How long till I win??

[CHAx]

I hear your pain man. I finish top 10% of tournies very very often. But I always get bad beated at some point just before FT or early at FT. SIGH. Only one win and two 3rds. Both in 500 + tournies. You should probably play STTs to practice your final table pushbotting skills if you are entering FT shortstacked [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[2Fast]

I'm sort of where you are at but probably sucking a bit more FWIW. I blew through about $600 on Party over the past year and a half after being up to around $750 at one pt - played like 300+ STTs and around 300 or so MTTs - where I really went off the money and blew my bankroll was in $1/2 and $.15/.25 cash games.

Now I'm on Stars which I like better (more MTTs in general - less rake at lower limits). I agree with AceLuby that the $4.40s are a good training ground but last night I played a couple $1.20 45-man SNGs which are good as well and easier on the bankroll and I think better in that it's not such a time suck and if you go far you have a real chance to win. It kinda sucks to play for like 2-3 hours in the 180s and get ITM but win like 4 bucks. Best I've done so far is like 15th in these. I've also gone very far in some 2500+ man $1, $2 and $3 MTTs on Party (to like 20-40th) and finished in 12th just missing final table in an 80-man $22 MTT.

I'm just going to keep posting and reading and hopefully learning. Being tight aggressive and playing to win and not go ITM are important concepts too that I'm trying to master.

[illini43]

To the OP:

Planning on investing $5 or $10 in a tournament and expecting to win is similar to playing the lottery.

Obviosuly you want to win a tournament and win $. Posting the question: How do I win big MTTs? will not get you a magic answer where all of the sudden you are a great player and win everytime you play.

If you want to win a tournament, you need to play solid poker. In order to play solid poker, you need to read a few books, review you hands via hand history, and play often to stay sharp.

Don't expect amazing success overnight. You can't just suddenly "become" good overnight. To steal an idea from MLG, you need to 'evolve' as a poker player, you can't just go from beginner to expert.

Not too many people on here are fortunate to have made a big cash ( >$1000 in this instance) in a low buy-in MTT. Stop whining because you haven't.

[Idahoholdem]

I know how you feel. First of all. Set ONE AMOUNT to fund your bankroll, and that's it. Don't keep throwing more money at it. I started 6 months back with $50. I was playing mostly the .05/.10 NL games and getting killed because I WAS playing by the rules. The rules don't apply at the lower levels. As a result, 1) I lost it all, and more importantly, 2) I WASN'T HAVING FUN. So I took a month off and told myself that I need to let the game be fun again and to really focus on how I was playing.

First, I would start with a lower bank roll. Set a limit for yourself and stick to it. Then, play the lower $1.25 (this is on Full Tilt) SNG's. Play EXTREMELY tight and learn to pick your spots. Once you build your bank roll and start to feel comfortable, then move up to the $5 tourny tables. This is where I'm at now. I reloaded for another $50 and now I just went over $100, in a month. I took my time and read a lot of posts online, not the books. The books do help, but at the higher levels, where people are serious about playing and don't just look at it as $1 to throw away.

Also, start taking notes! This is probably the most important. I do this on myself only. I don't have the ability, yet, to keep track of everyone at the table. That will come. But I started keeping track of the tourny's I entered; they buy-in, how many hands i played/won vs. how many were played overall, where I placed, how much I won, and last but not least, HOW I THOUGHT I PLAYED. I keep notes on what stupid move i tried to what awsome slow play I made. Anything to help you track patterns.

You WILL eventually see patterns emerge, and this will help you focus. I can't stress enough how this helped me, tremendously. I'm still not up to playing the $10 tourny's, but that's coming. Just keep reading these online forums, especially the articles posted by the players. This is where I picked up a wealth of knowledge. And I read the sites EVERY day. I'm learning to be more agressive and what hands to get away from and what ones to push when.

You will win, but you have to practice some patience and you will get there. Give yourself a break, read the forums and before you know....BAM!

Idahoholdem

[illini43]

[ QUOTE ]
I was playing mostly the .05/.10 NL games and getting killed because I WAS playing by the rules. The rules don't apply at the lower levels

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree with this statement.

#1) There are no set "rules" on how to play.
#2) The lower limits are VERY beatable, you just need to stay patient and adjust your game. Get in with more suited connectors and small pairs cheaply that win large pots when they hit. YOu can't wait for big PP's and big cards to play.
#3) If you can't beat the lower limits, you can NOT beat higher limits.

[jcm4ccc]

Time for some tough love.

Clearly you are a losing player ($200 - $300 a month lost on small buy-in tournaments?). I know you know that, but I wonder if you really know that or are you thinking “I’m just hitting a run of bad luck.” Because even if you get a +$1000 payday, you will still be in the hole. Most MTT players are losing players, and you are one of them.

Can you hear that without getting crazy or defensive? If so, that’s a good sign that you have the mental attitude to become a winning player. Because frankly, I don’t think you do. I base that on the following statements:
<ul type="square">[*]Wasted the first 4 months just playing stupidly on the sngs[*]Been playing solid for a few months and never even sniffed a first[*]Made 3 final tables 3, that’s it[*]I guess I’m looking for some mystical scale that says you are here X[*]I’m looking for a sweet payday on a large tourney[*]Personally i find the endgame of the sitngoes not good practice for MTT endgames[*]Winnings $161.10 minus $47.40 entry fees=$113.70 net profit. WHAT A GRIND......NOT FUN[*]I would not play every day even if you promised me these results[*]I want to put up 5 to 20 bucks and maybe hit 4 grand[*]No way can i play this sng nightmare till i get 200.00 and enter the 200+15 tourneys. ZERO fun.[/list]Something needs to change, and it’s not where you play poker. If I was to wager on it, I would wager that next year at this time you will either have quit poker, or you will still be bleeding $200 - $300 a month and moaning about your bad luck. Do you have what it takes to prove me wrong?