How to improve at MTT?

sob67 · Apr 26, 2026

What are yall's tips to improve at MTTs. I am currently trying to play freerolls to get a feeling of what tournament poker is like, but often end up with not knowing how to play as my stack gets shallow.

burro · Apr 26, 2026

Based on the little I studied in theory and YouTube videos, I came to a simple conclusion.
In MTTs, patience is key at the start, and choosing the right moves later is crucial. Playing too many hands in the beginning often causes problems, and waiting too long when your stack is short can be even worse.
I'm still learning, but trying to balance those two things has helped me more than anything else so far.

SergioV · Apr 26, 2026

A common problem in tournaments is losing chips slowly by playing too passively. Try to be more active, especially from late position, and look for spots to steal blinds. Don’t wait only for premium hands, because the blinds will eat your stack. Also, pay attention to your stack size — when you get short, switch to a push/fold strategy instead of making small raises. And finally, try to review your hands after sessions, it really helps to improve over time

Prophet · Apr 27, 2026

What I do in tournaments is play very tight- passive in the early stage , starting with 100BBs , and play the top 5% of card combinations (10s to Aces , A10 to AK , cuto off , and button if I am first to bet i'll try to steal the blinds with suited connectors and above, but always cautious )

Middle stage is where you have 20-50 BBs left and the goal is to get in the money, and where you start to be more aggressive than in the early stage , play the top 10% of the top card combinations , and when first to act on cut-off , button , SB , always steal the blinds and put pressureon the short stacks

Bubble/ in tha money stage , is where you will have 8-15 BBs and is a ladder stage , you become tight aggressive , ( all-in or fold type of scenario) here is where you are put in tough spots where you might have to fold good hands just because to many people comitted to the pot and your chances of winning the pot are getting diluted. Usually in this stage is where you double up 2-3 times and go to the Final table Bubble period

top 12-18 stage of the game you swithc again your gameplay , becoming aggressive to consolidate your stack for the final table. put massive pressure on the blinds and on the short stacks

Geo90 · Apr 27, 2026

First, master the preflop hand rankings, the different phases of the game, and the various positions.

Then, focus more on CO vs. BB and Bu vs. BB—what ranges they might have since they can 3-bet.

Also, watch the tables and how others play; if an opponent 3-bets a lot, I’ll play tighter

If they’re very tight and sitting there with a 15Vpip, I’ll try to steal more blinds from there by raising wide

MTTs are an incredibly difficult and complex game; the mental aspect is the worst part. You might play well, but after 500 tournaments, the big win still eludes you—that’s the hardest part for me

blackstore0007 · Apr 27, 2026

sob67 said:
What are yall's tips to improve at MTTs. I am currently trying to play freerolls to get a feeling of what tournament poker is like, but often end up with not knowing how to play as my stack gets shallow.this

sob67 said:

What are yall's tips to improve at MTTs. I am currently trying to play freerolls to get a feeling of what tournament poker is like, but often end up with not knowing how to play as my stack gets shallow.

Click to expand...

this might help you:

Early: play tight
middle: steal blinds
short stack : shove strong spots
bubble : pressure other/ survive
final table: Smart aggression
- Tight early, aggressive later.

veszmo · Apr 27, 2026

I think you're doing the right thing by trying freerolls. The game is different than high stakes MTTs, but the atmosphere is similar. You can also build up some capital if you're persistent and patient. With a few chips, go all-in with any pocket pair, especially from late position.

WrongUsername · Apr 27, 2026

win coinflips as simple as possible.

sob67 · Apr 27, 2026

SergioV said:
A common problem in tournaments is losing chips slowly by playing too passively. Try to be more active, especially from late position, and look for spots to steal blinds. Don’t wait only for premium hands, because the blinds will eat your stack. Also, pay attention to your stack size — when you get short, switch to a push/fold strategy instead of making small raises. And finally, try to review your hands after sessions, it really helps to improve over time

Do you have any recommended charts. I currently am trying to look for more spots from BB and D early but it feels like I always get it in good and am consistently getting rivered. I know thats poker but its discouraging knowing that even if I am playing what feels like decent isn't getting rewarded but the random open jams w garbage is consistently rewarded

sob67 · Apr 27, 2026

Prophet said:
What I do in tournaments is play very tight- passive in the early stage , starting with 100BBs , and play the top 5% of card combinations (10s to Aces , A10 to AK , cuto off , and button if I am first to bet i'll try to steal the blinds with suited connectors and above, but always cautious )

Middle stage is where you have 20-50 BBs left and the goal is to get in the money, and where you start to be more aggressive than in the early stage , play the top 10% of the top card combinations , and when first to act on cut-off , button , SB , always steal the blinds and put pressureon the short stacks

Bubble/ in tha money stage , is where you will have 8-15 BBs and is a ladder stage , you become tight aggressive , ( all-in or fold type of scenario) here is where you are put in tough spots where you might have to fold good hands just because to many people comitted to the pot and your chances of winning the pot are getting diluted. Usually in this stage is where you double up 2-3 times and go to the Final table Bubble period

top 12-18 stage of the game you swithc again your gameplay , becoming aggressive to consolidate your stack for the final table. put massive pressure on the blinds and on the short stacks

I appreciate such a detailed answer! I will try to follow this in my upcoming MTTs

sob67 · Apr 27, 2026

Geo90 said:
First, master the preflop hand rankings, the different phases of the game, and the various positions.

Then, focus more on CO vs. BB and Bu vs. BB—what ranges they might have since they can 3-bet.

