[Rizen]

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It seemed like you only played solid cards. I didn't see one steal raise (I stopped reading when you reached the FT). (other than 44 that you folded when someone came back over the top).

What was interesting to me was that when you raised, you raised all-in even if it didn't seem like you need to- ie you had more than 10x BB . Do you have a different rule than 10xBB for when you push vs. 3x BB? Then when it got to 2k/4k you switched to 3xBB. Was this b/c you had a high chip position or because of the blind level.

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I base my plays off the initial chip value in the pot (M) and not the BB. Play differs from sites with antes to sites without, and thinking in terms of the big blind I think it is mistake (althoguh thinking only in terms of M is a mistake as well).

A lot of when I'll start to consider open pushing depends a lot on the overall table aggression factor. You can't just think in terms of the 3xBB raise, you also have to think of how big the pot is, and if you decide to make a continuation bet how much that is going to be, and then if you fire both of these barrels and miss if you'll have enough left to fold and not leave yourself crippled.

I think we can all agree raising with hand then folding every time you miss a flop is a mistake, so is making a cont. bet every single time. This particular table that I made a lot of pushes at was one that was very aggressive post-flop if I recall correctly (I'm at work, so not going through the HH too thoroughly).

Is the amount of pushing I did in this particular tournament standard?? Not at all. Did I think it was the correct move for the particular table I was at?? Absolutely. One of my hesitations about posting a HH is that the course of a tournament is often like a painting. Every stroke you make doesn't always make sense by itself, and even a great artist doesn't make every stroke perfect (and regardless of what some people think, I don't consider myself a 'great' player). When it's all said and done though, it's all building a big picture.

If I posted 10 different HHs on here, you'd probably think I had multiple personality syndrome. Sometimes I'm a maniac, other times a rock. Some tournaments (as someone here already noted) I'll be able to go the whole tournament without playing a bad starting hand (I did play a few at the final table based on reads here), other times I'll have to make multiple moves with trash to stay ahead of the escalating blinds.

Poker is definitely situational. I'm absolutely positive that I could pull at least 15 hands out of this tournament and, when posted in isolation, they would look horrible. I'm also positive that I made mistakes in this tournament. I strive for perfection in every tournament I play, and I have yet to achieve it once.

This is not meant as a defensive post at all, I appreciate the feedback and I'm happy to discuss what or why I was thinking a certain way in certain situations. I also don't at all regret posting the HH to share. Please continue to discuss, and I'll explain what I can the best I can. Just look through the HH with some degree of perspective. If you're looking for a 'guide' to tournament play, this is definitely NOT the place for it. If you're looking for perspective from someone for 1 tournament, and perhaps a look at some alternative ways to play hands, then I think you might get something out of it. Sorry for being winded, I'm still not sure how well I'm articulating what I'm trying to say [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

-Rizen