need some advise here Members

I have been evaluating my play in the WSOP final tournament at PS. The tournament was a $650 buy-in...first 18 placers get a $10,000 WSOP seat + $1,000 the next 14 get $650 and the 33rd finisher gets $625.

I had a good start being 4th to 6th in the tournament lead for 90% of the first hour and a much much larger bank than anyone at my table.

Now I have been in this situation before and have given up my chips trying to take down pots with my bank...but never when the prize was as strong as a WSOP seat - my bank and the WSOP seat prize gives me a lot of power.

Instead of risking my bank...I continued to play tight and if I was in a hand then I would use my bank to my advantage.

My question to you is this...should I have played more hands and then threaten my opponents existance with my bank even though I have a junk hand....I know that Brunson would say yes...you play the player not the cards...its just that in the past every time that I tried that I ran into stubborn opponents that would not throw their hand in....however we were not playing for a WSOP seat!

I made it through the third hour before getting knocked out....however now as I look back at it...I am strongly starting to feel that I should have risked my bank and pushed players with junk hands....afterall they did not want to lose their chair and I feel that they would have used extreme caution before calling...This was the type of tournament that you look for...not one where it does not make much difference whether your in or out...I feel that I had so much more powere than I was willing to use by playing it safe!

What do you think?...how would you have played it?

I feel that I blew an opportunity that you dream for!

I think that in a tournament like that and in a situation like that you should try and push a little more than normal. You dont want to do it to much where its obvious that what your doing. But its going to be hard for people to call you with fewer chips and so much on the line. Ive yet to play in a tourny that big so maybe Im not the best person to answer this, but thats how I see it. You should definitely use your stack, but theres a fine line between using it and playing reckless. Sometimes its hard to find that balance.

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theprofessor@texasholdemforums.com

In MTTs you need chips, and hope to get them fast, because they are your ammunition. If you have a lot you can bully people and thats where you want to be. If you have more chips then the other guy, you are in great shape because when you are being bullied by someone with more chips you have to wait to make a hand just to pilfer a few bets after the blind.

You have to go after the pot when ever you can but only when it is smart to. You have to know your odds, pot odds, and implied odds. When they favor you but you dont have the hand yet, go after the pot and try to take it without making the hand. And obviously when you have made your hand try to get money into the pot so you can cash out on your winning hands.

My advise is to stay tight until you get some chips, then bully the shorter stacks, avoid the bigger stacks until you get a monster, and be aggressive to keep a steady income over time. Don't come off as a loose player, so every so often you can steal a mid size pot. And remember, be patient but when you have the pot odds grab some chips. If you wait for your hands to come you will be grinded out and forced to get loose and go out on a hand you didnt want to be in.

Build your stack as fast as the other players allow so when the bad beat comes along, you are still in.

Cowboy, let me say this...my bank was about 6 x the size of my nearest table opponent...I did play well and won the hands that I was in...the only way that I could have gotten more chips would have been to really loosen up and then bully with junk...I felt it was too risky and could have cost me a lot of chips...however it was dream tables, everyone was playing it safe and would have folded easily against my bank...but I would have to have been playing junk.....should I have played junk?

Depends, how far did your pot odds deviate from your made hand odds?

Cowboy...I think I won every hand that I was in!...but do you think that I should have played bad starting hands and then use my bank or bully pre-flop with junk...I did not try either!

I am talking the first hour...I could not have won every hand...otherwise I would have won the tourney...I don't remember much about the last 2 hours...but I don't remember any bad beats or hugh mistakes on my part.

Bullying preflop really only works when you are trying to narrow the feild to 3 players or less. With bad hands you want more players in to better your pot odds, then see if you make your hand.

Preflop suited cards and connectors may be playable based on your lead because when they hit you can expect to be paid off. Other times, just when the pot is big, you can buy it and get good gains. Make them pay to stay in when you have decent hands.

I woundnt play complete junk, to answer your question. And next time, calculate your pot odds!