My Final Table Struggles

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Das991992

Das991992

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I have made 7 straight MTT final tables, and I have entered the final table as the chip leader each time (highest KO too). But I have only been able to win once out of these 7 and the rest are either 2nd or 3rd places.

What confuses me most is how I lose my chip lead. Sadly it happens with premium hands where I have strong equity. For example, I can be ahead with AK against KQ, but still lose a huge pot and suddenly drop from the top. Same scenario every time!

I knw that variance exists, and i knw, even when I have a bigger hand, there is a chance that I will lose the pot. However, after experiencing such situations multiple times, I am starting to wonder if there is an issue with my strategy.

I m new to the Poker, Just university life experience. I really wanna learn. Please share your experience and advice to guide me.
 
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Wow, chip leader at the final table 7 straight times?? You're doing something right. Congratz.

If you have AK vs KQ and lose, that's variance. I suppose that you could post specific hands in hand analysis, but generally speaking, it sounds like variance. Yes, losing chip lead 6 out of 7 times is completely normal variance. In fact, making final table as chip leader 7 straight times has at least as much to do with variance as losing chip lead. I've never made final table as chip leader more than say maybe 3 straight times, maybe not even. It's not hard to play super well and miss the final table completely 7 straight times. Variance can really be that crazy.
 
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Chip leader at final table 7 straight times. What site and what tournaments are you playing? I might have to join in. : P
 
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Semprini said:
Chip leader at final table 7 straight times. What site and what tournaments are you playing? I might have to join in. : P
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I mainly play at WPTglobal. 7 tournaments are Reply poker CC silver league 1x, WPT- casino org daily free roll 3x, CC freeroll broze & silver 3x (one winner).

I only play freeroll. I m new, i m learning, can't invest money right now.
 

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Wow, making 7 final tables in a row as the chip leader is crazy good, especially since you're new! You must be doing a lot of things right.
Honestly don't sweat the 2nd and 3rd place finishes too much - at the final table, everyone's chips are usually low, so people just shove all-in!!
Even when you have AK against KQ... they still win like 1 out of 4 times - yes itt just sounds like really bad luck that it keeps happening to you at the end.

I'm still learning too, but maybe try to steal more small pots and blinds when you're the big stack - that way you don't have to risk all your chips in the huge coin-flip showdowns. Good luck, you'll get that next 1st place!!
 
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When getting it in with a bigger overpair (in say an 80/20 scenario), just after you've pushed your chips into the middle (or clicked on 'all-in') be sure to say a quick prayer to the poker Gods. Something "One time!" or maybe "Please hold!!!!!" or even calling out the cards you'd like to see fall ie. "Come on 2clubs!" or maybe just a good old "LFG!!!".
When calling cards be sure to be specific... not 'Come on 2!'.... no make it "Come on 2 hearts!"

Should be sealing the deal with those 1st place finishes going forward
 
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7 final tables in a row is already impressive!
I wouldn't worry too much about losing with strong hands. AK vs KQ is still going to lose sometimes, and that doesn't necessarily mean your strategy is wrong. I'd review the hands where you lost the chip lead and look for patterns in the betting, rather than focusing only on the final result.

Good luck with your learning!
 
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goodboycharlie said:
7 final tables in a row is already impressive!
I wouldn't worry too much about losing with strong hands. AK vs KQ is still going to lose sometimes, and that doesn't necessarily mean your strategy is wrong. I'd review the hands where you lost the chip lead and look for patterns in the betting, rather than focusing only on the final result.

Good luck with your learning!
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Thanks, that’s actually what I’m trying to do now, review the hands instead of blaming the result.
I’m still learning, so spotting betting patterns and mistakes is probably where I’ll improve the most.
 
Poker Orifice said:
When getting it in with a bigger overpair (in say an 80/20 scenario), just after you've pushed your chips into the middle (or clicked on 'all-in') be sure to say a quick prayer to the poker Gods. Something "One time!" or maybe "Please hold!!!!!" or even calling out the cards you'd like to see fall ie. "Come on 2clubs!" or maybe just a good old "LFG!!!".
When calling cards be sure to be specific... not 'Come on 2!'.... no make it "Come on 2 hearts!"

