Poker: Help an MTT donkey out.

[sabotai]

I know that several tourneys are hardly enough to really judge a player's ability, but before I keep going down this road, I want to enlist the help of the MTT (and poker in general) veterens here. I have played in several $5 MTs on Poker Stars, finished in the money once (the lowest pay level) and busted out in the rest of them. I have not finished in the top 200 in any of them (212 in the one I cashed in). But at the same time, I don't seem to have much problem finishign in the money in the $2 and $3 MTs. I've been in 8 of those (4 each) and have cashed in 5 of them (3 $2 ones and 2 $3 ones).

Again, I know that several tourneys is hardly enough to go on, but I want to see if there are any glaring errors in my game, if I have just been card dead in the $5 ones, if I've just been unlucky, a combination of all three, etc. I'll never really know unless I ask those who know much more than me. Since some of you have been in a lot more MTs than me, you'd have a better idea of how oftan I should be getting dealt certain hands and how they should play out.

I'm pretty sure I know of a few things I really need to work on, but I'll just keep my donkey comments to myself and let those who know more than me embarrass me so I'll learn from it. :)

Here's the HH from one of the MTTs (I'll post some more later)

Blinds 10/20
t1500 Hand 1: UTG+1: 93o - folded
t1500 Hand 2: UTG: A9o - folded
t1500 Hand 3: BB: T2s, raised to 4BB by MP3, fold
t1480 Hand 4: SB: Q9o, raised to 4BB by UTG+1, fold
t1470 Hand 5: Button: T9o, raised to 2BB by UTG+1, CO called, fold
t1470 Hand 6: CO: 82o, raised to 5BB by MP3, fold
t1470 Hand 7: MP3: 42o, fold
t1470 Hand 8: MP2: K8s (clubs), 3 limpers in front, I call, BB checks. Flop: Ah 7h Ks. UTG+1 min bets, it's called, I call, BB calls, UTG folds. Turn: 2s, UTG+1 bets 40, MP1 raises to 200, I fold. MP1 had A8o and won the hand.
t1430 Hand 9: MP1: 85o, fold
t1430 Hand 10: UTG+1: A5s, I limp, one more limper, Button pushes all-in and I fold
t1410 Hand 11: UTG: 66. I limp as do 2 others, SB and BB in. Flop: 8s 5c Jd. It's checked around. Turn: 8c. BB bets 80, I fold.
t1390 Hand 12: BB: 94o, 1 limper, and I check. Flop: 5s Ac 3c. I open bet 80 and limper folds.
t1420 Hand 13: SB: 44, 3 limpers, I complete and BB checks. Flop: 5d Kh Tc. Someone bets 80 and I fold
t1400 Hand 14: Button: 73o, fold
t1400 Hand 15: CO: 63o, fold
t1400 Hand 16: MP3: 86o, fold

Blinds 15/30
t1400 Hand 17: MP2: Q3o, fold. (someone busts out)
t1400 Hand 18: UTG+1: K4o, fold
t1400 Hand 19: UTG: 52o, fold
t1400 Hand 20: BB: AJo, 1 limper, SB in and I check. Flop: Tc 2h 3s. I open bet 60 and they fold.
t1460 Hand 21: SB: Q8o, 5 limpers, I complete and BB check. Flop: 7h Kh Qd. Someone bets 780 and I fold
t1430 Hand 22: Button: T8s, raised to 5BB, fold
t1430 Hand 23: CO: T2o, fold
t1430 Hand 24: MP3: A2o, raised to 3BB, fold
t1430 Hand 25: MP2: A6s, limp, SB and BB in. Flop: Qd 8c 3h, checked around, Turn: 9h, checked around, River: Jc, checked around. Winner rivered a straight.
t1400 Hand 26: MP1: 82o, fold
t1400 Hand 27: UTG+1: J8s, fold
t1400 Hand 28: UTG: KK, raise to 5BB, UTG+1 and SB call. Flop: 5c 4h Qc. I bet 210 (roughly 1/3rd the pot) and they fold.
t1730 Hand 29: BB: 74o, raised all-in, fold
t1700 Hand 30: SB: 43s, raised to 2BB from UTG, I fold. (UTG held KK, lost to someone holding JTo - flopped trip jacks)
t1685 Hand 31: Button: T9o, 3 people push all-in, fold. (they all had pocket pairs. AA vs. 88 vs. 55 - in that order, 55 was last to act)

Blinds 25/50
t1685 Hand 32: CO: 85o, fold
t1685 Hand 33: MP2: K5o, fold
t1685 Hand 34: MP1: T2o, fold
t1685 Hand 35: UTG+1: A9o, fold
t1685 Hand 36: UTG: A2s, limp, it's raised, I fold
t1635 Hand 37: BB: A2o, 2 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 5h 9s 3d, someone bets 150, it's called and I fold.
t1585 Hand 38: SB: J8o, 4 limpers, I fold
t1560 Hand 39: Button: K6o, it's raised 3BB, I fold
t1560 Hand 40: CO: Q6o, someone pushes and is called, I fold
t1560 Hand 41: MP3: 96o, fold
t1560 Hand 42: MP2: K7o, fold
t1560 Hand 43: MP1: J5o, fold
t1560 Hand 44: UTG+1: 97o, fold
t1560 Hand 45: UTG: J2o, fold
t1560 Hand 46: BB: Q4s, One All-In for 10, 3 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 5d Qh 6d. I open bet 150, everyone folds. All-in has T7o. Turn is 7s and River is 5s and I win the hand.

Blinds 50/100
t1770 Hand 47: SB: 52o, 2 limpers, fold
t1720 Hand 48: Button: Q5o, fold
t1720 Hand 49: CO: 94o, fold
t1720 Hand 50: MP3: 74o, fold
t1720 Hand 51: MP2: Q7o, fold
t1720 Hand 52: MP1: 42s, fold
t1720 Hand 53: UTG+1: QJo, fold
t1720 Hand 54: UTG: K6o, fold
t1720 Hand 55: BB: 65o, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1620 Hand 56: SB: A9s, 2 limpers, I complete, BB checks. Flop: 7c 6c Qd, it's checked around. Turn: 9c, checked around, River is Ts, I decide to take a stab at it for 200 (about 1/2 pot), someone calls and wins (A8o, rivered straight)
t1320 Hand 57: Button: 43s, fold
t1320 Hand 58: CO: 42o, fold
t1320 Hand 59: MP3: Q7o, fold
t1320 Hand 60: MP2: 82o, fold
t1320 Hand 61: MP1: 92o, fold

Blinds 75/150
t1320 Hand 62: UTG+1: 76o, fold
t1320 Hand 63: UTG: A6o, fold
t1320 Hand 64: BB: K3o, 3 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop is 9s 4h 2s. Someone min bets, 2 callers, I fold.
t1170 Hand 66: A4o, raised to 4BB, fold
t1095 Hand 67: Button 52o, fold
t1095 Hand 68: CO: KK, 1 limper, I raise all-in and take the blinds + limp.
t1470 Hand 69: MP3: 82s, fold
t1470 Hand 70: MP2: K3o, fold
t1470 Hand 71: MP1: 52o, fold
t1470 Hand 72: UTG+1: A2s, I limp, 1 more limper, SB and BB in. Flop: 5h 9d 2h. SB bets 900, I fold
t1320 Hand 73: UTG: 42o, fold
t1320 Hand 74: BB: Q6o, two people are all-in, I fold
t1170 Hand 75: SB: JTo, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1095 Hand 76: Button: Q5o, fold
t1095 Hand 77: CO: AQo, folded to me, I push, the blinds fold
t1320 Hand 78: MP2: 73o, fold
t1320 Hand 79: MP1: 96o, fold

