Tourney Gauging Success (2 Viewers)

[Mizzou45]

How does one monitor their success in tournaments? I believe I am an above average poker player. Should I be averaging placing in the top third of my weekly tournament? Do you base it solely on profits? Is cashing out more often than not considered good?

 

[joker80]

Track your buy ins vs your cashes with a poker ap. Ultimately does not matter much if you are in the top 3rd consistently if you don't make the money.

 

[upNdown]

Track your buy ins vs your cashes with a poker ap. Ultimately does not matter much if you are in the top 3rd consistently if you don't make the money.

Right. Consistent top third finishes are a good sign for your skill level vs your competition, but you could be min-cashing half your tournamnets and still be a losing player, so what's that worth? Tracking profits is the only way to tell if you're a successful tournament player.
If you're just a recreational player, and you're breaking even and having fun doing it - that's great; you're getting free entertainment.
Good news is that if you're good enough to cash consistently, you can probably learn to tweak your style to make deeper, more profitable runs.

 

[Mojo1312]

Is cashing out more often than not considered good?

Ummmm...... (Scratching my head) Yes.??

 

[Mizzou45]

Right. Consistent top third finishes are a good sign for your skill level vs your competition, but you could be min-cashing half your tournamnets and still be a losing player, so what's that worth? Tracking profits is the only way to tell if you're a successful tournament player.
If you're just a recreational player, and you're breaking even and having fun doing it - that's great; you're getting free entertainment.
Good news is that if you're good enough to cash consistently, you can probably learn to tweak your style to make deeper, more profitable runs.

So how do you measure what is a good profit? Certain percentage return on your money?

 

[upNdown]

So how do you measure what is a good profit? Certain percentage return on your money?

I'm far from an authority and a total rec player.
My personal opinion is that a 20% ROI is great for tournament poker. But if you're playing big multi-table tournaments, the variance in those things means it would probably take you years of playing to have a realistic number. If you're playing a single table tournament with your buddies every week, I guess you could have a realistic idea where you stand after maybe 6 months?
I think the truth is that the vast majority of tournament players are not profitable, and I think a big percentage of them don't even realize it.

 

[derekdd23]

I'm far from an authority and a total rec player.
My personal opinion is that a 20% ROI is great for tournament poker. But if you're playing big multi-table tournaments, the variance in those things means it would probably take you years of playing to have a realistic number. If you're playing a single table tournament with your buddies every week, I guess you could have a realistic idea where you stand after maybe 6 months?
I think the truth is that the vast majority of tournament players are not profitable, and I think a big percentage of them don't even realize it.

Perfect write up!


When I lived in Vegas a lot of the pros that I talked to funded their tournaments with good cash game play. Unless you score big tournaments are a losing proposition.