The ware and tear of small stakes tournaments

[BarryLyndon]

I have been reading 2+2 a lot over the past few months and I finally had a few decent cashes to give myself a sufficient bankroll to play small stakes tournaments (I have about 1K). Since those two scores, however, I have been through a 3 week period where playing $10 and some $20 tournaments /$10 SNGs are starting to have its effect on me psychologically. Basically, I get tired of these situations:

1. I advance deep into a tournament holding an average stack without ever really hitting a big hand for a big pot, then go TOTALLY card dead for the next hour; make a good read after an LP push with AJ or A10, lose a 60/40 or even 70/30, two hours of controlling the table with nothing is for naught.

2. Raising UTG with KK/AA like 15 times over the past two weeks, and maybe getting action once, even though I raise with all sorts of hands in a fairly standard TAG paradigm

3. watching donkeys bet 40 into 400 and 100 into 1000 for two hours straight, as they chip up off each other and I can't find a single profitable situation.

4. Getting called down in an instant by K10o off a steal attempt when I had been playing TAG for 40 mintues and my steal attempt is about 30% of my opponent's stack.

5. Watching my opponents chip up from 1500 to 6000 in 10 minutes, where his hands were J9 for top pair calling a raise OOP / AI on the flop, then KQo caling an all in on a A 2 Q from an unkonwn. I take a note on him, but keep picking up trash and then I'm moved.

I'm sure there are two answers: 1. welcome to online poker; 2. think about the long run. That's all well and good, but I can't help but to think that my decisions are effected by this terrible play / my running bad. It also doesn't help that I've been deep 6 times over the past, 10 tournaments, and each of the 6 I had a profitable opportunity where I lost on the right end of an all-in.

I really want to develop a more positive attidue, because I know IMMEDIATELY after a bad steal attempt / FPS / etc. what I am doing wrong in terms of the math, game theory, my opponent, etc. I am aggressive enough and smart enough, I feel, to be a successful tournament player, but I'm a little too hungry and eager, and it seems to be huring my results during this drought of cards / piss poor players I have to deal with. Any advice?

[mugatu668]

cash games

[El_Hombre_Grande]

1. Piss Poor play is your friend. If they suck that bad, nut peddle and trap. They will call, they suck, right?

2. I bet you lack proper aggression on the bubble. That's a big hole in a lot of player's game that leads to "almost" results.

[The Velour Fog]

if i would only play tournaments or sit n go's i would probably kill myself.

cashgames is the solution.

[aaokwitme]

[ QUOTE ]

1. Piss Poor play is your friend. If they suck that bad, nut peddle and trap. They will call, they suck, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

i totaly agree, you should bet like you are trying to steel with AA pf and these guys will call. they will call an allin pf most times too. push them nut hands when you make em on the flop, or turn, value bet em when you make em on the river



[/ QUOTE ]
2. I bet you lack proper aggression on the bubble. That's a big hole in a lot of player's game that leads to "almost" results.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totaly dissagree, you are playing low stakes these guys are calling and you will bubble if you get cute.

[rounder00]

[

[/ QUOTE ]

I totaly dissagree, you are playing low stakes these guys are calling and you will bubble if you get cute.

[/ QUOTE ]If your afraid of bubble your a pussy, you can easily chip up plenty, putting constant pressure in position on similiar chip stacks..

[El_Hombre_Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

1. Piss Poor play is your friend. If they suck that bad, nut peddle and trap. They will call, they suck, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

i totaly agree, you should bet like you are trying to steel with AA pf and these guys will call. they will call an allin pf most times too. push them nut hands when you make em on the flop, or turn, value bet em when you make em on the river



[/ QUOTE ]
2. I bet you lack proper aggression on the bubble. That's a big hole in a lot of player's game that leads to "almost" results.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totaly dissagree, you are playing low stakes these guys are calling and you will bubble if you get cute.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong. Bad small stake SNG players are notorious for racing around early (which is wrong) and then tightning up right when they should get aggressive. So the winning strategy is to play tight while the numbnuts are racing around with A9o (and the pots are meaningless) develop a tight image and then go nuts on the Bubble.

By the way, this isn't my idea. Its from Harrington on Hold Em.

[aaokwitme]

Harrinotn on hold em is based on big stake games.
If you push in small stakes you WILL bubble! more offten than chip up.

[BarryLyndon]

guys,

players 100 SEATS away from the bubble do many things:

1. they call off on all-ins with their short stacks with weak aces / QJ type hands because they are too pussy to push, but too desperate to get away from those "live hands."

2. 100 seats away from the bubble, as long as the blinds show these guys "they can't play poker" (they weren't playing poker in the first place), they become meak. It's the size of the blinds that scare them.

3. late game bullying against big stacks or ultra small stacks at these things is a terrible idea; players will gleefully call off 30% of their stacks with mid pairs, K10 like hands, and so forth. Having said that, aaok, there are plenty of medium stacks who try retarted raises that you know you can resteal against / push against. The problem is that they have been waking up with monsters after basically pussying it up for an hour, and I'm trying to ride through this :*(. Maybe a little low stakes cash games are in order...

[aaokwitme]

[ QUOTE ]

3. late game bullying against big stacks or ultra small stacks at these things is a terrible idea; players will gleefully call off 30% of their stacks with mid pairs, K10 like hands, and so forth.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why I said to over bet and push with great hands. You will get thoughts calls. AA preflop over bet or push, KK no A on flop over bet or push, big hands made on flop with no big draws out there hands like sets, straights, top 2 pair, over bet or push, on the turn, over bet or push, with close to the nuts or the nuts. Value betting out of pos on river with same type of hands.