Why am I always a shortstack on the bubble?

[M1cKmAcK]

This is my first post....
I play a pretty tight game. My game resembles the typical Dan Harrington-textbook strategies. Lately I've been placing in nearly 50% of my tournaments which is quite remarkable, but I haven't gone deep in one of them. Why is this? It seems I'm always below average on the bubble. Am I blinding myself to death? Am I folding hands that I shouldn't? Should I be more aggressive? What are some key points to gaining chips after I've cashed? I want a deep cash more than anything, help me out guys.

[brad2002tj]

Unless I have gotten lucky I am usually average or below average when teh bubble starts approaching. This is the time when I start playing more aggressively and opening up my range. Thus I usually either am gone prior to the bubble or have a nice stack after.

After the bubble the game opens up so I tighten up again.

[ZenMusician]

Why is my car making that funny noise?

Post some hands! A common error is trying "not
to lose" instead of trying to win. In smaller MTTs
like the SnG's the flatter payout demands survival,
while in larger MTTs that won't cut it...you need a
stack!

Be aggressive when you enter a pot, show down your
good hands. When your M gets lower, learn to
pushbot! (see stickies for pushbot charts or ask around).

The bubble likely isn't your problem, it's developing a
stack properly way before the bubble.

Join PXF and watch shaundeeb or the other 180 ballas
for excellent schooling on this.

GL

-ZEN

[Mr. GQ]

It sounds like you're playing too conservative, waiting for "premium" hands and just riding your way into the money. You need to take calculated risks, push the action, earn your chips etc. etc.

A conservative player will have many just in the money cashes and the rare deep finish.

An aggressive, daring but intelligent player that leverages his stack, pushes the actions and plays and outplays well pre and post flop and they will have very few small cashes, lots of early bust outs.. but! a good number of deep finishes.

The conservative route will get you just in the money a whole bunch of times, but almost never ever deep. Where's the real profit in that?

The other route I described gets you real deep and more shots at a top 3 finish - which is exactly where profits lie.

Would you rather a bunch of just in the money finishes, or a handfull of HUGE finishes?

I'll end with this...Harrington on Hold Em 1-3..they're only the tip of the iceberg. There's lots more to think about. Keep reading, learning and playing.

[Sherman]

I'd recommend reviewing some HHs on PXF. You will see that going deep in an MTT requires taking calculated +EV risks. Conservative and defensive play will often get you ITM, but it is not an effective money making strategy for MTTs.

[ssnyc]

I used to be you and then I started recognizing that people are pretty bad and that you need to expand your range for hands that are playing against you...now as GQ said my ITM is dropping slightly but I am around final tables almost always

[M1cKmAcK]

by increasing my range i'm obviously going to play more hands.
in the early levels i think it's ok to limp, but after the first break, do you agree i should enter the pot with a raise? and another thing... when it comes to stealing blinds, how often should i do it? i don't like to steal b/c it only seems to get me into trouble. any comments?
thanks for all the input... very helpful indeed.

[erc007]

[ QUOTE ]
I play a pretty tight game. My game resembles the typical Dan Harrington-textbook strategies.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good start, since the strategies suggested by HOHE are very sound and a requisite foundation for most successful MTTers. As your play evolves, you will start to become aware of EV+ opportunities that are not specifically referenced or addressed in the HOHE books. You will also begin to develop your own playing style and learn to adapt, change gears, and play alternative styles, when circumstances dictate a departure from solid/TAG MTT strategy. It's a good sign that you have achieved some good results, and you are beginning to see that you have to expand and improve your game in order to get to the next level.

[Rocco]

I also used to be you... Then Ansky taught us about re-stealing (see posts in Anthology). At the same time I learned to do some more all-in stealing from late position before stack got too shallow. Learn these concepts and you'll be the bubble shortie a lot less often.

[junyor]

After reading HOH I was finding myself in the exact same spots. Don't be afraid to steal the blinds it's the where a lot of your chips are going to come from throughout the tournament.
Depending on the format it is bad to be limping after the first break in most cases. If I see someone open limping in the high blinds it can be EV+ to raise them with any two cards because they are probably playing a very weak tight game.

Watch the pokerxfactor Hand History's it is amazing how much can be learned from an hour watching a MTT from a better players perspective.