MTTing It
It a mine field out there. I tell ya it is a mine field. And, I'm loving it; although, it only been a marginal success. Playing cheap tournaments isn't going to earn one a living.
Success isn't about genius play. Thankfully! In the land of the no legged men, the limper is king. I've moved to limping the darnedest cards from the darnedest position. I'm looking for post flop play. Pre-flop people select the silliest hands from silly positions. Position is ignored by most. Pushing junk hands is done by many.
I'm trying to play 30% or better of the hands. Of course the dealer has to cooperate to a degree. I'm not looking for premium hands. I am looking for implied odds hands. It is and isn't a trapping game.
You'll recall I've come to have an affection for the cashout style tournaments running on FT. I haven't really followed the other sites closely but FT has been innovative of late. While Rush poker gets a lot of attention, the tournament options there are your grandpa's options. When you said MTT you were providing a complete description. Now, besides the cashout, they've shootouts and Knockouts. Into you stir double, super, short stack options along with Turbo and SuperTurbo. Each variant introduces a different typical participant.
This morning I played one. If I'd waited for premium hands I'd have wasted away that double stack. Double stack gives more options. While the always-bluffing and all-in group participate, they don't recognize how vulnerable such a game is and double stack exacerbates that. That shows up in their perceived need to over-bet.
Trapping where the board isn't draw heavy has become a staple. You identify those who can't avoid betting their position (or no position) and let them do the heavy lifting. Implied odds hands that hit get you a bunch from the TPTK crowd. When you add in their tendency to over-bet, it is profitable to say the least.
Ignoring the limping aspect, it is a game that many pros embrace. And these double-stack cashouts are grist to such a mill. I see them ranging from $2-10 and the $5 is often a $2500 guarantee. The $10 is a $3k which isn't quite as attractive.
I would be remiss without mentioning one reoccurring 'play' that is overly popular. It is the min-bet and in early play to boot. It is typically seen by everyone remaining. There have to be close to a baker's dozen different ways to play this profitably.
BTW, that one I mentioned where I was playing about a third of the hands with few of a premium nature. I registered late and before the end of level 1, I could have cashed and got my buyin back. I went about an hour and a half and this time had to cash because a repairman had called to say he was on the way. But, sympathy is not required. I cashed out final table money. That's was almost as much as the hourly rate one could get at MickyD's.
I'd actually done some partial cashing to lock in a bit and still had an above average stack when the call came from the repairman. I'd planned to play further as the blinds were only approaching gamble time. That's the big benefit of these cashouts. You've option before gamble time hits.
ADDENDUM:
My current account with FT has rakeback. I re-registered there which is easy to accomplish. I’m also now able to clear some bonus. Interestingly, I’ve cleared bonus and rake. That isn’t possible on other sites I’ve played. Take a look at the rake offer link I have — top right.
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I was going to play one of those cash-out tournaments. I found some, but at inconvenient times. Then, the next time I looked, I couldn’t find them.
Remind me how to filter so they are easy to spot.
Well you can muck with the filter but I find it easier to sort the list by tournament name. You have to page that down a bunch but the [C] is sorted on and they are grouped.
k, thanks.