Blinds 100/200
t1320 Hand 80: UTG+1: T6o, fold
t1320 Hand 81: UTG: K2o, fold
t1320 Hand 82: BB: Q7o, raised to 3BB, fold
t1120 Hand 83: SB: T3o, raised to 4BB, fold
t1020 Hand 84: Button: T2o, fold
t1020 Hand 85: CO: T9o, 2 all-ins, I fold
t1020 Hand 86: MP3: K7s, fold
t1020 Hand 87: MP2: K8o, fold
t1020 Hand 88: MP1: Q7o, fold
t1020 Hand 89: UTG+1: 55, I push, everyone folds
t1320 Hand 90: UTG: T9o, fold
t1320 Hand 91: BB: 42o, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1120 Hand 92: SB: T3o, fold
t1020 Hand 93: Button: T3o, fold
t1020 Hand 94: CO: Q5o, fold
t1020 Hand 95: MP3: A9s, 1 limper, I push, blinds and limper fold
t1520 Hand 96: MP2: J2o, fold
t1520 Hand 97: MP1: 65o, fold (someone busts out)
t1520 Hand 98: UTG: 85o, fold
t1520 Hand 99: BB: A5o, someone pushes all-in from UTG, I fold
t1320 Hand 100: SB: KQo, it's raised all-in and called, I fold

Blinds 100/200 ante 25
t1220 Hand 101: CO: 73o
t1195 Hand 102: MP3: T3o, fold
t1170 Hand 103: MP2: T7s, fold
t1145 Hand 104: MP1: 73o, fold
t1120 Hand 105: UTG+1: J7o, fold
t1095 Hand 106: UTG: 72o, fold
t1070 Hand 107: BB: A9o. UTG+1 raises to 2BB, one caller, I push all-in, both call. Flop: 5c 6d 9d. Turn: 3d. River: 8d. One of them shows the Kd (other one comments he got the flush on the turn. HH shows he had 4d 2d)

There's the MTT I played last night, without any comments or rationality on any play from me. I leave you with just what happened. I go out in 250th. "The money" was 198.

Anyway, a big thank you to anyone who actually looks through all of that to help me out. If you need more info on any hand, just say the word.

[Johnny93g]

Im no expert, but from looking at your hands, you play extremly tight.
Open more pots with raises. Try and be more aggresive

[Jas_lov]

You do realize there's a raise button right? Limp limp limp. You weren't getting the greatest cards, but a lot of times there were a couple limpers into your blinds and you had decent hands and you just called from the SB or just checked the BB. Also, don't limp into the pot UTG or UTG+1 with A2 or any other weak ace for that matter as it can only lead to trouble. Also, what is your chip stack in all of these levels? But the best thing you can do is raise a lot more often, make a continuation bet and put pressure on people.

[JHandley]

You do realize there's a raise button right? Limp limp limp. You weren't getting the greatest cards, but a lot of times there were a couple limpers into your blinds and you had decent hands and you just called from the SB or just checked the BB. Also, don't limp into the pot UTG or UTG+1 with A2 or any other weak ace for that matter as it can only lead to trouble. Also, what is your chip stack in all of these levels? But the best thing you can do is raise a lot more often, make a continuation bet and put pressure on people.

The HH tells you exactly how many chips he has at all times.

[JHandley]

My own modest review of your tournament. I'm working on my MTT game as well, so I'm posting this in the same vein you are, hoping to see how well my comments stand up to the audience.


Blinds 10/20
t1500 Hand 1: UTG+1: 93o - folded
t1500 Hand 2: UTG: A9o - folded (Bad Position)
t1500 Hand 3: BB: T2s, raised to 4BB by MP3, fold
t1480 Hand 4: SB: Q9o, raised to 4BB by UTG+1, fold
t1470 Hand 5: Button: T9o, raised to 2BB by UTG+1, CO called, fold
t1470 Hand 6: CO: 82o, raised to 5BB by MP3, fold
t1470 Hand 7: MP3: 42o, fold
t1470 Hand 8: MP2: K8s (clubs), 3 limpers in front, I call, BB checks. Flop: Ah 7h Ks. UTG+1 min bets, it's called, I call, BB calls, UTG folds. Turn: 2s, UTG+1 bets 40, MP1 raises to 200, I fold. MP1 had A8o and won the hand. (Might have raised Pre-flop, A8o shouldn't call a raise here, Continuation semi-bluff might have taken it down.)
t1430 Hand 9: MP1: 85o, fold
t1430 Hand 10: UTG+1: A5s, I limp, one more limper, Button pushes all-in and I fold (Can't call ALL-In)
t1410 Hand 11: UTG: 66. I limp as do 2 others, SB and BB in. Flop: 8s 5c Jd. It's checked around. Turn: 8c. BB bets 80, I fold. (Bad Position)
t1390 Hand 12: BB: 94o, 1 limper, and I check. Flop: 5s Ac 3c. I open bet 80 and limper folds.
t1420 Hand 13: SB: 44, 3 limpers, I complete and BB checks. Flop: 5d Kh Tc. Someone bets 80 and I fold (Preflop raise from the SB and continuation semi-bluff might have taken it down)
t1400 Hand 14: Button: 73o, fold
t1400 Hand 15: CO: 63o, fold
t1400 Hand 16: MP3: 86o, fold

Blinds 15/30
t1400 Hand 17: MP2: Q3o, fold. (someone busts out)
t1400 Hand 18: UTG+1: K4o, fold
t1400 Hand 19: UTG: 52o, fold
t1400 Hand 20: BB: AJo, 1 limper, SB in and I check. Flop: Tc 2h 3s. I open bet 60 and they fold.
t1460 Hand 21: SB: Q8o, 5 limpers, I complete and BB check. Flop: 7h Kh Qd. Someone bets 780 and I fold
t1430 Hand 22: Button: T8s, raised to 5BB, fold
t1430 Hand 23: CO: T2o, fold
t1430 Hand 24: MP3: A2o, raised to 3BB, fold
t1430 Hand 25: MP2: A6s, limp, SB and BB in. Flop: Qd 8c 3h, checked around, Turn: 9h, checked around, River: Jc, checked around. Winner rivered a straight.
t1400 Hand 26: MP1: 82o, fold
t1400 Hand 27: UTG+1: J8s, fold
t1400 Hand 28: UTG: KK, raise to 5BB, UTG+1 and SB call. Flop: 5c 4h Qc. I bet 210 (roughly 1/3rd the pot) and they fold.
t1730 Hand 29: BB: 74o, raised all-in, fold
t1700 Hand 30: SB: 43s, raised to 2BB from UTG, I fold. (UTG held KK, lost to someone holding JTo - flopped trip jacks)
t1685 Hand 31: Button: T9o, 3 people push all-in, fold. (they all had pocket pairs. AA vs. 88 vs. 55 - in that order, 55 was last to act)

