Regarding mtt`s questions from a newbee(longish)

[stokken]

I am quite new to mtt`s, have been playing fix l for about a year 2/4. Took a shot at a hometown tourney with 200$ buy inn came 3`d, realize it says more about the opposition then it does about me. For the last month or so I have played about 2 tourneys a day. I feel I am improving, but reckon I can keep my A game up about 70% of the time, have some glitch in the matrix usually along the way and the result then depends on how badly I am screwed. Nevertheless I see now that my accomplishment in the tourneys are more and more dependent upon key hands with real decisions and more thourough thought, and not random squandering of chips.
Q1. Given x entries, what is y result expected for a decent player( I know fees and such should be considered, but just as a guideline)
Q2. Even the best of players will not do so well if the cards never arrive, or the favourable situations are few and far apart?
Q3.I do get distracted by the amounts in the top prizes when I am in a position to become a contender on the final table. Should one care about finishing in the money often enough or opt for gold knowing it will make up for alot of merely finishing in the money( ie strong hands against strong opponent with gamblers ruin staring at you)
Q4. How do u play bigstack?? I suck [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]( and I dont play like crazy to achieve big stack, I have diciplin,do reads, make moves and evaluate all the time)
Q5. How do u prepare for a tourney , gameplan, focus, steps, to keep sharp and force good decisions and avoid fear? I have qualified for 3 wcoop events with buy ins from 215$ to 1000$ and it scares me more then it excites me [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]LOL

These are really general Q`s and possibly difficult to answer simply, but anything is appreciated and good threads/links would be usefull. And dont bother replying if there is a vacuming sound when u open your mouth [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[justT]

Q1: tough to answer, gets asked a lot, and usually ends up with OP getting roasted

Q2: Better players are better because they are less at the mercy of the cards. They are better at identifying (or manufacturing?) opportunities where their cards they hold are not (as) important. “There is an old wisdom that says you don’t win tournaments, you steal them. While there are no absolutes in poker, there is a lot of truth to this wisdom” taken from an old FossilMan post. Suggested reading: eMarkM post http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/...mp;o=&vc=1

and

Bubble Aggressioin http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...amp;sb=5&o

Q3: You’ve taken the first step by admitting it’s a problem. Suggest you search the psychology thread and/or post the question there.

Q4: suggested reading: woodguy's post on playing a big stack
http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/...;o=&fpart=

Q5: Another psychology question. As far as being scared goes, I think the easiest answer is to play at limits that don’t scare you. I suspect great players have the ability to not let the $ affect their play by acknowledging the $ that they could win/lose (hiding the $ aspect is unlikely to work and would tend to have some ugly psychological side affects), I suspect they then seeing the chips as chips and the game as a game, which allows them to focus on winning the game. How do you do that? I’m still working on it, but in a weird way I think it involves embracing losing. Vahedi’s over used quote of “you have to be willing to die in order to live” suggests that he’s okay with losing, he may not like it, but he’s okay with it. Suggested reading: Gigabet on success and failure http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/...mp;o=&vc=1

In the future I'd recommend you spread your questions out a bit, 5 questions in one post is too much to chew on.

Hope this helps…

[psyduck]

nice reply JustT!