Confessions of a donk....

[phattP]

I've been playing quite a few cash tourneys recently and thought I would post a few things I've learned.
They may not be correct and any criticism is welcomed. ( but it won't change my way of looking at them, that's formed by my own experience ).
I have been steadily building my bankroll by playing like this, win some, lose less than I win..
So here they are, confessions of a donk...( waiting to be torn to shreds by the gits )...

In the first few rounds, not betting at all is often worth doing. See how everyone else is playing and watch your folded cards to see how your luck is.
Then during the middle bit, when blinds are a bit higher, that's the time to use a bit of pressure. Raise or fold.
By then you should have an idea of which players to tangle with and which ones to avoid.

Before you reach the final table of a tourney, say the last 15 players or so, you need to be building up your stack at every opportunity.
There's not much point in getting to the last 10 if you haven't got anything left to play with.
As the blinds get bigger, you should at least be trying to win one pot for each round of the blinds, so your stack doesn't get smaller.

During this stage, I try to see which players are playing timid, worried about not getting to the final 10, then I concentrate on them and try and keep out of any pots with the big stacks.
I would be raising their blinds with any hand better than A9, 88, but only from late position so as not to get caught out by a big re-raise from one of the more aggressive players.

If the chip leader has me seriously out-chipped, I don't enter any pot against him without a strong hand like AK suited, KK or AA.
A lot of players think that when they have a big stack, they have to call. Especially if I've been raising often and not getting any calls.
He might decide to see what I've got, knowing he can take the loss if I win. I keep out of his way until the cards are right.
If I have a good hand I will bet it big. Let him be the one having to make the decisions.

If I make it to the final table, I don't go into a pot if it's already been opened.( unless I've got AA or KK in which case raise).
But if the pot's waiting to be opened I will always go in with a raise if I have a hand good enough to be in it in the first place, or fold.
Calling is usually a mistake ( in my experience, especially heads up ). If you miss the flop you're likely to get hit with a big raise after the flop.
A lot of aggressive players use the tactic of big raise pre-flop, then huge raise post-flop, whether they hit or not. The 'double punch.' ( I use it myself sometimes ).
The chances of being behind after the flop are pretty even, and if you already have the psychological edge of having raised first, you will probably win without having to show your cards.

Sometimes, people will call or even re-raise.
I get caught!
Depending on my read of the other player I will fold, or go all in if I'm already half way there.
That's when luck can sometimes help..you get called by KK and your 89 hits a straight.
That's when everyone at the table cries DONK! lol... but if I lose I lose... C'est la vie as they say.
No one will win many tourneys without a bit of aggression and a large slice of luck somewhere along the way.

I've read that 'all in time' ( what I call Panda time) is when youre down to less than 10 BBs. I think that depends on the way people are playing and what stage the tourney is at. I personally like to try for a double up earlier than that, if you wait too long you will be needing to double up 2 or 3 times to get back in with a chance.
Any big pocket pair ( higher than 9s ) or any suited Ace should give you a decent enough excuse when you're slowly getting starved by the blinds.

Never worry about busting out of a tourney, it's no big deal and happens to all but one player in every tourney.
If I'm going to play poker for 2 to 3 hours I want to win, not just fizzle slowly out in the final stages.
If you find yourself worrying about losing, then you're probably playing in tourneys you can't afford.
You'll just get eaten alive by players who can sense that you're playing over-cautiously.

Don't get too upset when someone 'sucks out' on you with a lesser starting hand, that's just a part of the game.
It's called luck and sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't...Whingeing about it is pointless and one-dimensional.
I just got knocked out of a tourney in 6th place by someone going all in with 24 clubs. I called from BB with AK spades and lost to a flush.
I think he was trying to steal and probably hated seeing my call! Lucky guy...WD to him I say, why not? I've been on both ends of that kind of luck.

I try not to get too over-dependent on cards. Winning at poker is just as much about psychology, stack sizes and position as it is about cards.
I think this is especially true on the final table.
Playing not to lose is no way to win.
Who wants to come fifth?
Not me lol!

Disclaimer...these are only observations based on my own personal experience, not necessarily to be followed as sound advice.
Free chip tourneys where people are playing just for fun are a different game altogether, I would say much more than 60% luck.

[Ausangel]

Nice post PanDa Saves me making notes

[phattP]

Originally Posted by Ausangel

Nice post PanDa Saves me making notes

moooaaahahaaaa! phase 1 of my masterplan has succeeded.
Here's where I switch to the 'late reg. sit-out-till-final-table and all in with first 2 cards' strategy..
thus creating confusion among those who have read previous post...moooaaahaahaaahaaa! (visualise vincent price while reading laughter sounds)

[TheTexan]

[Amber30]

Wow that is one scary looking guy !
If I sat at the same table as him Id just give him all my chips without even playing..

[CaptainSandy]

An excellent poat, I agreewith everything you have written apart from one line....

"In the first few rounds, not betting at all is often worth doing. See how everyone else is playing and watch your folded cards to see how your luck is."

It may be worth watching the first few hands before regestering, but once you're there you may as well be playing. Also watching your folded hands to see how your luck is, is possibly the worst thing to do (IMO).

[DukeOfDeath]

I agree with Sandy. One or two things I might slightly tweak, but by and large one of the best tourney advice I've seen (besides pros writing on super complex subjects). You basically "observed" a lot of stuff that top poker players do. Nice post