Tourney Tournament poker is mean (1 Viewer)

[upNdown]

I bubbled today. I know, blah blah, whine, whine. The big payoffs at the top are the reason I play tournaments, so I shouldn’t complain when I fall short. But to play 9 hours and navigate a field of 110, only to get knocked out 13th when pocket twos beat your AK suited - it’s a little disappointing.
At least we’d agreed to pay two bubbles, so I broke even. If I’d played 9 hours of $1/2, I probably would have lost $900, so I guess I’m ahead?
I really shouldn’t complain, because I’ve played MTT’s where they pay 15%, and although it’s much easier to min cash, it’s MUCH harder to make money. So I guess I’m not complain By about tournaments, I’m just complaining about poker. WHERE WAS MY ACE ON THE RIVER?????

 

[v1pe]

I bubbled today. I know, blah blah, whine, whine. The big payoffs at the top are the reason I play tournaments, so I shouldn’t complain when I fall short. But to play 9 hours and navigate a field of 110, only to get knocked out 13th when pocket twos beat your AK suited - it’s a little disappointing.
At least we’d agreed to pay two bubbles, so I broke even. If I’d played 9 hours of $1/2, I probably would have lost $900, so I guess I’m ahead?
I really shouldn’t complain, because I’ve played MTT’s where they pay 15%, and although it’s much easier to min cash, it’s MUCH harder to make money. So I guess I’m not complain By about tournaments, I’m just complaining about poker. WHERE WAS MY ACE ON THE RIVER?????

Yeah, they say tournament poker is where the money is at, since so many mistakes and negative EV plays are made... But it's freaking brutal and mentally tough to play those long hours and end up coming out with nothing.

If I had more time to play poker I would probably try to play more tournaments but with limited time I find myself sticking to cash more often than not.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Poker is dumb.

That is all.

 

[Chris Flynn]

Hey, if you can’t whine every now and then to the poker community about a bad beat then what’s the point? I’ve bubbled 2x recently and look at it as a combination of luck and also understanding how to adjust your play to a tourney format - one of those I had AK suited and went all in to lose to KQ suited when he caught a flush on the river. My takeaway - big slick is a great hand but I would hesitate to go all in preflop again when I’m on the bubble - let others play themselves out.

 

[upNdown]

Hey, if you can’t whine every now and then to the poker community about a bad beat then what’s the point? I’ve bubbled 2x recently and look at it as a combination of luck and also understanding how to adjust your play to a tourney format - one of those I had AK suited and went all in to lose to KQ suited when he caught a flush on the river. My takeaway - big slick is a great hand but I would hesitate to go all in preflop again when I’m on the bubble - let others play themselves out.

Normally I’d agree with you. But there was only one stack shorter than me, I was small blind with about 6bb behind and facing a single raise - AK suited was a no-brainer at that point.
I guess the real lesson is not to let yourself get that short, but it was just a long, slow, card dead grind for a while toward the end there, and I just couldn’t find many spots to grab chips. Gotta do better at that.

 

[upNdown]

Which reminds me of a thought I had in the last MTT tournament that I cashed. It’s anazing how many chips you have to win in the second half of these things, just to maintain your stack. If you’re an average stack, as the blinds and antes continue to increase, you can win and steal here and there and feel like you’re doing really good, and a couple hours later, you’re still average. You’ve maybe won two or three times the amount of chips in your stack, but you’re still right where you were. It’s a nonstop battle.

 

[Highli99]

My key strategy in MTTs is never to be the next one out. My secondary strategy is to keep an average stack.

 

[v1pe]

The last two tournament's I've played in I've gotten it all in preflop with aces against AK (lost to a straight on the river), and against KK (lost to a flush on the river). Second time was on the bubble.

 

[upNdown]

The last two tournament's I've played in I've gotten it all in preflop with aces against AK (lost to a straight on the river), and against KK (lost to a flush on the river). Second time was on the bubble.

I’m sure I’ve lost more showdowns with AK than I’ve won. It’s a great hand to push around with, mid-tournament, and get folds pre or post flop. But when you have to get all in with it, and you’re against somebody who’s got cards worth going all in or calling an all in, I think it’s less than 50/50.

 

[v1pe]

I’m sure I’ve lost more showdowns with AK than I’ve won. It’s a great hand to push around with, mid-tournament, and get folds pre or post flop. But when you have to get all in with it, and you’re against somebody who’s got cards worth going all in or calling an all in, I think it’s less than 50/50.

Yeah, I agree. In both those hands I held Aces that we're cracked.

 

[Geremie]

Best advice I've heard is "when you know your aces will get cracked fold but when you know they will hold up call"

 

[Gobbs]

That's why poker is best viewed in the long-term, but we all have to whine about the short-term occasionally....it's just part of the deal.

 

[detroitdad]

Poker is dumb.

That is all.

I think I made that statement about 27 times at the Colorado meet up