I've been playing a lot of PLO tournaments recently, and it's apparent to me that everyone is getting better - more aggressive, better at hand-reading - put simply, playing for 1st.

The problem, as far as I can tell, is that the good players are getting greedy - they all think they can win. That's fine - but it means we have to be pragmatic and realize that we can't always play for 1st.

The answer is simple. We play for 2nd. No-one is expecting it, which is why it will work perfectly; we simply slide on in behind everyone else and get 2nd most of the time.

People will probably catch on quite soon, so we need to stay a step ahead and start playing for 3rd or maybe even 4th, depending on the field-size. Once people start adapting, we can sneak back on into going for 1st, taking advantage of the vacuum. Eventually, equilibrium is reached, but until that point, we're making more money than our opponents as a result of a very simple change in strategy.

I see no reason this strategy couldn't be adapted for NLHE MTTs.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

if i start off by playing for fourth does that mean i'm 3 levels ahead of you so i'm winning and by the time i counter adjust to your adjustment i will be playing for and coming first right.

solid post,would like to hear more on this subject,plo mtt's are getting so tough theres nearly no money.

I'm assuming this is a level by the tone you take, but I don't think it's entirely unfounded. From my experience in NLHE MTTs, the game has gotten tougher, people are more aggressive on the bubble than they used to be, by the last few tables most players are in the competent-good range, and the final table is seldom fish-friendly. On super good final tables where everyone is playing for first, it may be +EV to sit back and let other players destroy themselves while we pick careful spots. Assuming when we "play for first" we are very volatile and usually go out either last or make it to the final 3, we are not sacrificing $ by guaranteeing ourselves a middle cash of 6-4th place every time.

yes, you're probably doing better that way than going for 1st, but you're giving up on 2nd place money so you're leaving $ on the table.

trends come and go. a year ago, no-one 3bet light in nlhe mtts. now all the kids are 4betting with KQ and stuff! it'll turn full circle soon, and people will only ever 3bet value hands. because they're expecting their opponents to be 3betting KQ. the same applies above, it will go full circle.

drunk?

lol

Would be very interested to hear from drunk Wazz how you adapt when planning to play to get 4th. No sober Wazz answers please, k thx.

Good lead in to an apparently ludicrous proposition sprinkled with just enough grains of truth.

A+

PLO MTTs are the toughest games in the world, harder than playing in the NFL and MMA

thanks to Joey Joe Joe Whitacre, LFMagic and Daniel Morgan berating me at around a table in the Vdara bar I had a much better understanding of ICM. This helped me holster my gun on a few occasions I could have pushed a small edge knowing Id flip for massive chips when I didnt really have too.

2nd place is just the first loser.

stars payouts are so flat I think it is more profitable to come second than first anyway

i mean, my strat is clearly pretty solid, but i don't get it right every time:

PokerStars Tournament #440502235, Pot Limit Omaha
Super Satellite
Buy-In: $72.55/$1.45 USD
6 players
Total Prize Pool: $435.30 USD
Target Tournament #2011090025 Buy-In: $215.00 USD
2 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started 2011/09/12 22:30:27 WET [2011/09/12 17:30:27 ET]


Dear wazzbot,

You finished the tournament in 3rd place. A USD 5.30 award has been credited to your Real Money account.



Congratulations!

Thank you for participating.

Is this strategy specific to plo tournaments or can this be used in other forms of poker?

I haven't done the groundwork but I strongly suspect this strategy can be used for nlhe tournaments as well. Scout326 uses it for cash games and HUSNGS, I believe.

LOL^

how does one play for 2nd instead of first

you don't know?

go post in ssplo dreamer

CUZ TWO IS NOT A WINNER AND 3 NOBODY REMEMBERS

Must be some kind of mistake :P

epic 10k post

I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ICM

joejoe demonstrating my theory in epic style on monday night, wp son