Blinds 25/50
t1685 Hand 32: CO: 85o, fold
t1685 Hand 33: MP2: K5o, fold
t1685 Hand 34: MP1: T2o, fold
t1685 Hand 35: UTG+1: A9o, fold (Bad Position)
t1685 Hand 36: UTG: A2s, limp, it's raised, I fold
t1635 Hand 37: BB: A2o, 2 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 5h 9s 3d, someone bets 150, it's called and I fold.
t1585 Hand 38: SB: J8o, 4 limpers, I fold
t1560 Hand 39: Button: K6o, it's raised 3BB, I fold
t1560 Hand 40: CO: Q6o, someone pushes and is called, I fold
t1560 Hand 41: MP3: 96o, fold
t1560 Hand 42: MP2: K7o, fold
t1560 Hand 43: MP1: J5o, fold
t1560 Hand 44: UTG+1: 97o, fold
t1560 Hand 45: UTG: J2o, fold
t1560 Hand 46: BB: Q4s, One All-In for 10, 3 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 5d Qh 6d. I open bet 150, everyone folds. All-in has T7o. Turn is 7s and River is 5s and I win the hand.

Blinds 50/100
t1770 Hand 47: SB: 52o, 2 limpers, fold
t1720 Hand 48: Button: Q5o, fold
t1720 Hand 49: CO: 94o, fold
t1720 Hand 50: MP3: 74o, fold
t1720 Hand 51: MP2: Q7o, fold
t1720 Hand 52: MP1: 42s, fold
t1720 Hand 53: UTG+1: QJo, fold (Might be my own inner donkey here, but I think I might have taken a stab at this one. M isn't horribly desperate, but at this level, you need to start accumlating chips to be able to steal blinds at later levels. Also, much easier to say that with hindsight being 20/20, if you pick up a premium hand 2 hands later, you'll feel worse having bluffed off chips here.)
t1720 Hand 54: UTG: K6o, fold
t1720 Hand 55: BB: 65o, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1620 Hand 56: SB: A9s, 2 limpers, I complete, BB checks. Flop: 7c 6c Qd, it's checked around. Turn: 9c, checked around, River is Ts, I decide to take a stab at it for 200 (about 1/2 pot), someone calls and wins (A8o, rivered straight) (Bad position to make a play, with so many draws on the board, if you make a play on 4th, what do you do on the river? You might have taken it with a 200 bet on 4th, however. Tough spot.)
t1320 Hand 57: Button: 43s, fold
t1320 Hand 58: CO: 42o, fold
t1320 Hand 59: MP3: Q7o, fold
t1320 Hand 60: MP2: 82o, fold
t1320 Hand 61: MP1: 92o, fold

Blinds 75/150 ( From this point forward, you're pretty much looking at pushing or folding.)
t1320 Hand 62: UTG+1: 76o, fold
t1320 Hand 63: UTG: A6o, fold
t1320 Hand 64: BB: K3o, 3 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop is 9s 4h 2s. Someone min bets, 2 callers, I fold.
t1170 Hand 66: A4o, raised to 4BB, fold
t1095 Hand 67: Button 52o, fold
t1095 Hand 68: CO: KK, 1 limper, I raise all-in and take the blinds + limp.
t1470 Hand 69: MP3: 82s, fold
t1470 Hand 70: MP2: K3o, fold
t1470 Hand 71: MP1: 52o, fold
t1470 Hand 72: UTG+1: A2s, I limp, 1 more limper, SB and BB in. Flop: 5h 9d 2h. SB bets 900, I fold
t1320 Hand 73: UTG: 42o, fold
t1320 Hand 74: BB: Q6o, two people are all-in, I fold
t1170 Hand 75: SB: JTo, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1095 Hand 76: Button: Q5o, fold
t1095 Hand 77: CO: AQo, folded to me, I push, the blinds fold
t1320 Hand 78: MP2: 73o, fold
t1320 Hand 79: MP1: 96o, fold

Blinds 100/200
t1320 Hand 80: UTG+1: T6o, fold
t1320 Hand 81: UTG: K2o, fold
t1320 Hand 82: BB: Q7o, raised to 3BB, fold
t1120 Hand 83: SB: T3o, raised to 4BB, fold
t1020 Hand 84: Button: T2o, fold
t1020 Hand 85: CO: T9o, 2 all-ins, I fold
t1020 Hand 86: MP3: K7s, fold
t1020 Hand 87: MP2: K8o, fold
t1020 Hand 88: MP1: Q7o, fold
t1020 Hand 89: UTG+1: 55, I push, everyone folds
t1320 Hand 90: UTG: T9o, fold
t1320 Hand 91: BB: 42o, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1120 Hand 92: SB: T3o, fold
t1020 Hand 93: Button: T3o, fold
t1020 Hand 94: CO: Q5o, fold
t1020 Hand 95: MP3: A9s, 1 limper, I push, blinds and limper fold
t1520 Hand 96: MP2: J2o, fold
t1520 Hand 97: MP1: 65o, fold (someone busts out)
t1520 Hand 98: UTG: 85o, fold
t1520 Hand 99: BB: A5o, someone pushes all-in from UTG, I fold
t1320 Hand 100: SB: KQo, it's raised all-in and called, I fold (Bad Luck. You get a steal-able hand and it's raised all-in with a call before you)

Blinds 100/200 ante 25
t1220 Hand 101: CO: 73o
t1195 Hand 102: MP3: T3o, fold
t1170 Hand 103: MP2: T7s, fold
t1145 Hand 104: MP1: 73o, fold
t1120 Hand 105: UTG+1: J7o, fold
t1095 Hand 106: UTG: 72o, fold
t1070 Hand 107: BB: A9o. UTG+1 raises to 2BB, one caller, I push all-in, both call. Flop: 5c 6d 9d. Turn: 3d. River: 8d. One of them shows the Kd (other one comments he got the flush on the turn. HH shows he had 4d 2d)

Looks like a bad combination of bad luck (The few times you did have marginal hands that you could use to steal blinds or bluff pots, you were UTG) and being card dead. A couple of times you might be a little passive, but again, that's really only in hindsight. That said, there is no difference between busting out at hand 53 and hand 107, except pride. Either way, you still miss the money.

[Jas_lov]

Ok, I see the chip counts now. JHandley did a good job highlighting some of the specific hands where you should have been more aggressive. You hear it on poker shows all the time, aggressors are usually rewarded.

[sabotai]

Thanks for the comments guys. Yeah, raising more preflop is something I know I need to do more oftan. I've been told it before. Maybe one of these days it'll actually sink in. :)

Here's another HH. This one was a few days ago.

