Final table attitude

[wray]

I usually play at tournaments with 50 - 80 people. I consider myself a better than average player. For the most part I either make it to the final table or at least lose by pushing my chips in with the best hand. I want to make it clear that I'm not saying I always get to the final table. I finish out of the money more than I finish in it.

But I seem to either dominate at the final table (if I make it that far) or lose pretty quickly. Most tournaments I play in don't pay much at all for 5th-10th. It's a much higher % once you get above 5th. So my perception is that most people I play against seem to play very scared... So that's when I usually get TOO aggressive. I was curious on what others mentalities are at final tables.

Sometimes I feel like a total knucklehead on some of my moves. One more question I have is if there's 10 left and you and one other person are the chip leaders by more than just a little bit do you try to avoid confrontation with the other chip leader?



Thanks
Robert

[woodguy]

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So my perception is that most people I play against seem to play very scared... So that's when I usually get TOO aggressive. I was curious on what others mentalities are at final tables.


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The general rule of thumb is if the play is tight, loosen up your raising requirements to steal more blinds, and if the table is loose and aggressive, tighten up and only get involved with good hands.

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One more question I have is if there's 10 left and you and one other person are the chip leaders by more than just a little bit do you try to avoid confrontation with the other chip leader?


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Its always a good idea to avoid those who can bust you unless you have a premium hand, but avoiding them entirely is wrong as you have to get their chips at some point to win the tourney.
If I'm #2-#5 stack, I'll try to avoid those who can bust me unless I have a good hand and position.

Regards,
Woodguy

[tiger7210]

The final table is a lot about EV in terms of chips as well as cash since each person that busts out increases your payout. A lot more attention has to be paid to every persons chip total.

As a big stack the Gap concept is extremely important when getting involved with the other big stack. I better have a big hand to play against another big stack regardless of whose stack is bigger.

How you play the final table is very dependent on how your opponents are playing. On a tight table I'm trying to go after the middle stacks who always have the tough decisions since they don't want to bust out before the short stacks do. On a loose table I'll play it like a sit n go and let everyone bust each other out while waiting to catch a big hand before I get involved.

Once it gets down to five though you have to open it up if you want to win which is when I see a lot of people tighten up since the pay increases can be significant for every higher place.

[wray]

Thanks

For the most past I tend to do the play loose if they're tight or tight if they're loose. I'm still trying to figure out what my major malfunction is. I think I've corrected one of my flaws which is overestimating my hand value in the middle part of tourneys. The last 3 times I picked up pocket J's I kept telling myself to be very careful. I ended up winning every one of those hands. Then like a true newb I over valued my pocket 10's and raised a guy 5X and he went all-in. I was pot commited and was hoping for it to be a coin flip. Instead he had me 4-1. Ironically people were telling him HE made the wrong call and I didn't do the dumbest thing in the world. But I went home loser and he was still playing.

[Lloyd]

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One more question I have is if there's 10 left and you and one other person are the chip leaders by more than just a little bit do you try to avoid confrontation with the other chip leader?

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You want to choose your confrontations wisely with other big stacks. With the small stacks, you can bully them around without a fear of going broke. So even if you lose a few chips you're still in a decent position. With the big stacks, one bad move can pot commit you and next thing you know you're out.

Playing middle pairs, suited connectors, etc. are great against another big stack. If the flop hits you hard you have a chance to get all of their chips. Alternatively, even strong hands like AK can only win you a small pot or lose a big one when they've hit a monster. I'm certainly not saying don't play AK against a big stack, just be careful when doing so.

[TStoneMBD]

its hard to fold TT when youre shortstacked at a final table, so dont kick yourself too hard for that, but i dont really know what the circumstances of the situation were. as far as my history goes for final tables, maybe ive just been lucky i dont know, but if i make a final table i also tend to win the tournament. my goal is to play to win at all times. i think that in the long run ill make the most money from that theory, but i know i have alot to improve upon concerning my tournament game. if i have alot of chips i bully the tight shortstacks brutally, and i try to avoid all confrontations with big stacks unless i know i have a huge advantage. if a big stack brings it in for a raise tho, i certainly am not going to muck a hand like JJ preflop. im coming over the top of him most of the time because im going to need his chips to win the tournament eventually, so why not take them while i have the hands to do so.