The Final Table

[reelbigbeagles]

I need help. About the final table I mean. In many MTTs I have only won once. In fact, besides that win (a 90 person tourney on FTP) I have never made it higher than fifth place. There was a time I was chip leader with 5 left and fell all the way down. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing wrong, it just seems that I get bad beats when at the final table. Are there any tips? I seem to make it pretty far in MTTs so I don't have any complaints, but once there I'd love to have confidence in my skills.

[Johnny22]

Be Aggressive. Especially in situations where you have a lot of chips. Everyone is usually stealing, especially shorthanded, so you need to gamble more with less than premium hands. I am not saying to play big pots with 68 but if one of the smaller stacks moves in on you and you have A9 or QJ go ahead and take a shot at eliminating them. I know througout the tournament you get worried about being dominated with these kinds of hands, but say 5 handed they are very strong especially in the blinds. Take a few more shots at this stage as the action is insanely fast. Also, defend your big hands. So what you have AQ - dont limp in, dont minimum raise, PUSH ALL IN!!! Force your opponents to make decisions for all their chips. Who cares if they fold - You want to win as many pots without showdown as possible. Take the very lucrative blinds and antes at this stage and move on. GL

[aleanrahel]

Stacksizes, stacksizes, stacksizes.

At the final table it is absolutely crucial to know your M and that of the other players, M being the stacksize divided by the total starting pot of blinds and antes.

Know when a player is pot-committed, usually if he has committed half his stack, unless he is the really big stack. Know also if a player is likely to become pot-committed during the hand, which is likely with an M under 10.

Also be aware of changing table conditions. Sometimes people tighten up late in the tournament, because they want to move up a spot on the moneyladder, or simply think they have come to far to take a coinflip. Other times people will start playing more aggressively, thinking everybody else might have tightened up.

Read Harrington on Hold'em part II for an excellent section on the principles of playing medium and low M situations.

[Demco]

Depending on the sprize structure, play to win or move up.

Say there is 5 ppl left, and the difference between 4th and 5th is a big amount compared to the buy-in, play it safe.

Sit back alittle, and don't gamble. Especially vs the short stacks, you don't want to give life to someone who is on their way out.

Try to make smart decisions and pick your spots. If you sense someone is weak, throw out a big bet out there if you got chips to play with. If they raise, fold, or if they call slow it down.

Picking good spots to pick up chips is key.
If you have position and the blinds are short stacked, a raise is a good idea, but if the stack pushes all in you can still lay it down and not look foolish.

i'm not sure how you got beaten on some of your final tables, but if you make it there consistantly...thats half the battle.

Try to avoid confrontations with the larger stacks, but make sure you don't double a short stack.

I'd try to push the short stacks around if you hit the flop.
Probably put them all in, regardless of the pot size.
Usually they'll fold, but you want all their chips if they are on a draw and miss.

This post is already too long, so i'll stop there but there are alot of things i'll do at the final table.

Most of it is situational. Good practice for the final table is playing alot of SnG's. (1 table)
And try to play your "final table poker" after you lose a bunch of chips or build your stack.

[reelbigbeagles]

So, I guess the sense that I'm getting is that at the final table, especially with less players left, the main idea is to be more aggressive than usual? Loosen up pre-flop, right?

Today, I played in two different final tables already, but in each started getting a bad run of cards and finished in 7th in one and 6th in another. But, the next time I get back to the FT I'll be sure to think more carefully through my actions.

[22bam22]

i belive not only being aggressive, but if ur a big stack u need to stay away from doubling the low stacks up...whenver ur against the low stacdk make sure to have a dominant hand.

[aleanrahel]

Originally Posted by reelbigbeagles

So, I guess the sense that I'm getting is that at the final table, especially with less players left, the main idea is to be more aggressive than usual? Loosen up pre-flop, right?

Yes and no. Aggression works best if the rest of the players have been playing tighter (because they want to move up). Aggression against aggression is usually a quick way out, since it end up being a lot of coinflip situations.

Aggression is good if you either have a low M, since you cannot wait much longer to get a good hand, or a very big stack, since you might scare the medium stacks away.

IMO postflop aggression is more important than preflop aggression. Most flops miss most hands, so post-flop steals or continuation bets have a big chance of succeeding. Most of the players are willing to see a relatively cheap flop, but won't call a big post flop bet if the flop hasn't hit their hand.

So a big skill to work on is analyzing the texture of the flop. If most players play high cards, suited connectors and pairs, a flop like 3-6-T rainbow is an excellent target for a steal. Trying the steal with KhTh9s on the flop is a potential lethal action, since you might be up against a flush draw, a straight or straight draw, or top pair/2 pair.

[aleanrahel]

Addendum: of course, with less players left, your starting hands go up in value. The chances of you being the only Ax preflop are greater on a 4-handed table than on a full table.

With a big stack, when I get moved to the final table, I usually sit back a few hands to analyze what is going on. If I see a lot of action happening with medium strenght hands, I play tight. If I see a lot of uncontested pots preflop, I loosen up.

Keeping track of all the players is difficult, so start by analyzing the 2 players on your left and the 2 on your right. The left players are in the blinds if you are on the button, so if they are tight, stealing is a good idea. The ones on your right are the button and cut-off when you are in the blinds, so you might want to try to figure out if they are stealing a lot or just playing good hands. A reraise steal from the blinds makes a lot of money, so knowing this is essential.

[Demco]

1. don't be afraid to take your time and think

even if it's pre flop and you're debating limping in or folding
especially if you have a big stack

the more time you think, the less time the short stacks can cling on with the blinds moving up

if you ever watch an FTOPS final table on youtube...almost every player takes 10-30 seconds to make a decision, usually more if its a decision based on a bet or raise

2. don't feel bad for folding...folding a tough hand could be the difference between 6th and 5th

always look for ways to move up if the pay out is very good between the two spots

if it's not much relative to the buy-in, then you can be alittle agressive and wild

otherwise, i'd say play position well

tighten up in early position, maybe only play pairs, face cards and big suited connectors of 10-9 or higher

in late position, try to make a move to steal the blinds, but be careful

[mange]

Here is my humble theory on winning poker games.

Think of it in terms of Golf. Players play for days and win many time by one or two strokes. That is because these players are mostly equal in skills. And one mistake cause the lost.

I noticed that there are a lot of very skilled players in Railbirds. (not including me) Many with equal of closely matched skills. Therefore, like in Golf, a mistake can be fatal for the win. This does not pertain to me, so I can relax.

One more think about the Tournaments on Railbirds. With only 1500dollars to play with, one slip and its all over. I have seen the best players we have in Railbirds get knocked out early because they do not have enough money to recover when some one like me gets lucky and out draws them.

Continue to read Blogs like this one, listen and learn, improve your poker skills.

Thanks,

angie