Blinds 10/20
t1500 Hand 1: SB: T7o, it's folded around, I complete, BB checks. Flop: 3c 2s 3s. I min bet and steal a pot. *shrug* (another player sits)
t1520 Hand 2: CO: K4s, raised to 3BB, fold
t1520 Hand 3: MP3: 65o, fold
t1520 Hand 4: MP2: Q4o, fold
t1520 Hand 5: MP1: QTo, fold
t1520 Hand 6: UTG+1: KQo, UTG raises to 4BB, I reluctantly fold
t1520 Hand 7: UTG: T6o, fold
t1520 Hand 8: BB: QJo, UTG limps, MP1 raises to 3BB, I call, UTG calls. Flop: Jh Qc 6s. I try to slow play but it's checked around. Turn: 4h. I open bet 40, both call. River: 9d, I open bet 120, one fold, PF raiser calls and my two pair wins (he had AJo).
t1810 Hand 9: SB: T8o, raised to 2BB, I fold
t1800 Hand 10: Button: T7o, fold
t1800 Hand 11: CO: Q6o, fold
t1800 Hand 12: MP3: T5s, fold

Blinds 15/30
t1800 Hand 13: MP2: T8s, fold
t1800 Hand 14: MP1: Q6o, fold
t1800 Hand 15: UTG+1: Q8o, fold
t1800 Hand 16: UTG: 84o, fold
t1800 Hand 17: BB: K4s, 3 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: Jd Ah 3c. Someone bets 90 and I fold.
t1770 Hand 18: SB: 87o, raised to 3BB, I fold
t1755 Hand 19: Button: QTo, raised to 4BB, I fold
t1755 Hand 20: CO: 72o, fold
t1755 Hand 21: MP3: A2o, folded to me, I limp, 1 more limper, SB in, BB check. Flop: Td 7c 5d. Checked around. Turn: Kd, someone bets 120, I fold
t1725 Hand 22: MP2: K8o, fold
t1725 Hand 23: MP1: 88, limp SB in, BB in. Flop: Kc Ah 7c. Checked to me, I bet 60, they fold.
t1785 Hand 24: UTG+1: T2o, fold
t1785 Hand 25: UTG: J4o, fold
t1785 Hand 26: BB: A3o, 2 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 5h Jc 8s. Someone bets 60, I fold
t1755 Hand 27: SB: T8s, 2 limpers, I complete, BB check. Flop: As 5d 4c. It's checked around. Turn: Ts. I open bet 90, someone raises to 180, I call. River: 4h. I bet 180, he calls and shows A5o.

Blinds 25/50
t1365 Hand 28: Button: K9o, fold
t1365 Hand 29: CO: Q7o, fold
t1365 Hand 30: MP3: KTs, I limp, SB in, BB in. Flop: 6h Jd 4c. Checked around. Turn: 4s, checked around. River: 6c, checked around. Someone holding an ace wins it.
t
t1315 Hand 31: MP2: T2o, fold
t1315 Hand 32: MP1: K6o, fold
t1315 Hand 33: UTG+1: 97o, fold
t1315 Hand 34: UTG: J4s, fold
t1315 Hand 35: BB: K6o, fold to a 3BB raise
t1265 Hand 36: SB: 98o, fold to a 4BB raise
t1240 Hand 37: Button: AJo, MP2 raises to 4BB, I reluctantly fold.
t1240 Hand 38: CO: T3o, fold
t1240 Hand 39: MP3: T4o, fold
t1240 Hand 40: MP2: KQo, I limp, 1 more limper, SB in, BB check. Flop: 6d Qd 8s. I bet 150 and everyone folds
t1390 Hand 41: MP1: A2s, I limp (I know, I know. Never realized how much i limped with this until now), 2 more limpers, SB in, BB in. Flop: Qc 6s Qh. checked around. Turn: Kd. Someone bets 150 and everyone folds.

Blinds 50/100
t1340 Hand 42: UTG+1: 95o, fold
t1340 Hand 43: UTG: 93s, fold
t1340 Hand 44: BB: ATo, SB complete, I check. Flop: Td 9c 8h. SB bets 100, I fold. (Ok, I'll put some commentary here: I'm a donkey)
t1240 Hand 45: SB: AQo. Someone raises to 5BB. Again, I reluctantly fold
t1190 Hand 46: Button: J5o, fold
t1190 Hand 47: CO: 93s, fold
t1190 Hand 48: MP3: AQs. UTG limps, I raise to 3BB. one calls for 15 more and is all-in. UTG calls. Flop: 3h Td 2d. UTG bets 200. I push all-in. UTG calls and shows Ah 9c. The short stack shows 7s 5s. Turn is 2h, River is 2c. We all have a set of dueces, my kickers win.
t2545 Hand 49: MP2: Q4o, fold
t2545 Hand 50: MP1: Q9s, fold
t2545 Hand 51: UTG+1: T4o, fold
t2545 Hand 52: UTG: QQ, I raise to 4BB and everyone folds
t2695 Hand 53: BB: T3o, one limper, SB in, I check. Flop: Tc As 2s. limper bets 300, I fold.
t2595 Hand 54: SB: 87o, 3 limpers, I complete, BB check. Flop: Qc 3c 7c. Someone bets 200, I fold
t2495 Hand 55: Button: 54s, CO raises to 3BB, I fold
t2495 Hand 56: CO: KQs, UTG limps, I limp, SB and BB in. Flop: 3d Ks Jc. UTG bets 200, I call. SB and BB fold. Turn: As, check check. River: Jd. Check check. He shows ATo.

Blinds 75/150
t2195 Hand 57: MP3: A6o, fold
t2195 Hand 58: MP2: K8o, fold
t2195 Hand 59: MP1: 95o, fold
t2195 Hand 60: UTG+1: JTo, fold
t2195 Hand 61: UTG: AQs, I raise to 3BB, everyone folds
t2420 Hand 62: BB: 83o, one limper, SB in, I check. Flop: As 5d Ks, checked, Turn: 2s, checked, River: 5h, checked. Limper wins with pocket nines.
t2270 Hand 63: SB, K2o, fold
t2195 Hand 64: Button: AJs, MP3 raises to 4BB. I....reluctantly fold (a sigh of relief when I see I would have lost the hand as I realize it was technically the wrong play I think)
t2195 Hand 65: CO: 75o, fold
t2195 Hand 66: MP3: A3s, raised to 3BB, I fold
t2195 Hand 67: MP2: A7o, fold
t2195 Hand 68: MP1: 52s, fold
t2195 Hand 69: UTG+1: 83o, fold
t2195 Hand 70: UTG: T3o, fold
t2195 Hand 71: BB: 94s, raised to 4BB, fold
t2045 Hand 72: SB: J8o, raise to 3BB, reraised to 8BB, I fold
t1970 Hand 73: Button: T8o, fold

Blinds 100/200
t1970 Hand 74: CO: 66, I limp, it's raised to 4BB. SB and BB fold. I fold
t1770 Hand 75: MP3: 65o, fold
t1770 Hand 76: MP2: 65s, fold
t1770 Hand 77: MP1: J9s, fold
t1770 Hand 78: UTG+1: J8o, fold
t1770 Hand 79: UTG:84o, fold
t1770 Hand 80: BB: 44. one limper, SB raises to 3BB. I fold.
t1570 Hand 81: SB: ATo, folded to me and I complete, BB check. Flop: 7d Th Kh. I push all-in, he waits and waits and then calls and shows K8s. Turn is 2h and river is Kd.

I go out in 327

This ends Donkey Theater for now.

[sabotai]

dola,

playing a $5 MTT now and have just made the money. Very short stacked, but I set a few guidelines for myself so that I would be more aggressive and it paid off more than it hurt me.

EDIT: Just busted out in 227th (Paid was at 243).

