A Little Advice On How To Loosen Up My Game.....

LovinItAll · #1 10-20-2006, 04:56 AM

This is my first post here, so I hope it's not out of line:

I've been playing online MTTs (Party, mostly) for quite some time. My results were fair, but I'm in the negative overall. I had never played in a B&M MTT until about 3 weeks ago. I live 20 minutes from Tunica, so there are plenty of games [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

(All references from here are my B&M experiences)

I entered my first tourney and there were 37 players. I finished 2nd, but I never really sat on a big stack. When it got down to 2, I had about 35k, my opponent 150k. Blinds were 5&10, and I didn't last long.

(Bear in mind that some of the tourneys start off with 3k, some 4k, and some 5k)

Anyway, I've played in 14 tourneys, finished ITM 11 times (top 9 pay), so I guess I'm doing okay, but I am ALWAYS short-stacked going into the final table. Even the 6 times I finished 5th or better, it was mainly a result of other players busting out rather than my stellar play. I'm playing a tight (probably too tight) aggressive game, and I can't seem to change gears at the right time. Please don't start recommending books....if Sklansky wrote it, I have it, not to mention a myriad of others.

So, what to do? My play seems better than average, but not good enough to take command of the table. Any advice?

Thanks.....

mornelth · #2 10-20-2006, 06:14 AM

Harrington on Holdem Vol 2 (and probably, vol.1) - a must.

Other than that - post hands or play a couple of tourneys online and request a complete HH review (there are folks around here who do that).

It DOES sound like you may be too tight, but the only advice you're likly to get is "loosen up", to get a more SPECIFIC advice we'd need a more SPECIFIC question...

Welcome to the forum!

LovinItAll · #3 10-20-2006, 06:26 AM

Thanks, I'll try to remember some specific situations from tomorrow's tourney. Does anyone know if note-taking is permitted during tournament play? I play mostly at the Grand in Tunica, if that helps.....

mornelth · #4 10-20-2006, 06:37 AM

another idea: look at hand histories to get some ideas. There's a compilation of PXF links found here

LovinItAll · #5 10-23-2006, 04:51 AM

Mornelth-->> Maybe I take things a little too far, but----
I purchased the three Harrington books (III has various problems), and while I may not be a great poker player, I read quite fast. While many, many chapters require further study for complete comprehension, I took my little bit of new-found knowledge to Tunica earlier today. Here's how it went down:

(I realize that much of what I am about to say comes second-nature to many, if not most, readers here, but it was an epiphany for me, so I thought I'd share)

46 players - 100+30 freeze out - T5k to start

First, I began by slowing the hell down - in fact, I never looked at my cards until it was my turn to act. I know a lot of players do this, but I wasn't one of them. It was much easier keeping track of the pot, focusing on the other players' bets, what range of holdings they might have based on their bets and previous actions, etc. When it was my turn to act, I had a much better grasp on the proper play. As I mentioned earlier in the post, I had been finishing ITM consistently, but usually short stacked and facing big blinds and antes (15 minute levels).

What do you know? I win a race for about T2500 about midway through (almost offset by an embarrasing blunder -- but that's another story!), and after what I consider solid play (for me), I'm down to the last five with about T90k...then three...then two...and I'm 2nd with about T100k. A little back and forth, and we enter what's to be the last hand -- he has me covered by about 20k, and it goes like this:

Blinds 5-10k

Hero BB - Q-Q

SB raises and makes it 50k to go. I push.

(I'm not looking for debate on whether going all-in was the right move or not -- it's what I did, so......)

SB - Q-Jo

Flop: T-2-A

Turn: blank

River? You guessed it-----K

Did it bother me? I would have loved to have won, but you know what? I played the best poker I have ever played, and by all definitions, I'm nothing more than a slightly above-average player. I played with confidence (mostly), and felt like I had a semi-clue about what I was doing when playing hands I would NEVER play previously - able to make calls/raises I would have laid down in a heartbeat before. Some hands held up, others didn't, but I tried to keep my losses small and capitalize when the numbers and my deduction pointed in the right direction.

The books you recommended are transforming my entire game, and I thank you for that. Besides, the prize money more than paid for the $80-some-odd dollars the books cost. I have a long way to go, but I really think the Harrington books are freeing up my game a bit. Funny thing is, most of the info is in the Sklansky books I've read, but somehow didn't click quite the same.

Anyway, thanks again. I'll try to not be one of those posters that rolls in and talks about all the great things they've done, conveniently leaving out the bone-headed errors they've made. I'm mostly ears, anyway [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Regards ~ LovinItAll

mornelth · #6 10-23-2006, 06:13 AM

1) Congrats on the score!
2) Harrington Rules! That said - there's definitely room to learn and improve PAST what's in the books. The best place to do so is right here...

LovinItAll · #7 10-23-2006, 06:25 AM

[ QUOTE ]
1) Congrats on the score!
2) Harrington Rules! That said - there's definitely room to learn and improve PAST what's in the books. The best place to do so is right here...

[/ QUOTE ]

1) Gracias!
2) Well noted, and since it's around 5 AM, I guess you can tell where my mind is!

Thanks again.....I'm sure I'll donk it up if I try to contribute to the forums, but hey, if it's the worst thing I ever do, I should be in good shape!

mornelth · #8 10-23-2006, 06:30 AM

As for "donking it up" - quite a bit of value to you will come in the form of getting chewed out for responses to other people's hands that are incorrect. The more wrong you are with your advice/reasoning - the more you will get it. And the faster you will fix whatever leak that lead to the wrong reasoning in the first place.

Which is to say - do not be afraid to be wrong, just reply and mention that this is how YOU WOULD PLAY IT, and see what others say.

Best part is - it's FREE...