Can anyone diagnose my problem?

[shama83]

OK, I'm looking for an easy answer to cure my recent poker woes. I usually play 1-2 table, no-limit tournies at pokerstars ($5,$10, $20 fees). According to my primitive stats, I place in the money about 1/3 of the time, which I assume means I'm average. Recently, though, I keep just missing the money.

Being as objective as I can, I think that I play tighter than almost everyone, especially at the beginning. This enables me to survive while 1/3 of the opponents disappear. My plan has been to loosen my starting hand requirements once the table is reduced to about 6 players. But I am finding myself blinded down a lot. Inevitably, I'm forced to go allin, usually against a hand that is a little worse or the same as mine.

The only thing that I am aware of that I might be doing wrong is not going all-in frequently enough pre-flop, in order to steal the blinds.

Does anyone have any advice to offer before I toss my computer through the window?

[ovitoo]

If you find yourself close to being blinded out or needing to "make a move or else..." The best advice I can give to is to peel off in or near the hijack position (2 seats before the button) when there are no callers or few limpers behind you. you also want to be careful with the hand selection. Assuming this move has to be done because you can no longer wait for jj's or better, it is best to move in with a good bust hand (ex: 9 10 suited, j 9 suited..etc) You should not make this move with a hand like A6 or A7. this puts you in a bad spot bc you will generally only be called by dominating hands like a bigger ace or a pocket pair giving you one over card. You also need to be careful about doing this in too late of a position where as a good player will notice your position play.

Hope it helps..Good luck

[DDGrantTX]

Yes tight is ok starting off. To pick up a little something along the way watch for position opportunities where your cards really dont matter. Sometimes i will miss a lot of opportunities while waiting by not paying attention, you gotta stay in the game to capitalize on these "unwanted" or marginal hands. Example only one or two limpers to you in the cutoff with tight players in button and blinds, this should open your range quite a bit, especially if its post flop and one or two of the ones following you are out. Also dont wait until you are going to blind out. As soon as i see i have the smallest stack i start looking for any good reason to shove, this works wonders for your position plays by adding fold equity while you still have enough chips to make it believable.
works for me, make your own luck.

A

[brian.noland1]

You're style is more "survival" and not so much "trying to win". This would explain your average performance thus far. It's not a game killer, you just need to tweak it a little. First off remember that outlasting 1/3 of the field just means you're not a donkey, it's not a big achievement.

First, and this is critical, tight doesn't have to mean a rock, people seem to confuse the two. When you start a tournament the blinds/stack relationship is more akin to a cash game with everyone at about 100 big blinds. This is the basic requirement for a "deepstack" situation. Therefore, it is best to approach it like a cash game, look for cheap flops you can see with suited connectors, small pairs, preferably from late position. Blind steal from late position if you think you can (based on your assessment of the blinds) for more pots. Two good things will happen from this, one, you will probaby hit a few concealed monsters (and get WELL paid off for them since everyone else will think you're playing as a rock like they are) and you will establish a great table image for later. Because after the first few rounds when the blinds increase you will now have a short stack scenario. THIS is the time to start only playing those premium cards and abandoning the cash game strategy since most flops will be contensted and you will most likely be all-in either pre or post flop due to pot sizes and blind stucture. Now, since you established a loose image earlier when you get to this point you're bigger hands will get paid off since everyone will figure you're still playing this way. By starting loose-aggressive with a deepstack, and moving to tight aggressive with a shortstack, you should be able to make the money more consistently. Good luck and have fun!