How do you get through...

[skoal2k4]

Here's how my last 10 or so mtt's have gone... i play on stars $10-$30 buyin range (including the rebuys) After the first hour, i'm usually at average or slightly above. The second hour screws me. I think I actually tighten up the further into the game I get. My Gap also widens like you wouldn't believe and I end up just waiting for those premium hands. Of course that never happens and I end up getting impatient and pushing with stupid crap that I would normally just toss due to the fact that I'm now well below where I started the hour at. Anybody else have this type of problem? If so, how do you overcome it? Any advice is appreciated!

Robbie

[daveymck]

You need to learn to change gears in the second hour and play maybe slightly looser (in the right situations), you are the ideal player to be againt I will steal your blind everytime, or take pots away from you with nothing, and if you playback I can fold safely knowing you have a big hand, also probably means when you do raise you dont get as much action as you would like.

[uaw420rook]

Position. use information to your advantage from position. You must grow balls and throw money at the middle with [censored] while having positon. Isolate and show strength. They will fold more times than not. When they dont fold, proceed with extreme caution.

[Sam T.]

Steal, steal, steal.

Don't go overboard, or people will start playing back at you, but if it's folded to you in the CO or CO+1 (or even better if you've got one limper), raise. (Some argue raise with any two, but I prefer to have at least a couple of face cards or an ace.)

If you get called by one of the blinds or the limper, fire the second barrel for 1/2 to 2/3 the pot. This can be scary if you've got JTs, and the flop comes AK2, but what is scary for you is scary for them. (And as Harrington points out, since you are getting 2:1 on your bet, this continuation bet only has to work a third of the time to be profitable.)

Maybe someone will post a link EMarkM's award winning discussion of mid-stage play...

[young nut]

I have this similar problem as well. I am usually an average stack come the first break, then I seem to tighten up and pick my spots. I do try to steal as I have learned how essential it is late in the tournie. But my bustouts almost always seem to come on a mediocre hand on the flop and I overplay it. I don't know why, I always just feel like the other guy is trying to buy the pot off me.

[Rushmore]

Maybe this will help.

Think of it as two tournaments--a qualifier (the first hour), and the main event (after the break).

If you make the latter, look at your relative chip position and proceed accordingly (i.e. "This is great, I have 20% more chips than the average player, I need to do X to preserve/build my stack" or "Damn, I'm starting with less chips than average, I need to do Y to build my stack," etc.).

Yes, it's merely semantic, but it might shift your perspective for the better.

In other words, you might do well to just forget the first hour entirely (with the exception of how your opponents play, of course); it really has no bearing on the rest of the tourney, and, if you're playing many of the same players, they'll be less likely to get a read on you.

[woodguy]

[ QUOTE ]
Position. use information to your advantage from position. You must grow balls and throw money at the middle with [censored] while having positon. Isolate and show strength. They will fold more times than not. When they dont fold, proceed with extreme caution.


[/ QUOTE ]

Agree 100%.

Too often (especially if multi-tabling), we look at our cards and if we don't like what we see we click "fold" without waiting to see the action in front of us

Make it a point to pay attention to the action. The weakest blind defender on the board may be in his BB when you are in MP2 or CO-1.

Pay attention and take advantage.

Regards,
Woodguy

[Sam T.]

[ QUOTE ]
In other words, you might do well to just forget the first hour entirely (with the exception of how your opponents play, of course); it really has no bearing on the rest of the tourney, and, if you're playing many of the same players, they'll be less likely to get a read on you.

[/ QUOTE ]

I sometimes take this to an extreme, and spend the first hour studying TOP or HOH. In the low buy-in tournaments I play, you've got a 50% attrition rate before the first break and will probably change tables at least once, so reads are of limited value. (Granted I'm losing a bit of value here, but I found that a real leak in my game was trying to outplay bad players/calling stations during that first hour. They just don't respect the check-raise all-in. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] Now I just don't get involved unless I have a very strong hand.)

[skoal2k4]

Thanks for all the replys... I've been playing the cards too much and not so much the player. Hopefully this will solve the problem [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[fnord_too]

Tightenting up your calling/reraising standards is not that bad, but you need to loosen up your stealing standards. Also, every now and then, you need to resteal against known stealers, especially when you are in the BB. You may end up losing all your chips on a resteal gone bad, but here are the positives:

You will likely win the hand pre flop uncontested.
If you survive (whether you show down or not) people will be less likely to attack your blinds.
If you happen to show down a bizarre winner (like J8s or some such crap), people will be REALLY reluctant to attack your blinds without good hands.
If you always surrender your blinds when you don't have a premium hand (and you are not stealing blinds in other positions), you won't have enough chips to make doubling up matter when you finally get involved in a hand. (And you have no chance of surviving a bad beat).