Card Dead From the Beginning

[Lloyd]

I have a streak of about 6 MTTs in a row where I've been pretty much completely card dead right from the beginning. Slowly the blinds increase and my stack decreases to the point of being shortstacked and facing all-in situations. Sometimes I prevail, other times I don't.


One problem is if you don't play anything at all, when you do have a hand you get no action. So I'll look for some speculative hand like a suited connector and bring it in for a raise. Even if you don't win the hand, it's still a +EV play presuming you get some type of hand to play.

So my question is to others who play in LARGER BUY-IN MTTs, what kinds of things do you do when you just can't pick up a hand?

[DonButtons]

What do you mean by card dead? Not getting top 5/10 hands?

Are you still limping in late position with decent hands?

I really don't like raising with suited connectors, I rather play a multi way pot with them, as cheap as possible, in late position. Because you want to get paid off when they do hit. And if people see you limping, they don't think your super tight either to the point that you only play the nuts.

[cferejohn]

Assuming your starting hand requirements are reasonable (i.e. limping with small pairs and suited connectors late with previous limpers, open-raising more marginal hands like QJ or A9 on the button or in the cutoff), I think you just need to be patient. Even though tournament play is divided into discrete events, it's still just one long poker game, and if your game is +EV, you're going to come through in the long run if your bankroll is sufficient.

"Suffient" this case should be 100x the entry fee, bare minimum (although you can take occasional shots at something a little higher if you don't get carried away). Yes this means I think that people who are regularly buying their way (as opposed to winning their way) into 10K events should have a 1,000,000 bankroll. No most of them probably don't. Ergo backing...

[partygirluk]

You have to take each hand on its merits. If you have ATo UTG and 10 BB left, don't push "because today, this is the best I will see". Some tournaments you just get no cards, hit no sets, run into sets etc.

There is one adjustment you can make. As you have been getting such dross, presumably you have a mega tight image. This should help you with steals, as long as your table is observant.

[woodguy]

Someone once posted, "there are no good hands, just good situations"

I like that thought and have tried to keep it in mind when my "good hand" looks beat in a "bad situation" and I have to lay down TPTK or an overpair.

On the flip side, that also means you do not need good cards to find a "good situation"

Given your track record, you know when these situations are (folded to you in LMP or later, one weak limper in a pot and you're on the button, 1 limper and the SB to your BB...etc)

Often you can raise in a situation in which you would raise if you actually had a good hand, and still take down the pot without showdown, just like you would if he actually had to cards to back up your action.

Think of how many hands (in which you actually have a hand) you win without showdown.
If you find a few of these favourable situations and don't actually have a hand, just think "I'll play this hand just like I have a hand", it can be suprising how often it works.

i.e. you have crap in LP with one limper, you think "I'll play this hand like AK", then follow through with all subsequent action just like you have the hand.

The few times you get pushed off the hand can make it feel like a waste of chips, but it can be +EV.

When card dead, play your position and the situation.

Regards,
Woodguy

[PokerNeal]

Under a situation like this it is often tempting to overplay marginal cards because you believe this may be "as good as it gets." I agree with the other responses here that state that if you get a decent hand and you have position then you can make a play. Otherwise, I have seen it prudent to just sit tight and not make a play until such a time you do get a hand and with suitable position. One good hand in position can make up for you not having played the last 25 hands! I use these two analogies to help me stay put while I wait for a hand I can play:

1. This is war and survival depends on smart use of your ammunition. You don't see a target in the eye you refuse to shoot!

2. If someone is going to run me down it better be a 18 wheeler! I ain't gonna be taken down by no Yugo (bad player who got a great hand)!

/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Che]

Lloyd-

[ QUOTE ]
I have a streak of about 6 MTTs in a row where I've been pretty much completely card dead right from the beginning.

[/ QUOTE ]

That sucks, but it isn't that unusual IMHO. (Thus Chris' bankroll comments. /images/graemlins/smile.gif)

[ QUOTE ]
So my question is to others who play in LARGER BUY-IN MTTs, what kinds of things do you do when you just can't pick up a hand?

[/ QUOTE ]

When the blinds are increasing so fast that you will be in all-in or fold mode in 80 hands or less (i.e. most online tourneys), I just play my normal game. You *will* get action when your stack is <10BB no matter how tight you have been previously so I don't worry much about manufacturing a LAG image when my cards are so bad even a LAG has nothing to play.

