push mode... am i too maniacal?

[TStoneMBD]

i play at turningstone casino in new york and during some of the live tournaments, specifically the satellites, the blinds tend to rise so large that even the chip leader at the table doesnt have 10x bbs.

i notice that from my small pool of results i do better when i have a large chip stack then when i have a shortstack because when i am shortstacked i always feel compelled to push allin which seems to be the common play. when large stacked i can outmaneuver players and often grow my stack with welltimed bluffs.

at turningstone their payouts are generally only to the top10 players, and if its a sattelite itll only be maybe top 5. player counts are anywhere from 30-100 players.

when im shortstacked along with everyone else i find that i am generally the aggressor at the table. i like to move allin whenever i pick up a hand because of how important the blinds are. about once a tournament ill move in from MP with any ace. ill push against the blinds from the cutoff with any ace, any K9+ or any pocketpair.

most players in the tournament dont abide by the 10xbb push rule or the 33% of your stack rule and therefore raise 3xbbs when they only have another 3 left. some players like to limp in by i feel that there is too much fold equity in pushing.

generally, i try to take down the blinds once an orbit to keep up while waiting to doubleup or win a hand out of my own blinds. if that doesnt work i try to take the blinds down a little more often than once an orbit.

ill usually accumulate chips when the blinds are small because of my skill with a chip stack, and feel the need to get pushy when the blinds are huge otherwise ill get blinded out. usually when i bust out of a tournament with a shortstack its because i got called with A7 against AT.

am i too aggressive in these situations or is my winner take all attitude correct? should i be seeing more flops? i hate push-or-folding but i feel compelled.

thanks and sorry for the long post.

[Roman]

hard to tell without watching you play, but doesn't sound like it.

[fnord_too]

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am i too aggressive in these situations or is my winner take all attitude correct? should i be seeing more flops? i hate push-or-folding but i feel compelled.


[/ QUOTE ]

At this stage of a tournament you difinitely DO NOT want to be seeing more flops, unless you are fortunate enough to have a bigger stack and your opponent has enough chips left that he will fold to post flop aggression if he misses. (Occasionally, I'll slowplay a big pair preflop with the intent of getting someone pot committed. This is the exception, and I don't do this too often.) By and large, you want to take the blinds without resistance.

When I am at or about 10BB or less, I am in push or fold mode, except from the blinds. One of the benefits of pushing is that you will sometimes get action on your big hands.

In short, nothing you described seems anything less than solid play.

[ALav10]

Hey, I play in these same tournaments and have been contemplating the same things. Its a tough format. I havn't had success because when I am in puch or fold mode, the structure almost blinds me out. (Meanwhile I see any two cards take the pot)
Anyway, I pretty much use the same tactics you were talking about, and wanted to make sure you knew its the structure, not the strategy, that makes the tourneys difficult.

Adam

[TStoneMBD]

yah i do realize that its the terrible structure that makes the tournaments terrible... but i wanted to see if there was any constructive criticism out there that could help me tweak my push game.