Should be sealing the deal with those 1st place finishes going forward
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Haha, I might have to try that next time I’m ahead with a big overpair. I’m still learning, so maybe the poker Gods just need a little reminder. 😄
 
didi58xx said:
Wow, making 7 final tables in a row as the chip leader is crazy good, especially since you're new! You must be doing a lot of things right.
Honestly don't sweat the 2nd and 3rd place finishes too much - at the final table, everyone's chips are usually low, so people just shove all-in!!
Even when you have AK against KQ... they still win like 1 out of 4 times - yes itt just sounds like really bad luck that it keeps happening to you at the end.

I'm still learning too, but maybe try to steal more small pots and blinds when you're the big stack - that way you don't have to risk all your chips in the huge coin-flip showdowns. Good luck, you'll get that next 1st place!!
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Thanks, that makes sense. I’m still learning how to use the chip lead properly, so stealing smaller pots and blinds without taking unnecessary risks is something I’ll work on.
 
Congrats on the 7 final tables in a row and the 1 win. Buckle up and hang on too your hat when variance hits 🤣 it's going to be a bumpy road. You might not even min cash for 10+ MTT's in a row. And yes running that bad and hitting variance that bad is possible and happens to everyone.

Just because you had the chip lead going into the final table doesn't promise you a win. Without getting into a hand review of each final table I wouldn't think there is an issue with your strategy. You should do hand reviews on each final table thou. It's only 7 times going to need a way bigger sample size then that to prove anything. 7 times is just likely variance as your strategy got you too the final table so it's good obviously.....unless you played different at the final table then you did all MTT.

Best of luck at the tables. Keep up the solid play even when variance kicks dirt in your face.

Cheers!!!
 
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hardongear said:
Congrats on the 7 final tables in a row and the 1 win. Buckle up and hang on too your hat when variance hits 🤣 it's going to be a bumpy road. You might not even min cash for 10+ MTT's in a row. And yes running that bad and hitting variance that bad is possible and happens to everyone.

Just because you had the chip lead going into the final table doesn't promise you a win. Without getting into a hand review of each final table I wouldn't think there is an issue with your strategy. You should do hand reviews on each final table thou. It's only 7 times going to need a way bigger sample size then that to prove anything. 7 times is just likely variance as your strategy got you too the final table so it's good obviously.....unless you played different at the final table then you did all MTT.

Best of luck at the tables. Keep up the solid play even when variance kicks dirt in your face.

Cheers!!!
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Yeah, I think I need to stop judging myself from just these 7 final tables. I’m still learning, so reviewing each final table should help me find whether I’m actually changing my strategy under pressure.
 
Das991992 said:
Yeah, I think I need to stop judging myself from just these 7 final tables. I’m still learning, so reviewing each final table should help me find whether I’m actually changing my strategy under pressure.
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You should be changing it a little because of ICM(which you should study as well). Overall you likely ran pretty good in certain spots but to make 7 final tables you got a good strategy as well I wouldn't go crazy changing much.

The other thing that's really a positive you haven't thought about is after losing the chip lead or the big hand........you didn't completely fall apart and become a tilt monkey. You held on and played decent and got 2nd's and 3rd's outta the deal. That's having pretty good patience, discipline and mental toughness a lot guys will fall apart after losing a big hand and the chip lead at the final table and be one of the next 2 players out you see it all the time online.

Cheers!!!
 
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Just because you enter the final table as chipleader, does not mean, you are always going to win. The Independant Chip Model (ICM) stipulate, that each chip gives someone an equal chance to win the tournament. So if the chip leader has 25% of the chips in play, they are supposed to win 25% of the time not 100% of the time. This is also the reason for the saying, that you cant win a tournament during the first blind level, but you can lose it. If 200 people are playing, then the first player dubbling up only increase their chance of winning the tournament from 0,5% to 1%.
 
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In yesterdays games, I can tell you that you were making a bunch of icm errors, you utg limp folded to a 2bb stack and got it in really light several times.

You also missed a bunch of standard icm shoves.

I think you just need to review your hands with an icm tool and you will be fine.
 
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TeUnit said:
In yesterdays games, I can tell you that you were making a bunch of icm errors, you utg limp folded to a 2bb stack and got it in really light several times.

You also missed a bunch of standard icm shoves.

I think you just need to review your hands with an icm tool and you will be fine.
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Thanks for pointing that out. I’m still learning ICM, so I’ll definitely review those hands with an ICM tool and pay more attention to shove spots next time.
 
Das991992 said:
Thanks for pointing that out. I’m still learning ICM, so I’ll definitely review those hands with an ICM tool and pay more attention to shove spots next time.
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No prob, you already got the aggression, it just needs to be refined.
 
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