Do you monitor your tournament position?

[livitup]

Another question on my long journey from cash games to tournaments...

Subject says it all... I find myself compulsively clicking the "Tournament Info" button, and checking my relative place in the tournament. I realize that close to the end I need to be aware of my position relative to the payouts, but early and in the middle of the tournament I obsess over if I am doing better or worse than average.

I wonder what this knowledge is doing to my game, I think I take more risks and see more flops when I know I am a big stack, and I play tighter when I know my stack is lower than the average.

Is this an example of too much knowledge is a bad thing?

This place is great, and I wish I had tried it years ago. Thanks in advance for all the thoughtful replies.

[jonnyd]

i like to know where i am but really use the information that much unless its bubble time because sometimes average stack can be deceiving and i like to see what the median stack is instead.

i think that my personal table and the stacks there are much more important than what is going on at the other tables.

though i do hate bodog's lobbies because they dont list like stars or ftp does

[pokerscaresme]

I look at the average stack and when the blinds increase...

[levAA]

this was for quite a long time a problem of mine.

as i watched the tournament lobby it influenced my game, as i found myself often being far beyond the average stack. in these situations i made some wild plays just to catch up, while it wasn't necessary (going along with my M).

after i quit doing this (watching the lobby window) my results improved. i still look it up from time to time - to see how long it is to the next break - but i think if you only play and concentrate at your table and don't let the whole tournament influence you, you play better.

[SengioKang]

if you've read Harrington's book you'll know there's M and Q.
m being the total cost per orbit of the button
q being your relation to the average stack which can be calculated by total entrants times starting chips divided by players left (playing live)... or just look at the average stack in the window

m is called strong force and q is called weak

you should be more aware of your M than q. and your chip position on the table (whether you're ungodly short in relation to others or like 3 times as much as everyone else)

you can't play against other tables so just be concerned with yours.

i think about your quote of playing looser w/ big stacks and tighter w/ littles is only true to some extent. with a big stack you want to keep it and should play tighter in terms of hand selection and looser only when in position and/or against weak opponents.

middle/low pairs and suited connectors decrease in value from an M of 15 to about 5 because the cost/hit ratio won't even out profit wise in the long run. you'll find yourself paying way too much to see flops and mostly folding when you don't hit losing what you invested... and that is a recipe for disaster.

by the time u're under 5 M anything 10-8 and over is pretty much almost good enough to push with provided nobody has entered the pot in front of you.

[pokerscaresme]

I only look at the average stack to know where I'll be in the next 30 minutes..

[KoreanBuffet]

I agree with Sengio, I only like to know when a break is about to happen or we are getting close to the bubble. The most important thing is the depth of your stack (BB's) and biggness (relationship with other stacks). In general about 80% of the field I'd say is slightly above at or below the chip average so it isn't something to worry about. You shouldn't b looking for spots to play aggressively just because you have fallen below the chip average you should be picking spots based on the situational table dynamics and pick the best "gear" to play in that way.

[Hattifnatt]

I mostly only look at the avg stack, how many players are left and when the blinds will go up.

late in the tournament <20 left or so I usually keep a look at my relative position as well.

[Win.by.TKo]

Minding your Ms & Qs, along with knowing what to do with that information, is a large component to tournament poker. Utilize the other poker strategies you prefer, and use Ms & Qs to assist in your considerations.

[offmandh]

I almost never look to see where im at early or in the middle of a tourny. the only thing i worry about is my stack compared to the blinds and the other stacks at my table. the only time i look to see where the trny is at is when its close to the bubble because then you can just steal all the nits dollars. but yea i think its definitely a mistake to be constantly checking / worried about where youre at.