How long till I win??

[kutuz_off]

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how do you rate yourselves? Im losing money.. about 200 or 300 a month,but i tell myself win one tourney thats $5 dollars or more of an entry fee and im ahead for the year instantly

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the only real criterion is whether or not you are losing money. The most important subjective criterion is whether or not you come away from the table satisfied with your play, be it win or loss. If you feel you play good, and if you can afford to lose 200-300 a month, then just keep on going. However, I would recommend trying other sites with smaller fields at comparable levels. I'm sure you don't truly realize how sickening variance in tournaments is.

FWIW, I was in exactly same boat, down a few thousands, absolutely positive that I was doing a lot of things right, but unable to close the deal at all. And then I hit a major hot streak this March.

You would also do well to learn games other than NLHE, because fields there are not as big, and you might find yourself enjoy them and/or be good at them.

[COLDWOLF#1]

I appreciate the responses...guess i better clarify a little..ive won a lot of sitngos...3 yesterday..MTTs I cant hit ... you can look me up on pokerdb.com -pokerstars its COLDWOLF#1,partypoker im COLDWOLF888..its the MTT that i crave a first in...would rebuy tourneys be a better option?some platers here win every couple weeks consistantly..they arent lucky they are good...the end game is the tough part..maybe they are great with the pot odds and implied odds and will play any two if the pot is right when it comes to them.I would like to believe im only a couple races or coin flips from taking 30th to 1st.I dont think that is the case.Ive gotten my money in late with the best hand late several times..and lost.Perhaps the key is to get my money in some huge pots with any two cards because the odds are too good to pass on.thanks for the input keep it coming ... iguess its more of an endgame post...that is probably the crux of the no wins problem

[TFGoose]

If you're getting your money in with the best hand late in a tournament, then you aren't doing anything wrong (with the possible exception of not having enough chips at that stage to avoid going all-in, but sometimes you just can't help it). Everyone says you need to get lucky to win tournaments, but in reality it's not getting unlucky that's far more important. It sucks that you are getting so close and then catching a bad beat just when it would skyrocket you to a chance at the title. But believe me, there are many of us out here that know the feeling.

I'm not saying that there aren't areas to improve, there probably are (for most of us really). But if the only thing that's keeping you from a win so far is a nasty string of beats in late-game pots, then just keep doing what you're doing and wait for the percentages to catch up to you. Eventually, you'll find your way to the top.

--TFGoose

[riverruss]

Ive been playing for 12 months with around 1200 mtts played (fields of 50+)buy ins $1 to $5 & FR's.Ive had 26 wins & 95 FT,s no big wins,$400 being the biggest which was in my 1st ever tournie 1 year ago,best finish probably 2nd out of 3500 in a FR & I did have a run of 9 ft's in 7 days a few months ago.
I dont feel I have the skills or confidence to enter any of the higher buy in MTT's.

[COLDWOLF#1]

Wow,,what exactly are you waiting for to enter higher MTTS.?Every tourney i enter 10 and under has 1100 to 2400 people?Frankly I dont understand what your waiting for?

[mornelth]

I second what kutuz_off said - go to a smaller site ro smaller games. I had a mini-hot-streak in Jan coming in 4th in two 2,400+ tourneys ($11 and $22 buyins) in a matter of a week ($1,200 and $3,000 cashes) and then hitting a long cold streak. righ now I MOSTLY play on a smaller site Titan Poker - fields of about 120 players are common, and I FTd 6 tourneys in the last 3 weeks, winning 1 of them.

PokerStars and Party and other sites are full of peple using PokerTracked and PA HUD and stuff - smaller sites are not compatible with most software packages out there. Draw your own conclusions.

[supair]

Good post. As a relative beginner I was looking for a post like this, 12 months or so ago, but couldnt find one and was worried about why I couldnt win or even place well in mtt's. Dont worry. Keep learning and it will come.

After reading these forums along with HOH 1+2 I realized that variance plays a huge part in mtts, and that theres a lot more to succesful tournament poker than playing "well".

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Wow,,what exactly are you waiting for to enter higher MTTS.?Every tourney i enter 10 and under has 1100 to 2400 people?Frankly I dont understand what your waiting for?

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To get good enough, basically.
I agree 100% with everyone thats said drop down in field size/change sites.

Ive been playing about 18 months now, I was instantly hooked and after getting used to the game in home games and small stakes sngs, I became more interested in mtts, and I began studying particularly mtts in depth. Started out playing $1 +$2 400-500 runners and getting along ok but always bustin around 100th, couldnt progress. Built my bankroll with sngs and cash games, and started playing $5 mtts with a field of around 120-40 on prima, and through lots of reading 2p2 and practicing, my results got better.

I made the bubble twice, then got an 8th or something and things just started to click. And in the last two weeks ive Ft'd 5 times, with my first victory, a second, two fourths and a fifth. Ive really got used to the quality of my opposition, and can spot opportunities (bad players) and kinda find my spots to make moves a lot better.

But the sad thing is, the more you know, the more you know you dont know. I know I could get along at a higher level, but I just wouldnt have the edge I have at my current level, and would mainly lose (barring some nice runs of cards/outdraws) because I would be one of the poorer, less experienced players there.

My advice would be start again and start small. Read lots, and study hands on the mtt board here. Realise why things make sense, and ask questions. I have now turned my pathetic initial $20 deposit into nearly 4 figures and its so satisfying, so keep at it cos you'll get there and youll love it man.

sorry for the long post, i had a pre tourney smoke tonight [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]\

sup

[ZenMasterFlex]

I have almost always been a winning poker player. I have just recently started getting into MTTs.

Some things I think are very important are

1.) Try to understand variance. If you win 2x as often as a break even player you probably play quite well. And it also means in a 1,000 man MTT, you are 500 to 1 against doing it. Anything but the largest of sample sizes could easily be very misleading in large field MTTs.
This is why playing smaller fields is good advise.

2.) Learning SNGs will elevate your game. I would advise learning to beat them ALL before tackling MTTs. HU, single tables, and 5 tables. This will teach you to play in elevating blinds, sound bubble play, and the HU skills you need to close the deal.

3.) Don't let beats take you off your game. I know it sucks to play GREAT poker for 2.5 hours only to get Bad beated just shy of the money or more importantly shy of the good deep money. When this happens Cus, squeeze a rubber stress toy, beat your pet, do whatever you have to do, then refer to point #1, rinse and repeat.

I am still a beginner, but I think it's time for me to start mixing in winning advise with my dumb questions. And giving back to the forum. And this is some safe winning advise.

[COLDWOLF#1]

Great advice!!! great stories.So get some tourneys on smaller sites..but not many tourneys every hour like stars is there?Is poker stars and Party the best Players?I dont focus on small sitngos..im not building a bank roll. im looking for a sweet payday on a large tourney. all your posts are great..its hard to know where you are with out other peoples stories..really boosts my excitement.The other site i posted on never answered...or refer you to some obscure thread my computer illerate self couldnt navigate to.Personally i find the endgame of the sitngoes not good practice for MTT endgames...IMO the sitngo players are not near the sophistication of the 10 dollar 135 players left in a field of of 1500 tourney.45 player sitngo they arent the same

[ZenMasterFlex]

Party Poker has 5 table 50 man SNGs. Stars has 180 man MTTs. Get a few....thousand...of those under your belt then post some results, I'll be curious to see myself.