I play in local live MTTs 2 or 3 times a week. They average around 25 players and starting stack is 8k. They are weekday night tourneys and the company has a time limit so blinds go up quite quickly. Blind structure looks like this:

25/50 (20 mins)
50/100 (20)
100/200 (20)
200/400 (20)
(break)
300/600 (15)
500/1000 (15)
1000/2000 (15)
2000/4000 (15)
3000/6000 (usually capped here unless running late)

We usually hit final table (8 players) in the 2k/4k round by which point there are only about 50bbs in play and there will usually be 4 or 5 players with just 1-4bbs left. From here it just becomes a game of all-in bingo and every week the players bitch and moan to the TD that the blinds are too high and starting stacks are too small.

However, I believe the problem arises not so much because of the tournament structure but because of bad play. It is my understanding that you should never allow yourself to get as low as 5bbs in a tournament and should be making moves long before that happens. I think the players are looking at their stacks in relation to other stack sizes and not in relation to the blinds. I would think that if 25 pro players played the same tournament the final table would have commenced at 500/1000 level as nobody would be sitting there with 3-6bbs waiting for a premium hand.

Having said that, I still find it hard to know how to play the situation. Say I have 14k and we are nearing the end of 500/1000. My stack is not too bad but I know that I will shortly have just 7bbs left. But if I start shoving I am risking 14k to win 1.5k which seems just bad value no matter what. And making lots of standard raises tends to just induce a lot of shoves from all the short stacks.

So my questions are:

1. Is the final table bingo situation a result of a badly structured tournament, bad play from the players involved or just the inevitable result of a tournament with a time-limit?

2. How would you suggest playing in the later stages of a tournament like this?

3. What is the lowest you should allow your stack to get before shoving ATC from any position?

I would stick to standard sng style vs them.. They r obv too tight in the end game.. Regardless of speed of blinds.. Stick to ur "m"

Study a sng book or 2.. And some videos... U will crush this tourney every time

Gen rule.. Don't get below 10bb .. start jamming wide on them

Knowing lil icm will help u.. Also stack dynamics

Shoving a lot does not necessarily equate with bad play. That said, the structure seems similar to what we use in our local game, except it accelerates far too quickly after ~90 minutes. Try getting rid of the first level, and having 400/800 and 600/1200 instead of the 500/1k level. Gives a bit more play at the important stages and no small donkament needs a starting stack >100bb

lol I know you mean that if you know how to play, you'll have an advantage on the field, but saying "u will crush this every time" is not really a fair statement.

seems like a poor, but standard structure, you have to get it to work in your favour however. Play aggressive early and build a stack, once you have this stack you can abuse the final table bubble and get people to fold almost everything to you because they are clearly too tight in this stage of a tourney.

With the exception of a SHR money bubble I would not expect anyone ever to blind themselves down to 1-4 BBs

There are some pretty obvious ICM spots for doing so.

Local casino games are like this in England. I hate it, i cash in most of the games and have won quite a few but the structure and play is shocking. For instance

5k starting stack - Blinds start at 25-50 - 10 minute levels seems to be 2/3 of the games they now offer. The others have 10k starting stacks.

The only game with a half decent structure is a fortnightly game that has 20k starting stacks and 25-50 blinds.

Each time i have been the runners are getting fewer and fewer that they even offer free games now twice a week to try and get people playing. However the one time i went to this it was self deal and was just a waste of time!

It's basically a shove fest and then rebuy heaven for the casino!

1) A mixture of all three things

2) Aggressive, especially towards the short stacks (that's just what I think)

3) No idea, guess 2bb? But it shouldn't ever come to that because you would probably have been dealt a hand you could have shoved with when you had 7bb

dont shove too wide with no antes unless the blinds are going to double soon maybe

1. Why does it matter? Will the company extend their closing time if you ask them too? Or you want the players to play better against you? It's a live tournament, structure and players are mostly gonna be horrible. Learn to adjust or find something better.

2. Kinda depends on the playing styles of specific opponents as well as stack distributions and payouts. Generally I'd say keep the pressure on middle stacks when you're the big stack. Conversely play tight and wait for others to bust if you're short.

3. Irrelevant. Sometimes ICM dictates shoving 15+bb's with ATC, sometimes we need to keep folding ATC with 5 or less bb's in order to cash/ladder up. Download a ICM calculator and practice with it to get a feel for these situations.