[primelord]

Edit: First Tournament

Hand 10: Don't play Ace rag early even if it's suited. If you hit an A you aren't going to have any idea where you are at in the hand. When the blinds are small and you are in early position dump A rag.

Hand 12: Don't over bet this pot with just the gut shot. You are betting 80 to win 30. It isn't worth it. Those 30 chips don't have enough value. Just check/fold the hand.

Hand 20: Raise preflop. The flop bet was fine, but it would have been much better if you had raised preflop.

Hand 21: Just muck this preflop. I know it is only half a bet, but Q8o is just not strong enough.

Hand 25: Again fold A rag preflop.

Hand 28: Is a 5x BB raise your standard raise? If so I think this is fine. If you generally raise 3 x BB you should raise your Ks 3 x BB. It's fine to mix it up a bit, but since you haven't even raised one hand yet I wouldn;t start with such a big one especially with such a huge hand.

Hand 36: This is a common theme. Don't play A rag early.

Hand 56: Bet this turn. When it gets checked around on the flop it is pretty certain no one has a Q. The 9c completes several draws, but if you bet and get raised you can fold.

Hand 72: Don't play A rag early and certainly don't limp with it with less than 10 BBs. Either shove it or fold it.

The rest of the hands were fine. For those that say he was playing too tight I challenge you to show me a hand that he folded that he should have played and give a good reason for doing it.

Definietly start folding those A rag suited hands from early position. Many people carry over the idea from cash games into tournamnets that you can play small suited aces early at passive tables. This is ok in a cash game because you have (theoretically) an unlimited amount of chips. In a tournament it just isn't worth it.

The reason it is ok to play small pairs up front early at a passive table, but not small suited Aces is that the small pairs are very easy to get away from if you miss the flop. And if you hit the flop you often hit it with a huge hand. A hand like A3s can hit the flop in a multitude of ways that will leave you calling off chips and no real garauntee of winning the pot.

[sabotai]

Thanks for the comments prime, I really appriciate it. Yes, A rag, it's something I made sure to keep in mind when playing tonight. Maybe I'll put a little Post-It on my monitor that says "FOLD ACE RAG N00B!"

Hand 28: Is a 5x BB raise your standard raise?

3-5BB. Whatever suites my fancy, but yeah, I should make sure I keep in mind what raises the people at the table I am at have seen me make.

[primelord]

Tournament 2

Hand 1: Don't complete T7o here. You are playing a bad hand, out of position, in a small pot. Just give him the walk.

Hand 6: Your fold was correct. I just wanted to point out that KQo plays horribly against an UTG raise. You mentioned you reluctantly folded. JUst in case that meant you might play that at some point I wanted to stress the point. :)

Hand 8: Fold you QJo preflop for two bets. If he had min raised I think the ball would be ok, but again you are playing an easily dominated hand out of position. Early in the tournament you don't need to take risks like that.

Hand 21: Oh dear. Now we are limping with off suit A rag hands. :) Fold preflop.

Hand 23: If it's folded to you in MP with 88 you can raise this preflop. At that point you are better off trying to get the pot short handed and just win it outright instead of hoping to flop a set.

Hand 27: The preflop call is fine. The turn bet and call is good. On the river if you think you have the best hand here checking and calling a bet is much better than leading out. His turn raise might have just been a flush draw so a river bet is only going to make him fold. You likely aren't getting a better hand to fold for a bet, but you might get a busted flush draw to bluff on the river.

Hand 28: If it was folded to you on the button with K9o I like a raise here.

Hand 30: Open limping from MP3 is no good. PLaying this hand here is fine, but raise it preflop. Assuming you raise preflop then you will likely make a CB on the flop and take it down there.

Hand 40: Again no open limping from middle position. If you want to play your KQ here then raise preflop.

Hand 41: Even though you know I am going to keep hammering on it. Fold ace rag. :)

Hand 44: Ok first you must raise this preflop. ATo is a great hand heads up and you have position on this guy. Not to mention his limp heads up shows incredible weakness. It's a lot easier to play the hand if you raise it preflop. You almost certainly have the best hand here. Pop him back.

Hand 45: This fold is fine, although depending on the raiser and his stack size you might be able to talk me into shoving here.

Hand 48: After the limper comes in you are best off just shoving all-in preflop here. Especially if you are going to do it on the flop anyway.

Hand 56: Raise preflop. Raise the flop.

Hand 64: It's not as bad of a fold as you think, but an open raise from MP3 can be a pretty large range of hands. I would have reraised him here preflop.

Hand 74: Shove in preflop.

Hand 80: I would shove here as well.

Hand 81: Shove in preflop.

[kcchief19]

The rest of the hands were fine. For those that say he was playing too tight I challenge you to show me a hand that he folded that he should have played and give a good reason for doing it.
t1410 Hand 11: UTG: 66. I limp as do 2 others, SB and BB in. Flop: 8s 5c Jd. It's checked around. Turn: 8c. BB bets 80, I fold.
For the record, I don't think he's playing too tight at all, but maybe a bit too passive. I have the same problem, so I'm an expert at slappy play. :)

This is a hand I think could be more played more aggressively. I don't have a problem with the limp preflop -- lots of people like to climp with low and middle pocket pairs to try and flop a set. But a preflop raise here might get you some information you need about the limper in front of you, plus you might be able to drive out the blinds and get heads up with one opponent. Plus, since I think sabotai plays pretty tight aside from A-rag (another common fault), a preflop raise here won't make the raise with KK later so obvious.

While I'm fine with the limp preflop, I think checking the flop is a mistake. The sixes actually look pretty good after the flop, since there's not a scare card like an ace or a king. Sure, somebody might have limped with AJ, but you have to figure a hand like that might have raised preflop. You have to assume you're seeing some mediocre hands. I'd represent the jack, bet half the pot and see if you take it down. I'm guessing the BB that bet and took down the pot on the turn had a couple of overcards -- I don't think that eight helped him. The BB ended up betting almost the full pot, suggest that he didn't want a call, which makes me think your sixes are still good there.

I have a feeling sabotai and I are probably on similar skill level, because I have trouble with low and middle pairs to. But I see you play these pocket pairs passively consistently -- play them more aggressively and you'll win many times.

[primelord]

The first problem in your analysis of the 66 hand is that you missed the fact he was UTG. There was no limper before him. :)

Raising 66 UTG early in a tournament is not a good idea. If you are going to play a small pair from early position you either want a very multi way pot or to get it heads up or 3 handed at the worst. A raise is not likely to get you either one of those situations.

After the limp I see no problem with playing 66 passively against 4 opponents with two over cards on the board. The pot is still small so it isn't really worth betting out and getting raised here and having to fold. Not to mention if you get called on the flop you really have no idea where you are in the hand. Do you fire a second barrell on the turn? When you bet the flop you are really just hoping to take it down there and there just isn;t enough in the pot to justify that 5 handed.