I do occasionally steal or resteal in late position (or even the blinds at times) with rather marginal hands so that I can maintain my chip stack. It's win/win: either I win the pot or I train opponents to reraise me so that I will get paid off *if* I ever get a hand. But, this is not an adjustment I make when my cards are bad - I do this all the time so I rarely go a long time without playing a hand. (Good situations as woodguy mentioned.)

The most important thing to remember about cold streaks is that they always end. Either you owe the law of averages or the law of averages owes you.

Keep playing your game (without tilt from the cold run!) and you'll end the month well ahead of where you started since that one final table will more than compensate you for 10-20 tourneys where you just never had a chance no matter how well you played. Just remind yourself where the profit comes from in tournament play and keep on trucking...

Later,
Che

[Dahlberg]

When I run into a cold streak like this, I usually dont care about my cards, i play the others bets and raises, if a guy raises before the flop and then checks or bets quickly on the flop. I just bet him out of the hand. I rarely get check-raised because that takes some thinking, and a fast bet or check does not exactly spell "im thinking of check-raising, BEWARE", it more spells like he wants to buy the pot based on his knowledge that you know he has raises before the flop and has now made his hand...

Do not play your cards, play your opponents cards. But you have to be aware. This can work a few times and i prefer plays like these when im in late position because I want to get my blinds back. do this a couple of times and i promise you that you:

1) will get your blinds back + a little extra.
2) you certainly have more chances of hitting cards since you now have more chips and can stand the blinds a bit better.

My second tip is to just find a hand that you like get it all in there. If you get busted, fine. if you win great, now you can play some poker without the fear of getting put all in by the blinds and antes...

GL in the future

[SoBeDude]

when it happens to me, I whine a lot at my monitor.

[Lloyd]

[ QUOTE ]
What do you mean by card dead? Not getting top 5/10 hands?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm talking about looking at 76s as being a "monster". Seriously, I played 3 tournies yesterday (Super, 6:15 $109, large caps) and I probably saw about 7% of the flops. In late position I'd limp or raise with a pretty wide range of hands but I just wasn't getting anything. Lots of KXs and 3 gap non-suited connectors.

[Lloyd]

[ QUOTE ]
I really don't like raising with suited connectors, I rather play a multi way pot with them, as cheap as possible, in late position. Because you want to get paid off when they do hit. And if people see you limping, they don't think your super tight either to the point that you only play the nuts.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't disagree with you as a normal rule. But I will raise from EP every now and then with suited connectors to add some deception to my game. Even Mr. Conservative Dan Harrington suggests doing the same about 15% of the time. If you only play big hands up front then you are easily predictable. If every now and then you play a speculative hand, maybe you win without a showdown, maybe you throw it away, maybe there is a showdown and people think you're crazy giving you action the next time you raise up front with AA.

[Lloyd]

[ QUOTE ]
Someone once posted, "there are no good hands, just good situations"

I like that thought and have tried to keep it in mind when my "good hand" looks beat in a "bad situation" and I have to lay down TPTK or an overpair.

On the flip side, that also means you do not need good cards to find a "good situation"

Given your track record, you know when these situations are (folded to you in LMP or later, one weak limper in a pot and you're on the button, 1 limper and the SB to your BB...etc)

Often you can raise in a situation in which you would raise if you actually had a good hand, and still take down the pot without showdown, just like you would if he actually had to cards to back up your action.

Think of how many hands (in which you actually have a hand) you win without showdown.
If you find a few of these favourable situations and don't actually have a hand, just think "I'll play this hand just like I have a hand", it can be suprising how often it works.

i.e. you have crap in LP with one limper, you think "I'll play this hand like AK", then follow through with all subsequent action just like you have the hand.

The few times you get pushed off the hand can make it feel like a waste of chips, but it can be +EV.

When card dead, play your position and the situation.

Regards,
Woodguy

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is excellent advice. Thanks.

[Lloyd]

Thanks for the input and I think this certainly adds an aspect to my game. I usually am the patient one who waits around for a decent hand to play, and if I get shortstacked I play well enough that I double up or triple up more often than not. It would just be nice to take advantage of the comments made in Woodguy's posts about playing the large stack - just once in awhile. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif