose. I let myself go from almost 20k to 10k without playing a hand. I had A10 UTG once and 2 2 UTG another time and folded both. Other than that i had no cards for almost 2hours.Any advice is appreciated.

[trystero 0]

If you've just learned to fold speculative hands from EP then you'd probably benefit from reading Harrington on Hold 'Em. Much to learn in that.Blind stealing is a must once antes are introduced. In position feel free to do this with any two cards given the right situation. It sounds like you need to play situations more often and that you're focusing too much on your cards. Granted, this is a lot harder to do live because stack sizes / pot size aren't readily available. Now suppose two weak/tight players limp and you're in the SB holding 97s. They may have you covered but it's not by much; you've got 16k, and they've got about 19k each after calling. Yeah, it's reckless and BB could wake up with a big hand but throw your chips in the middle. Chances are they won't want to risk the bulk of their tourney lives with KJ and 55 and they'll fold. At the 1/2k 100 ante level you would win 9k uncontested. That's huge. And even if one calls, you've likely got live cards and you're about a 3-2 dog to broadway - not insurmountable.Now if one of those players was loose or a maniac, you wouldn't make this play because you'd likely get called.Late in tourneys you shouldn't be limping, like ever, unless you've got a good reason. At an aggressive table you can limp with big pocket pairs hoping to get raised so that you can jam. You should be punishing other players for limping, not getting punished yourself.

[simo_8ball 0]

If you've just learned to fold speculative hands from EP then you'd probably benefit from reading Harrington on Hold 'Em. Much to learn in that.Blind stealing is a must once antes are introduced. In position feel free to do this with any two cards given the right situation. It sounds like you need to play situations more often and that you're focusing too much on your cards. Granted, this is a lot harder to do live because stack sizes / pot size aren't readily available. Now suppose two weak/tight players limp and you're in the SB holding 97s. They may have you covered but it's not by much; you've got 16k, and they've got about 19k each after calling. Yeah, it's reckless and BB could wake up with a big hand but throw your chips in the middle. Chances are they won't want to risk the bulk of their tourney lives with KJ and 55 and they'll fold. At the 1/2k 100 ante level you would win 9k uncontested. That's huge. And even if one calls, you've likely got live cards and you're about a 3-2 dog to broadway - not insurmountable.Now if one of those players was loose or a maniac, you wouldn't make this play because you'd likely get called.Late in tourneys you shouldn't be limping, like ever, unless you've got a good reason. At an aggressive table you can limp with big pocket pairs hoping to get raised so that you can jam. You should be punishing other players for limping, not getting punished yourself.

Good post. The 97 example is exactly right and is one of the best ways to accumulate chips.

[tskillz187 0]

I am not very conventional for how I stay above avg. If I have an above avg stack, I go for resteals on aggressive players PF quite a bit. I usually do this when I am CO or button, if an aggressive person from MP to LP raises what I think is the standard pf raise/steal raise I RR a good amount. This works great in online MTTs 100+ buyin because there is a little bit of maneuverability with blinds.If you aren't in the enviable position of having a decent stack and cannot do this, then the info trystero gave you is spot on. Also I shove quite a bit into other medium stacks, even if it is a bit of an overbet, I don't want people playing back at me thinking I'm on blind steals, I feel much more comfortable with forcing them to pick up a hand, or make a tough call. Obv I'm not pushing with an M of like 20, but I will push with and M of like 11ish with speculative hands at medium stacks.