[sabotai]

Hand 6: Your fold was correct. I just wanted to point out that KQo plays horribly against an UTG raise. You mentioned you reluctantly folded. JUst in case that meant you might play that at some point I wanted to stress the point. :)
Noted. :)

Hand 21: Oh dear. Now we are limping with off suit A rag hands. :) Fold preflop.
In my defense, Tourney 2 actually happend before Tourney 1, so I was really getting better. :D

Hand 27: The preflop call is fine. The turn bet and call is good. On the river if you think you have the best hand here checking and calling a bet is much better than leading out. His turn raise might have just been a flush draw so a river bet is only going to make him fold. You likely aren't getting a better hand to fold for a bet, but you might get a busted flush draw to bluff on the river.
Thanks. It's these types of hands I think I lose most of my money on. I have a feeling I usually misplay a marginal hand at some point, either being passive when I should be aggressive or being aggressive when I should let the other guy take the lead in the betting. (IOW, what you said about my bet getting better hands to fold or not)

Hand 28: If it was folded to you on the button with K9o I like a raise here.
It wasn't, but noted.

And noted on your other points too. Again, thanks for the run through. I really appriciate it.

And thanks kcchief. I remember thinking about that hand after it happened and knew I should have bet on the flop. Another problem I have is playing middle pair after the flop. I do get way too passive with them. EDIT (after reading prime's post) Ok, we are both wrong. :D

[Lathum]

On thing I noticed is you let to many people limp in on your BB. Early on I like to raise when I am in the BB when people limp. It lets them know you are going to defend your money and it also allows you to be the aggresor if there is a rag flop.

[sabotai]

Here's the HH of the MTT I played tonight, for comparison and to see if my aggression was good aggression or donkey aggression. :)

Blinds 10/20
t1500 Hand 1: BB: AQo, MP3 raises to 4BB, Button calls, SB calls, I call. Flop: Ts 8s 3s. PF raiser puts in 80, I fold
t1420 Hand 2: SB: T6o, raised 3BB, fold
t1420 Hand 3: Button: T8o, fold
t1420 Hand 4: CO: 32o, fold
t1420 Hand 5: MP3: 84o, fold
t1420 Hand 6: MP2: QJo, MP1 limps, I raise to 3BB, BB calls, limper folds. Flop: As 2c 9h. he checks, I bet 80, he calls. Turn: 9d. He checks, I bet 180, he calls. River: Jd. he checks, (if he has an ace or better hand he won't fold, if he has anything else, he'll fold). I check. He shows 43o
t1740 Hand 7: MP1: T2o, fold
t1740 Hand 8: UTG+1: KTs, fold (Out of position?)
t1740 Hand 9: UTG: J3o, fold
t1740 Hand 10: BB: A8o. 2 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 9d 8s 7h. I bet 60, one caller. Turn: Ad, I bet 100, it's called. River: 6c (uh-oh) I check, he checks (Qc 8c)

Blinds 15/30
t1960 Hand 11: SB: Q9o, raised 3BB, fold
t1945 Hand 12: Button: Q9s, UTG raised to 4BB, I fold
t1945 Hand 13: CO: J3o, fold
t1945 Hand 14: MP3: T3s, fold
t1945 Hand 15: MP2: Q6o, fold
t1945 Hand 16: MP1: T5o, fold
t1945 Hand 17: UTG+1: A3s, fold (<--- :) )
t1945 Hand 18: UTG: T2o, fold
t1945 Hand 19: BB: Q2o, 5 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 3s Td 5h. Someone bets 175, gets one caller, I fold.
t1915 Hand 20: SB: T8o, 2 limpers, fold

Blinds 25/50
t1900 Hand 20: Button: 52o, fold
t1900 Hand 21: CO: 64o, fold
t1900 Hand 22: MP3: T8o, fold
t1900 Hand 23: MP2: 84o, fold
t1900 Hand 24: MP1: K4s, fold
t1900 Hand 25: UTG+1: 94o, fold
t1900 Hand 26: UTG: 73o, fold
t1900 Hand 27: BB: ATs, MP2 raises to 5BB, CO calls, SB calls. I fold
t1850 Hand 28: SB: 73o, 2 limpers, fold
t1825 Hand 29: Button: AQo, 1 limper, I raise to 5BB, BB reraises 700 (14BB). Limpers calls, I fold (reraiser shows KK, limper shows JJ)

Blinds 50/100
t1575 Hand 30: CO: 42o, fold
t1575 Hand 31: MP3: A8o, fold
t1575 Hand 32: MP2: 97o, fold (someone gets moved)
t1575 Hand 33: UTG+1: K3s, fold
t1575 Hand 34: UTG: T2o, fold
t1575 Hand 35: BB: 72o, raised to 2BB, I fold
t1475 Hand 36: SB: 92o, raised to 2BB, fold
t1425 Hand 37: Button: T5o, fold (someone is seated at our table)
t1425 Hand 38: MP3: QJs, folded to me, I raise 4BB, everyone folds
t1575 Hand 39: MP2: Q9s, raised to 4BB, fold
t1575 Hand 40: MP1: A3o, fold (someone busts out)
t1575 Hand 41: UTG: QJs, I limp, 2 others limp, Button raises to 2BB. the blinds fold, me and the other two limpers call. Flop: Ks Ah Ad (eewww). checked to PF raiser who bets 200, everyone folds. (someone is seated at out table, I'm in UTG position again)
t1375 Hand 42: UTG: A3o, fold
t1375 Hand 43: BB: 97o, 2 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 6c 3s Th. Fold to a min bet on the flop.

Blinds 75/150
t1275 Hand 44: SB: Q8o, UTG raises to 3BB, fold
t1200 Hand 45: Button: A4o, fold
t1200 Hand 46: CO: Q2o, fold
t1200 Hand 47: MP3: K4o, fold
t1200 Hand 48: MP2: ATs, UTG raises to 3BB, I fold
t1200 Hand 49: MP1: 53o, fold
t1200 Hand 50: UTG+1: JJ, I raise all-in, someone reraises, no one calls. He shows TT and my jacks hold up.
t2625 Hand 51: UTG: T4o, fold
t2625 Hand 52: BB: J2o, 1 limper, SB in, I check. Flop: 7c Td 6d. I bluff at it for 450 and they both fold.
t2925 Hand 53: SB: Q6s, 1 limper, I complete, BB check. Flop: 5d 3h Tc, someone bets 300, I fold.
t2775 Hand 54: Button: Q4o, fold
t2775 Hand 55: CO: 86o, fold
t2775 Hand 56: MP3: Q3o, fold
t2775 Hand 57: MP2: 44, I raise to 3BB, BB calls. Flop: 7h 9h 9s. He open bets for 300, I fold.
t2325 Hand 58: MP1: J7o, fold
t2325 Hand 59: UTG+1: 32o, fold
t2325 Hand 60: 85o, fold

Blinds: 100/200
t2325 Hand 61: BB: T9s, 2 limpers, SB folds, I check. Flop: 2c Ts 9c. I open bet 600, one caller. Turn: 4c (and flashes of a few tourneys ago when I hit 2 pair on the flop and lost to a flush on the turn....). I check, he bets 400, I call. River: 2d. Check, check. I win the hand (he had ATs - diamonds)
t3825 Hand 62: SB: A7o, one limper, I fold
t3825 Hand 63: Button: K3o, fold
t3825 Hand 64: MP3: A8o, fold
t3825 Hand 65: MP2: 75o, fold
t3825 Hand 66: MP1: JTs, 1 limper, fold
t3825 Hand 67: UTG+1: 87o, fold
t3825 Hand 68: UTG: 62o, fold
t3825 Hand 69: BB: 75o, 2 limpers, SB in, I check. Flop: 2h Jh 4s. checked around. Turn: 7c. I put out a probe bet of 400, 2 callers Turn: 9d. checked around. Someone shows T7s and wins
t3125 Hand 70: SB: T9o, raised to 4BB, fold
t3025 Hand 71: Button: A9o. Folded to me, I raise 4BB, BB called. Flop: 3d 2d 4s. Low flop, I bet 1000 (about 1/2 pot - if this doesn't work.....). BB folds after thinking a bit.
t3925 Hand 72: CO: T7o, fold
t3925 Hand 73: MP3: 75o, fold
t3925 Hand 74: MP2: A7s, fold
t3925 Hand 75: MP1: 85s, fold
t3925 Hand 76: UTG+1: Q5o, fold

Blinds: 100/200 ante 25
t3925 Hand 77: UTG: 62o, fold
t3925 Hand 78: BB: 65s, MP2 raises to 315 (all in). 1 caller, SB called, I called (90 more). Flop: 8h Jc 6h. Checked around. Turn: Kd, someone bets 600, I fold.
t3585 Hand 79: SB: 95o, CO raises to 6BB, I fold. (he shows KK)
t3460 Hand 80: Button: K6o, fold
t3435 Hand 81: CO: T9s, foled to me, I raise to 3BB. Button calls, blinds fold. Flop: Ks 9h Jd. I put in a (weak ass) 400 bet, he instantly raises to 800. I fold.
t2410 Hand 82: MP3: T3o, fold
t2385 Hand 83: MP2: 43o, fold
t2360 Hand 84: MP1: K5o, fold
t2335 Hand 85: UTG+1: 52o, fold
t2310 Hand 86: UTG: AA, I push all-in, everyone folds (there were a few stacks that were considerably larger than mine and figured one of them would call - as it was, we were pretty close to the money, so the blinds + antes is fine)
t2810 Hand 87: BB: 74o, CO pushes all-in, I fold
t2585 Hand 88: SB: 72o, fold
t2460 Hand 89: Button: 75o, fold
t2435 Hand 90: CO: 42o, fold
t2310 Hand 91: MP3: T2o, fold
t2285 Hand 92: MP2: 92s, fold
t2260 Hand 93: MP1: T2s, fold
t2235 Hand 94: UTG+1: A2o, fold
t2210 Hand 95: UTG: K3o, fold

Blinds 200/400 ante 25
t2185 Hand 96: BB: K6o, MP3 pushes all-in, I fold
t1860 Hand 97: SB: A5o. 1 limper, I fold. (we were at the bubble at this point. In fact, I think it was after this hand that we were in the money)
t1635 Hand 98: Button: T5o, fold
t1610 Hand 99: CO: 76s, MP1 pushes all-in, I fold
t1585 Hand 100: MP3: T8o, UTG raises to 4200, I fold (someone busts out)
t1560 Hand 101: MP1: 42s, fold
t1535 Hand 102: UTG+1: 64s, fold
t1510 Hand 103: UTG: K6s, fold
t1485 Hand 104: BB: KTo, it's raises to 5BB by CO, Button calls ...(uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....). fudge. fold.
t1060 Hand 105: SB: A8o, MP3 pushes all-in, I call. He shows QQ and it holds up.

Finishes 227th.

[kcchief19]

The first problem in your analysis of the 66 hand is that you missed the fact he was UTG. There was no limper before him. :)
<thump to side of head> Even though I quote the "UTG" part, I combined this with another hand and thought he was on the button. Agreed, 66 UTG is a limp or a fold that early in a MTT. No raise.
Raising 66 UTG early in a tournament is not a good idea. If you are going to play a small pair from early position you either want a very multi way pot or to get it heads up or 3 handed at the worst. A raise is not likely to get you either one of those situations.
I still think I bet the flop. The pot's sizable enough now that a half-pot raise probably takes down the hand. With two checks alredy in front of him, and two limpers behind, I think the first person to stab at the pot will take it.

Then again, I'm a donkey. :)

[primelord]

I still think I bet the flop. The pot's sizable enough now that a half-pot raise probably takes down the hand. With two checks alredy in front of him, and two limpers behind, I think the first person to stab at the pot will take it.

Then again, I'm a donkey. :)

I don't disagree with there being a decent chance a flop bet takes down the pot. The problem is there are only 100 chips in the pot. So you are making a 50 chip bet to win 100 with two people left to act in the hand and 4 opponents total. Early in the tournament the 100 chips in the pot are not as valuable as the 50 already in your hand. If someone raises you then you are going to have to toss your hand. In addition if someone calls do you fire again on the turn? They might be just on a draw, but they also may be calling you down with a weak J.

All together with that many opponents, that small of a pot, and two overcards on the board it just isn't worth it to make a play there. The best case scenario is you take down the 100 chip pot on the flop bet and those 100 chips are just not valuable enough yet to risk losing the 50 you have to bet if you are raised.

[kcchief19]

I don't disagree at all with that reasoning.

But I think it also goes back to table image. Granted, it's early, but at this point he has checked, limped or folded every single hand -- a pattern that continued until hand 28 when he gets KK. His table image to me at that point is someone who is passive before the flop and will fold after the flop unless he hits a piece of the flop. It's early, but he's been so passive preflop when he gets 66 that even at that point a bet out will suggest greater strength to me than 66.

But to me, it also sets up the KK hand. That should be a value hand. But since he had not raised preflop at all before and had folded the flop almost every single time to a bet up until then, his bet out of KK screamed huge hand. If he plays 66 the same way, his play with KK might bring more value.

To me, at that point, a 60-chip bet is all about information and table image. But aside from one glowing success and a couple of very small cashes, my MTT record is poor. :)

[primelord]

Tournament 3:

Hand 6: I would just muck this preflop.

Hand 10: I think you should bet this river and consider folding to a big raise. A check here just gives him the opportunity to try and bluff you off the hand. On that board it is unlikely he would raise the river without the straight.

Hand 17: Nice. :)

Hand 38: Nice.

Hand 41: Just toss this preflop.

Hand 61: You are seeing monsters under the bed. Bet until someone tells you they have the flush. Also your flop bets seem to be pretty close to pot sized every time. You should start looking to make bets closer to half pot size. That often still gets folds when you are looking for them and doesn't give many draws the odds to call.

Hand 81: I like the preflop raise. I don't like the flop fold. You were getting over 6:1 with a pair and a gut shot. I think you can at least see the turn for 400 more and see how it goes from there.

Nice tourney.

[kcchief19]

Real-life examples of why no one should listen to me when discussing playing low pairs. :)

Inspired by this thread, I decide to play a MTT last night to test some of my recent studying and apply some lessons learned. I usually lack the patience for MTT, so SnG better suit my play. So I join one of the 180 SnG tourneys at Poker Stars, applying as many of the lessons I've learned lately as I can, mainly focusing on playing premium hands, reading betting patterns and bringing out the hammer when necessary. I was mainly in the middle of the pack most of the way until we were down to about 40-50 players left, when I caught a couple of hands and eventually reached the No. 2 chip position.

