The tournament wound up being much bigger. 59,128 players registered making the prize pool $11,825,600 with first place entitled to over $1.6 million plus the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and almost $1.2 million for 2nd.
This is by far the biggest tournament I had entered. I thought I would be a little more nervous about it and play like scared money but I had to play very tight because there were two players at my table involved in almost every pot with any two cards and not folding bottom pair and I wasn't connecting.
I was involved in the very first hand with JJ. I called an EP open and flopped top set and turned a boat. At that point I probably should have played the hand a little slower but I won a decent sized pot which helped calm my nerves and get me in the right frame of mind.
I can play a lot looser once I get a big stack but that never happened and I started getting very short. I lost a bunch of chips when I flopped TPGK and a gut shot but was up against two pair. After that I was card dead for a while or didn't connect with the flop and got a lot of action.
Luckily I was moved to another table where I got a few walks in the BB and was able to shove steal from the SB a few times. Then I was switched to a table with some big stacks and a lot of action.
As I dropped below 8BB I picked up a big pair and 3bet a MP min raise and was racing with AKo. My pair held and I was safe for a while.
Then again under 10BB when I picked up AKo and shoved to take the blinds. A few hands later and it was another big pair that I shoved over an EP min raise. They called with a smaller pair and didn't improve to double me up before the break.
I had enough chips to allow me to wait for good spots or good cards but neither came so my stack started to slide as the blinds began to increase. There was not going to be any stealing this time either with the big stack in the BB to my SB that was calling off fairly light.
I finally pick up a big suited ace and shove around 8BB. One of the big stacks tanked and then called with a small pair. I didn't improve and I was out a few grand before the money. :(
Even though I didn't cash I don't regret taking a shot and might try and do something similar once or twice a year. It would have been nice to have a big score but I'm happy with the way I played.
Maybe MTTs Aren't For Me?
I might not have the right mentality for MTTs. Big wins are few and far between and you wind up losing more times than you win. That's a bit disheartening for someone used to regularly winning single table tournaments. Going a whole day or two or more without even a mincashI always check out the lobby to see what first place gets to try and motivate myself but when I lose I don't feel like I've lost my buy-in, I feel like I lost first prize.
My MTT game probably needs a lot of improvement as well but it's hard to work on my game when just playing is so frustrating. Especially at the small stake MTTs I play.
I just don't know how to play at a table with 3 or more players that have VP$IP/PFR above 70/30. It sounds like it should be easy. Just wait for a big hand and punish them. But it never seems to work out that way.
I'll lose a few pots in situations where I raise a hand like AK get called, flop top 2 and they hang on and catch something. They hold on with pocket 4s and river a set or their gutshot, backdoor a flush or my favorite, make a full house with A3 when it comes 3 on turn 3 on river.
And the dreaded KQo. KQo is like kryptonite to my Aces. I get short and shove aces and as soon as I see someone 3bet my shove I know they have KQo and I know somehow they're going to suck out on me.
Stealing blinds isn't an option because hands like Q3o, T4s, 83o apparently are too strong to fold and always seem to hit.
Then there's the geniuses that will limp call a 3bet with 73o, call a flop cbet with bottom pair and turn trips or two pair after I'm already committed and still likely ahead.Spending 2 or 3 hours playing and then losing like that, with nothing to show for it just puts me in a bad mood.
I think I play pretty well so it frustrates me when I can't seem to beat players that are just playing so horribly. The frustration then leads me to make mistakes.
If I can only find my happy place and try to put in a decent volume I think I can do well and I'm going to try and do that or go crazy trying.
3 Response to "Took A Shot And Missed"
Tough break, originally i thought playing would have been a good shot at making some good $$$. But 59k people is more like buying a lottery scratcher. BTW...still playing the 6 man tourneys. I gave the 50/50's a try, it was very difficult for me to make the transition. Sometimes i would make the top 5 less and win more. It just depends on your chip stack. Good Luck to you and your followers!
Im not a winner in any way. But I totally agree with you that playing against several really loose players is hard.
But if you play tight then you should have a big advantage if your able to raise enoug preflop to isolate one of the loose players. And then just continue betting hard even if he shows restiance. You know that your a big favourite. I know this is against all MTT advice out there by the pros but then they usually play in alot smaller MTT tournaments. Playing against 50 000players has to make things a little bit different. The games will be more aggressive and the way i see it. You'll have to get in more coinflips, which arnt really coinflips because of the other players stats.
A,
Doesn't seem to matter how much you raise against certain players. One hand at one of my tables in a micro-MTT 6 players limped, BB raised to 10BB, only 2 players folded. K4x flop with no draws BB pots it gets 3 callers. Seemingly blank offsuit 3 on turn and BB again pot size shoves. gets 2 callers. BB has AK, one caller has K3o, other caller has A2s and called the flop with ace high and a backdoor flush and straight draw. 5 on river and worst hand scoops the pot.
Another hand 5 limpers in the first level, BB raises to 12x the BB shockingly only gets one caller. BB shoves 70BB into a 30BB pot and limp/caller snap calls 2/3's their stack with a gutshot, backdoor flush and one over with their A5s.
In the smaller stakes MTTs a lot of players just don't like to limp/fold early. That would be fine but they always seem to get there. Three of the last tournaments I was knocked out of were when I hit a set vs some backdoored draw or better full house.
My micro-mtt game needs a lot of work in terms of putting opponents on hands and understanding bet sizes.
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