Also, watch the tables and how others play; if an opponent 3-bets a lot, I’ll play tighter

If they’re very tight and sitting there with a 15Vpip, I’ll try to steal more blinds from there by raising wide

MTTs are an incredibly difficult and complex game; the mental aspect is the worst part. You might play well, but after 500 tournaments, the big win still eludes you—that’s the hardest part for me

The last part, the mental parts starts to chip away at me and my gameplay too

sob67 · Apr 27, 2026

WrongUsername said:
win coinflips as simple as possible.

This feels like the right answer but also the wrong one 😅

SergioV · Apr 27, 2026

sob67 said:
sob67 said:

Do you have any recommended charts. I currently am trying to look for more spots from BB and D early but it feels like I always get it in good and am consistently getting rivered. I know thats poker but its discouraging knowing that even if I am playing what feels like decent isn't getting rewarded but the random open jams w garbage is consistently rewarded

Click to expand...

Do you have any recommended charts. I currently am trying to look for more spots from BB and D early but it feels like I always get it in good and am consistently getting rivered. I know thats poker but its discouraging knowing that even if I am playing what feels like decent isn't getting rewarded but

sob67 said:
Do you have any recommended charts. I currently am trying to look for more spots from BB and D early but it feels like I always get it in good and am consistently getting rivered. I know thats poker but its discouraging knowing that even if I am playing what feels like decent isn't getting rewarded but the random open jams w garbage is consistently rewarded

If you’re getting it in good, you’re already winning — variance is just messing with you right now. I’d stick to solid GTO charts for BB defense and early positions and not adjust too much based on short-term results. Those random jams won’t hold up long term.

R.Melnyk77 · Apr 27, 2026

sob67 said:
What are yall's tips to improve at MTTs. I am currently trying to play freerolls to get a feeling of what tournament poker is like, but often end up with not knowing how to play as my stack gets shallow.

Analyze your own game and your mistakes. Once you start doing this systematically, you will immediately notice progress and improvement.

Mr.$t0k · Tuesday at 1:42 PM

I think good improve in start of your career is books of poker, watch video, play with real money and learn on school of poker/ Good luck in your edycation

Geo90 · Wednesday at 3:05 AM

sob67 said:
The last part, the mental parts starts to chip away at me and my gameplay too

You have to find a way to overcome these challenges so you can maintain your optimal play even when you keep losing with AA and AK and can’t win a single coin flip. People get tilted—I couldn’t manage it

YLAN · Wednesday at 4:15 AM

sob67 said:
feels like I always get it in good and am consistently getting rivered. I know thats poker but its discouraging knowing that even if I am playing what feels like decent isn't getting rewarded but the random open jams w garbage is consistently rewarded

Poker just take minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master. Don't get discouraged but instead remember those times where the river was in your favor. My tip is to keep grinding & analyzing the experiences real time to find ways to improve. Binge the forum & adopt those tips that brings results & disregard the rest.

BigLemory777 · Wednesday at 7:53 AM

sob67 said:
Quais são as dicas de vocês para melhorar em MTTs? Atualmente, estou tentando jogar freerolls para ter uma ideia de como é o poker de torneio, mas frequentemente acabo sem saber como jogar, pois meu stack fica bem pequeno.

One thing that helped me a lot in MTT was to better understand the stack size.
When the stack is short, you can't keep calling, you have to adapt to the push or fold game. Many lose chips trying to play “normal” even with few blinds.
Another tip is to play tighter at the beginning and release more as the blinds rise.
And in freerolls, patience makes a lot of difference, because a lot of people fall fast playing any hand.

Kairozz · Wednesday at 11:13 AM

is that affect you in game to get good hand or just like graphs how many time you folds?

hyuhd6021 · Wednesday at 2:47 PM

I’m commenting just to save this post and the helpful tips.

eetenor · Wednesday at 4:05 PM

sob67 said:
Do you have any recommended charts. I currently am trying to look for more spots from BB and D early but it feels like I always get it in good and am consistently getting rivered. I know thats poker but its discouraging knowing that even if I am playing what feels like decent isn't getting rewarded but the random open jams w garbage is consistently rewarded

GTO WIZARD has a free version you can look at preflop charts--I have a thread for GTO WIZARD check that out.

Jyco · Wednesday at 8:15 PM

I think if you really want to improve, you should watch videos or study on your own, especially how to play preflop depending on your stack size and your opponents’ stacks. I also think it’s very important to pay close attention to your opponents, since they often play in predictable ways, and understanding those patterns allows you to exploit them.

sob67 · Wednesday at 9:10 PM

Thank you so much for everyones tips! Been using a lot of what I have been learning through what yall have been saying and have been getting a lot more finishes in the money!

kaynbergo · Thursday at 10:28 AM

Play 2 tournaments first, and when you realize that you're starting to play in your spare time, add 1 or 2 more tournaments, and so on until you reach a comfortable number of tables. I've played 8 tables so far.

miric007 · 2026-05-03T08:41:55-0400

sob67 said:
What are yall's tips to improve at MTTs. I am currently trying to play freerolls to get a feeling of what tournament poker is like, but often end up with not knowing how to play as my stack gets shallow.

Learn push/fold – under ~15–20 BB it's often all-in or fold
Pay attention to stack sizes – same hand ≠ same play with 50BB vs 10BB
Play tight early – freerolls are chaotic, let others bust
Steal blinds once antes kick in (late position is key)
Position matters – play more hands on the button, fewer early
💪😎

How to improve at MTT?

sob67

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burro

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SergioV

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Prophet

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Geo90

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blackstore0007

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veszmo

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WrongUsername

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sob67

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sob67

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SergioV

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R.Melnyk77

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Mr.$t0k

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Geo90

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YLAN

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Kairozz

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