hey 2+2. i'm fairly new to online poker and i was just trying to find some good info or articles on small stakes mtt strategy as i seem to acquire a nice chip stack early on only to see it fizzle away anywhere from 20-40 players from the money bubble. i dont stress about getting a min cash but i always seem to tighten up too much at this stage. should i be more aggressive? i feel as though i play way too tight and just wait for a monster hand to get it all in. looking forward to being apart of the 2+2 community and thanks in advance for any and all helpful responses.

google bond18 things i...****, ive forgotten..
tworags.com, bond articles. thats what you need.

also, uhm, why build a stack if youre just going to sit on it? weild that thing like a giant fvcking axe...bro!

wield my stack with what kinda hands though? i'm guessing i can't play every tourney as if it's life or death. should i play more volume? i'm not trying to make a living off of this, i just really enjoy the competition and want to see my game improve more everyday.

read more here.

what kind of hands?

look up shaun deeb's beginner 180 mtt articles on here, they're stickied at the top of this forum under mtt wisdom.

thank you for pointing me in the right direction sydney.

online multi table tournaments are largely a game of continual accumulation of chips. With the fast increasing blinds if your not gaining chips, u'll soon see ur stack dwindle away from the blinds and antes. most people agree that as soon as the antes kick in , u should be looking to switch gears a bit more and be looking to pick up the dead money in the pot. It looks as if your tight strategy early on is letting you pick up chips but once the antes kick in your tight style is preventing you from picking up the now very valuable dead money in the pot.
Instead of tightening up as the blinds increase, u should be doing the opposite as now the reward/risk ratio of playing a hand dramatically increases.

Check out the stickies at the top of the page as well as reading shaun deebs 180mtt article to give you advice on how you should generally approach each level.

Jmk1387

another great response so thanks. i just went fairly deep in a $2r on absolute with 420 players. when it was down to 24 people all top 3 stacks were at my table with 3rd place having double the chips of 4th. i had around a 25bb stack but couldnt seem to get anything going as the 3 chips leaders were playing super aggro with huge raises pre, flop, etc. and eventually busted in 16th when the sb pushed ai into my bb holding A8 which outran my AK. felt like i played well but could of played better. felt good to get deep but looking forward to learning and improving my game everyday.

Deebs 180 man article is indeed very good. If you're interested in some literature, Lee Nelson's Kill Everyone is a great read.

just read this article and i must say it helped me to identify some HUGE leaks in my game. looking forward to putting some of this new knowledge to work today. thanks again 2+2 and gl to everyone at the tables today!

First accept that there is a lot of variance in MTTs. If you have good fundamentals, you are well on your way.

My personal approach is this:

First 1/3 of the tourney - TAG play. I'm nitty tight and I don't get out of line. Happy to pass up a small edge here. There are sooooo many donkeys in the first 60-90 minutes of almost any MTT, I just wait for them to make mistakes and stack them. Take advantage of all the loose/passive players who love to limp and see flops.

Once antes kick in - prior to the bubble, you need to pick up the aggression factor. I usually wait until the 2nd ante level. Reason being that everybody shifts gears automatically due to antes, so I lay back and watch for an orbit or two and find out who picks up aggression, who resteals, who is weak, etc. Pay particular attention to the two spots on your right and left. What are their stats, what hands are they showing down, are they still opening for 3x, or are the in the mid 2.x range, etc? This is an important phase of the tournament and you want to pick up chips, but not needlessly stack off. Take advantage of the weak spots, and avoid the sharks.

Pre bubble - 10-20 spots before the money is the time to get wild. Hopefully you are average or above average so you can afford to open a wide range of hands and scoop some antes/blinds. Watching opponents around the bubble is important because you can id the scared money and you'll be able to start playing them as if their cards are face up.

ITM - If I make the money, I'm trying to win the tournament. The same rules apply above with respect to being observant, picking spots, etc. The blinds and antes start to get so large relative to average stack sizes as you get further and further into the money, so you need to be aggro, and not fear marginal situations. If you want to go deep into a final table, or win, you are going to be in situations where you have to win flips, suck out, etc. Just accept that and don't be afraid of marginal situations. You need to have all of the chips at the end to win, right?