How loose not to lose?

[JAXtheLAD]

I`ve noticed that i seem to do well in mtt but only up to a point because i am a tight player,i`ve read a few tips from pro`s etc and they explain my situation down to a t,i`m playing to tight and being eaten away with the blinds,they recommend that you should play looser the further into a tourney if you are out to make the final table,what exactly does playing loose mean?Does it mean become a calling station and start paying to see flops or raising with weak hands and taking advantage of the fear factor when close to the ££££££$$$$$$?

[TightEnd]

Welcome to Blonde Jax


I would not describe it as loose as such, more being the first raiser into a pot (usually but not exclusively in late position) when you have identifed the right players to bully...ie not a very short stack who's committed to call you, or a very big stack who can take you on....a chip stack in the middle if you will, and importantly before your chip stack gets low so you have what is called "bluff equity"..so they fear taking you on

this, with practice and no doubt the odd hiccup (ie sadly sometimees they will have a hand), will enable you to pick up sufficient blinds to keep your chips up awaiting the right premium hands or hitting the appropriate flops

it does not mean seeing more flops and calling with rubbish for the sake of it


Aggression and muscle....be the first to make a move for a pot pre flop

[AdamM]

for me, (I'm also a tight player by nature) it's about timed aggression and position. I look at getting the first raise in late position as often as possible that I'd never dream of playing in early position, eg suited connectors, two high cards, suited Aces, mid/low pairs. I'm always careful to not have any aggressive or tricky big stacks still to act and I'm careful not to commit myself to a pot with one of these hands by calling a re-raise.

oh yeah, and welcome

[AdamM]

tight end gets in just before me, and slightly better put as always.

[SM1LE]

I have the exact same problem. I always seem to find myself well positioned in a tournament with a reasonably large stack, only to suddenly find myself being eaten away by the blinds without making any mistakes. It is a huge flaw in my game that only practice can improve. I plan to just play as many low buyin mtt's as possible until eventually I get the hang of learning how to play in the middle/late satges of a tournamnet. Look at in a positive manner, at least you know how to aquire the chips, just not how to maximise their use.

[Sunday8pm]

Dont get too downhearted if you dont ALWAYS reach the money or final table in mtt's. I think most online tourneys generally become crapshoots towards the end meaning a lot of it is down to luck. My advice is play the early stages VERY tight aiming to double you stack within the first 3/4 levels, then when blinds increase become hyper agressive and basically start making plays there and then, aim to increase your stack 4 fold by outplaying and betting out your opponents during levels 4/5/6/7. If you lose you lose but theres no point in being tight as towards the end you are going to have to stick your money in on a 50/50 shot about 4/5 times to have a winning stack. Whereas if you try and accumalate as many chips as possible during the middle stages then you can play more 'poker' during the last few stages improving your chances of winning. So basically to sum it up i like to get a good chip stack in the middle stages of the tournament to enable me to play good poker towards the end rather than basing it all on luck.

i hope this helps you mate

sunday

[rivered]

i used to have the same problem (now my problem is getting past the first level  ), and I found harrington on holdem vol 2 helped a lot, where it talks about inflection points and playing against rising blinds - it uses the ratio of your chips to the total of the SB and BB and discusses what to do when... very useful imo.

[SM1LE]

i used to have the same problem (now my problem is getting past the first level  ), and I found harrington on holdem vol 2 helped a lot, where it talks about inflection points and playing against rising blinds - it uses the ratio of your chips to the total of the SB and BB and discusses what to do when... very useful imo.

Definetely give it a go. I read Volume 1 and was very impressed, didn't realise the second volume was available. Thanks

[rivered]

no probs - its been out for a few months and it's good stuff....  btw in case you ask, there are many threads on here about good books... just do a search for lots of recommendations.

[redsimon]

you might be better off playing sng's. tight play gets rewarded there in the medium to long run more than in mtts and they are less stressful on your bankroll.

(Though I seem to be doing the exact opposite recently, in the long term it will balance out)

[Royal Flush]

I look at getting the first raise in late position as often as possible

I like to get the 2nd raise in! Instead of stealing the blinds, wait for someone else to steal the move all in, not only will u get the blinds folding more often (after all that AJ shrinks when someone comes over the steal) but u win more chips! if the cutoff say made it 3xbb then u move in on the button u dont pick up just 1.5x the bb, you get 4.5x!!! 3 blind steals in 1!!

[Sunday8pm]

in theory royal in theory 

[snoopy1239]

I look at getting the first raise in late position as often as possible

I like to get the 2nd raise in! Instead of stealing the blinds, wait for someone else to steal the move all in, not only will u get the blinds folding more often (after all that AJ shrinks when someone comes over the steal) but u win more chips! if the cutoff say made it 3xbb then u move in on the button u dont pick up just 1.5x the bb, you get 4.5x!!! 3 blind steals in 1!!

You need chips to pull off these moves.
Also, you need to do it against players you know won't call with marginal hands.
Make sure they have an average stack, so are less likely to call.
Let's also remember that they can have a hand, so make sure they've got some previous stealing experience.

[AndrewT]

You need chips to pull off these moves.
Also, you need to do it against players you know won't call with marginal hands.
Make sure they have an average stack, so are less likely to call.
Let's also remember that they can have a hand, so make sure they've got some previous stealing experience.

I particularly like to identify the muppet limpers - those players who will limp into a pot with marginal hands when the blinds are high. They're just screaming out 'Please push me off this hand'.

[ACE2M]

I look at getting the first raise in late position as often as possible

I like to get the 2nd raise in! Instead of stealing the blinds, wait for someone else to steal the move all in, not only will u get the blinds folding more often (after all that AJ shrinks when someone comes over the steal) but u win more chips! if the cutoff say made it 3xbb then u move in on the button u dont pick up just 1.5x the bb, you get 4.5x!!! 3 blind steals in 1!!

New players beware of this move it must be researched properly. Jesus flushy your send them to their tournament deaths with moves like this or are you just hoping to get some big action for  your Aces and kings.