Win in Beginning and Lose toward end

Hi All: I do pretty good in the beginning of a tournament and then I just cant win nothing and end up losing. What am I doing wrong?

The better players are left toward the end. Practice, practice, practice and read, read, read.

Also practice how to single post.

I will suggest that once you get an above average stack you need to play different. Stop taking unnecessary risks. This is not to say shut down entirely. In fact you can afford to be a bit more adventurous, seeing connectors or flush deals cheap. Key word is CHEAP! Be ready, NAY!, be more than willing to lay down those cards if you don't hit the flops.
Do not get married to pretty cards.
Do not chase improbable dreams.
Avoid confrontations.
Learn and employ position and positional plays.
Then read all of these;

Strategy
Articles

I had the same problem with doing great in the beginning and then it all goes down hill.. I have been practicing alot more lately and it seems like im slowly moving towards the final tables now.

Without more information it is hard to be specific. However, the main difference is that you play with smaller stacks(or short stacks) in the later stages of a tournament.

For short stacks(<10BB), you don't limp or raise 2-3BB. You look for a hand to go all-in. Ideally, you will open-raise so there is the least resistance possible. You would be happy just to get the blinds.

For small stacks (say 10-20BB), play high cards and pairs in position. Don't draw since you don't have the odds to draw to str8s, flushes or sets. Occasionally steal some blinds since you will not get enough good hands to keep you alive.

With stacks >20BB you should steal more, but don't be a maniac. You can now add SC and small pairs as drawing hands if you are against a stack at least 10 times your pre-flop call/bet. But with SCs you should be in position.

And finally, don't look how you compare to the average. Just compare where you stand with respect to the blinds and the players on your table. There is nothing you can do about the average chip stack. Don't try to "catch-up". If you force the action, you will likely get in a bad situation. At this stage all it takes is one error and you are crippled or out.

Read Harrington's books, play more tourneys and you will definitly improve.

i had a similar problem a while ago i always finished last 30 or so and never made final table, i then started playing more agressive at this stage and steal blinds n things n then i made it to the final table when i played like that but be patient before that u dont need to go allin on a 50 50 chance of winning just wait till u get nuts or close to

Hi all been sick now im back

:nurse:this is me

You just have to know how to shift gears in a tournament. You are not always going to run good through out a whole tournament. If you see your stack going down try not to get discouraged. The right hands will show up but you have to be patient for them.

I also have this problem and am very interested in what the comments are

I.FIND MY SELF WINNING IN THE AT THE START/ then i just call all my chips away.
what is the best to turn this around?

How do you bet? What (if any) range changes do you make? How do you respond to shoves, both pre and post-flop? Do you still shove?

All right It’s not just you. First, the room gives a chance to win, and then it will depend on your experience and chances. Need to train.

Hey.
You are not alone in this, all newbies experience the same problems at the initial stage of their poker career.
Explaining, now something is useless. I have only one recommendation for you to read poker literature, see the flow of poker coaches and, of course, try to apply everything that you read in practice.
Good luck in the development of poker space.

Its hard to say, we have to watch you playing! But maybe you have to calculate better your range, review your calls, and on.

Welcome Back After 11 years

:heeeellll:heeeellll:heeeellllZippo5667, I hope your illness is not contagious after the 11 years of being gone ... we don't need to catch what you had. Glad you are back now and hope you are well.

Seriously, DJ11's comments "above" are right on target from my point of view.

Welcome back, get busy on Cardschat forums and join us on the felts.

Wally

zippo5667 said:

:nurse:this is me

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Rate of winning

Win in beginning means you gained enough chips. And that is when your problem starts. Your mental attitude to-wards the game changes. You become conservative.You start thinking how to preserve these chips or spend as little as possible. As a result you play less hands.

On the other hand, as game progresses blinds and ante increases and with that your quantity of chips decreases. There is no way you can keep the present winning status for later part of the tournament.

When you have such situation, i suggest more liberal play. Expand your range of play to accommodate more hands. Play more as you can take more risks than usual.

You need to maintain the rate of winning.

I've noticed that new players have bad habits but can win. It finally catches up the them in the end.

I have this problem as well. I got a second place win yesterday in a freeroll and made a final table today in another (as well as running deep on a few other) which is not too bad. But I was chip leader at one point in the freeroll today and was the first one out of the final table today so I'm definitely doing something wrong.

I would say avoid playing too loose aggressive and getting involved in unnecessary confrontations. Definitely play your premiums and bet accordingly but don't chase draws or (semi) bluff unnecessarily. That is how my chip stack usually dwindles.

Change your game when the game changes. Pay attention! When the field gets smaller and closer to the money game play changes. You need to adjust your game play at that time.

You start loosing interest in Winning, need to Re-Focus and play a better A game.

bullishwwd said:

:heeeellll:heeeellll:heeeellllZippo5667, I hope your illness is not contagious after the 11 years of being gone ... we don't need to catch what you had. Glad you are back now and hope you are well.

Seriously, DJ11's comments "above" are right on target from my point of view.

Welcome back, get busy on Cardschat forums and join us on the felts.

Wally

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