Online MTT Final Tables

[soapdodger]

Hi there,

I've got a general question about optimum Final Table play in MTT, and any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I've been playing tournaments regularly for coming up to a year. Having started off on the $5-$10 I'm now playing $35-$50 and managing to regularly cash.

My pokerdb stats say I've played 180, cashing 45 times (25%), making the FT 42 times (23%), which I think is a pretty good showing.

However, from those 42 final tables, my final three count - where the real money is basically - isn't good in comparison as far as I can tell.

I've only won 3, placed 2nd in 7, and finished third 5 times.

Although I also play lots and SNGs, and am also an overall winner, I wonder if the differing stack sizes and increased blinds are presenting me with some kind of leak when it comes to getting into the big money.

I wouldn't say I usually come to the FT with a SS, but I'm rarely the big stack.

As I said, any thoughts much appreciated, as I hope to continue going up in stakes, and a couple of bigger cashes would really come in useful!

Cheers

[jacksup]

Hi Soap,

Your cash percentage is excellent, and finishing in the top three in 15 of your 42 final tables is not bad. That said, cash percentage--while a vital stat for SNGs--is not all that important in MTTs. To increase your overall win rate, it's often correct to make plays that lower your chances to cash, but increase your chances to win the tournament. You don't necessarily need to come to the FT with a chip lead every time. But when you do make a final table, you should have above average chips more often than you don't.

It's hard to say for sure without seeing you play, but I would guess that you'd have more top-three finishes if you focused less on cashing and more on accumulating chips.

Best,
Matt

[G_Becks]

Ditto, nice stats for the most part...

I think Matt hit the nail on the head. Return on Investment(ROI) is the most important stat for MTT's. We agree that all the money is all in top 3 finishes so focusing on this is crucial.

To enable yourself to have more top finishes you will have to find a way to accumulate more chips late. Although easy to say, sometimes this is hard to do. The first thing is to find the 'leaks.' Let me elaborate on what Matt touched on...

[ QUOTE ]
It's hard to say for sure without seeing you play, but I would guess that you'd have more top-three finishes if you focused less on cashing and more on accumulating chips.

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem probably lies in shorthanded play late in the tournament in these ranges: 23-19 players remaining and 15-10 players remaining. You will be playing anywhere from 5-7 handed during this times. This is a common mistake made by players as they have gotten into a 'groove' playing their 8-9 handed style.

To combat this I would try one of two things after evaluating your own play.

1. Open raise pots more often.

By this I mean that if you are playing shorthanded, say 7 handed, and the first two players fold, try raising with a more broad range of hands. Simply take more shots at stealing the blinds preflop. Its important to know when to raise though. Keep in mind the stack sizes of your opponents as well as their tendencies (who's loose and calling raises or re raising, and who's tight and more opt to fold.) Be smart about these steal attempts, remember that we're not trying to blindly throw out raises to steal, but rather trying to find +EV spots where a blind steal will work.

2. Make sure you are not always calling raises out of the blinds.

Another common leak is to call from the big blind too often. This is bad for many reasons but mostly because you are putting in more chips when you have to play the hand out of position. More often than not you will miss the flop and check fold to a bet. By doing this you have committed more chips to a pot that you simply don't have much chance of winning in the first place...

Hope this is helpful to you. I will work on some new videos that focus on theses sections of tournaments soon, so look for those!

-GBecks

[soapdodger]

Thanks very much Matt and GBecks for both of your replies, which I found very useful.

I think you're both exactly right, in the points you make which I do recognise.

In terms of GBecks' specific points, I have been trying to do that more when the table gets short-handed, especially as my tighter style tends to have earned enough respect at that point. Unfortunately when I've been down to 5/6 players in my last couple of tournaments I've probably been guilty of being too aggressive with medium pocket pairs in the last key pot. I guess I just have to hone my judgement on when to pick my spots, and this instinct will only come with practise.

Regarding the blinds, it's something I have really been looking at in my last couple of big tourneys. I've found playing them very conservatively, and saving the most chips possible for when I want choose to be aggresive, has worked very well.

I think in general I do find it slightly counter-intuitive to adopt a Top Three or nothing mentality, but again, I encourage myself to recognise this as ROI best practise!

Thanks again,

soap