First hand in question: I'm No. 3 in chips and we're just inside the money. I've been moved to a new table and the blinds are 400/800. UTG folds, next guys raises to 3 BB. One fold to me and I'm looking at 5h 5d. My early read on the raiser is that he is very loose, and based on the comments I'm seeing from his fellow players, it looks like he has played a lot of trash and caught a lot of hands. I've only seen him play a few hands thus far and he's already been yo-yoing with his chip stack. His raise was about a third of his stack. I decide to raise to 7200. This size bet would essentially put all but one player behind me all-in as well, and the only seat that has this bet covered looks to be pretty tight. I don't see him getting involved with a raiser and a re-raiser. My read is right and everyone folds to my bet, including the raiser. Mission accomplished.

Hand 2: Five hands later, we get a virtual instant replay. We get four folds to the villain from our last hand, who now has around 9k in chips (I'm at 25k and currently No. 2 in chips). This time he raises 4 BB to 3,200. It's folded to me in the small blind and I'm looking at -- yep -- 5s 5c. Almost the exact same hand. The slightly larger raise should have been my warning, but as I said my read on this guy is that he is loose and will bet weak hands. My current guess is that he has something like AQ or maybe middle pair. I decide to bet enough to put him all in. He calls and show s Jh Jc. Ooof. We're at 15 players left, and I'm now in the middle of the pack.

Next example: Eight hands later I'm in the small blind. The button is now the chip leader and he makes a minimum raise to 1,600. I've had some pretty good reads on him and my impression is that he has gotten his share of luck. Early in the tourney, he took a big pot from me when he called my sizable flop and turn bets and sucked out by rivering a flush with no pair or straight draw. My chip stack was accumulated largely by siphoning off big pots from him after that. I'm in the small blind and look down at -- you guessed it -- 5s 5h. Despite the fact that I'm in the SB and facing a min raise, I don't have a good feeling about this. I'm suspicious of that raise and I'm pretty sure the BB behind me will call, and I'm not sure I want to play my fives three-handed. I'm also still middle of the pack, but my M is not a major issue yet. I fold. Flop brings an ace and a queen, chip leader bets out and BB folds. I'm pretty sure he hit his ace.

Final hand for consideration: 16 hands later we're six handed. My positioned has worsened slightly since our last update and my M is a little over 6.
It's folded to me in the cutoff and I look down at -- do I have to tell you at this point? -- 5d 5s. Ugh. In the last few orbits, I've definitely felt a change at the table. I haven't been playing a lot of hands, and I've found that my blinds and raises are almost always getting raised. I decide to make my standard raise to 3BB to 3.6k. Button folds and the small blind reraises me to 9.6k. Crap. Based on what's happened recently, I feel kind of played at. I'm certain he's got a couple of nice cards. I figure it's a 50/50 chance he has a couple of overcards versus a bigger pocket pair. If I call I'm left with about 3.7 chips, so it's push or fold. I have him covered by about 800 chips. My instincts tell me he probably has me. But I determine that based on the current situation, this could be one of the better hands I'll see for a while. We're already in the money, and I'm in the shadowy area for the next bump. I decide to call and hope for a race. He calls and shows QQ and I'm crippled.

So, four times I get 55 in 30 hands. I win one, fold one and lose two. I'm such a donkey.

[sabotai]

I'll just comment on your last hand (since anything I say about the first few will most likely be wrong. :) ). I would say you should have just pushed from the start. He had QQ so tough break there, but had he had a low middle pair like 66 or 77, he might have thought twice and folded.

[sabotai]

What would you do?

Early in an MTT, still at the first blind level (10/20) and you have $1970. UTG has $1810 and SB has $1340.

You are dealt AKo in UTG+1 position. UTG limps, you raise to 4BB, SB calls, UTG reraises to 140, you call the extra 60 and then SB raises all-in to 1340, UTG calls. Calling would leave 600 or so chips left.

Fold, Call or Push?

EDIT: Also, would you do anything different with your first two actions?

[Barkeep49]

Fold.

[SirFozzie]

Definitely fold. Too early to determine if SB was slowplaying a monster pair, and UTG has limped-raised-Called.

You're probably facing KK or AA or Both.

If both do it with AK or smaller. Make a Note. You have a fish.

[SirFozzie]

In fact, here's the link to the post where I was being squeezed in such a manner.. had AK and laid it down, and my opponents had KK/AA, leaving me drawing pretty much dead.

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=1209165&postcount=46

[Barkeep49]

I would argue not so much that you are likely facing AA, KK, or both, but that one, or both, have either an Ace or a King (more likely an ace) in their hand. If another person then has a pocket pair, your odds of winning the hand are dramatically reduced.

[sabotai]

So....I showed my donkeyness fully by pushing then....ok. :(

SB had KK, UTG had JJ.

[Toddzilla]

I'm currently 35 out of 64 with $3100, blinds $75/$150

Time to get desperate or do I stay patient?

EDIT - top 18 pay

[SirFozzie]

your M rating is 15 or so. Plenty of time.

[Toddzilla]

I'm at the table with the top 3 stacks - sigh

[primelord]

I'm at the table with the top 3 stacks - sigh

I read comments like this all the time. Just having big stacks at your table is not a problem. What you don't want is big stacks on your left. If you have big stacks on your right, even if they are good players, that is a good thing for you.

[sabotai]

I read comments like this all the time. Just having big stacks at your table is not a problem. What you don't want is big stacks on your left. If you have big stacks on your right, even if they are good players, that is a good thing for you.

Explain. (Please? For the donkeys like me?)

[Toddzilla]

yeah - please explain.

BTW - just doubled against a big stack with A3o v AKo when a duck hit the turn.

[sabotai]

BTW - just doubled against a big stack with A3o v AKo when a duck hit the turn.

I think I must have pissed off someone at PokerStars. THIS NEVER HAPPENS FOR ME. EVER! :mad::mad::mad::mad:



:D

[Toddzilla]

I'm guessing with big stacks to your right, you get a lot of speculative calls, so there's a better chance to add chips.

[primelord]

Explain. (Please? For the donkeys like me?)

You are going to need to acquire chips one way or another. I am not suggesting that you want Phil Ivey on your right with a monster stack, but I am suggesting if he is going to be there anyway you absolutely want him on your right rather than your left.

Money flows around the table in a clock wise direction. The more chips you have on your immediate right, the better chance you will have of growing your stack. When you are acting after the big stacks all of your optins are available to you. If they come into the pot you can pick and choose your battles wisely. However when you have a shorter stack on your right and a bigger stack left to act you will find yourself in some very difficult situations. A short stack may shove and you may have a hand worth playing such as AJ, but can you really risk it knowing the big stack(s) are still left to act.

[Toddzilla]

13 out of 47
$7000, $100/$200 blinds

I'm getting nervous

[SirFozzie]

Your M is 23.3

Relax.

If it helps you concentrate, switch your style when you can.

This affects a lot of other folks at the table.

[sabotai]

Makes sense, prime. Thanks.

[Toddzilla]

Donked out in 42nd.

AKo, I hit 2 pair on the flop, bet 2K, got called. Turn was a brick (?) so I went all in, got called, other guy hit a flush. No luck on the river. Sigh.

[SirFozzie]

My thoughts at this stage: Take this opportunity to study the plays your opponents mak, since you're down to 5 tables or so, it's more likely you'll see someone down the line if you continue in the tournament. Pick up reads that will help you down the road.