How tight is tight for "tight is right"?

[BobbySalami]

Lately, I have been having some troubles in the first hour or so of my MTT's. I have read in many places that in the beginning, "tight is right" for the beginning allowing for the maniacs to bust out, and then you can start playing poker....

However I have been bleeding off chips in the beginning limping hands 22-TT, AJ. And Raising with JJ-AA, AQ, AK....then when I miss my stack suffers when sometimes I will try and take down a pot and get reraised and am forced to let it go.....

Is this not tight enough in the beginning? should I tighten down to like QQ-AA, AK in the first hour? I had success in my first few MTT's but I dont really remember what I was doing, probably just getting lucky.

So can someone help me out with this "tight is right" phase....Thanks.

[Staple Gun]

Make sure you're not calling to many hands from early position. From later position I would limp with drawing hands and any pocket pair (Except high pockets you raise of course)

Be careful to not call to much preflop with mediocre hands. If you have AQ and you raise, then get called then big blind reraises half your stack, just fold (Unless you have a read). Youre most likely dominated and its not worth your time.

A lot of MTT's is getting cards to obviusly so you will suffer some droughts when nothing can help you. But overall if you play well I would say you should be able to double your chips about half the time in the first hour.

[BobbySalami]

So should you let small pocket pairs (88 and down) go if you are in EP-MP, as well as. And only play your monsters in this position.....?

And also, one other problem I have in the first hour....say you AK in EP, and being so early it would take like 8xBB to thin the field....then you miss. Just let it go and take the chip hit?....or are you looking to still get in cheap with AK this early in the tournament.

Sorry if this sounds dumb, I just always hear tight is right, but I believe it is hard coming from a cash game into the tourney scene, and I've never really seen anybody outline how tight is tight for these tourneys.

[outphase]

sometimes I will try and take down a pot and get reraised and am forced to let it go.....

This isn't tight at all, that's loose and aggressive.

[BobbySalami]

sometimes I will try and take down a pot and get reraised and am forced to let it go.....

This isn't tight at all, that's loose and aggressive.

Then, can you tell me what is?

[ZenOffsuit]

So should you let small pocket pairs (88 and down) go if you are in EP-MP, as well as. And only play your monsters in this position.....?

And also, one other problem I have in the first hour....say you AK in EP, and being so early it would take like 8xBB to thin the field....then you miss. Just let it go and take the chip hit?....or are you looking to still get in cheap with AK this early in the tournament.

Sorry if this sounds dumb, I just always hear tight is right, but I believe it is hard coming from a cash game into the tourney scene, and I've never really seen anybody outline how tight is tight for these tourneys.

I think people over play a hand like A/K early. I raise 2.5x the BB in this situation. You will still thin the field a bit and you have not put a bunch of chips at risk early on. If no one raises behind you, you are probably dealing w/ weaker aces, drawing hands or small/med pockets.

If you get a bad flop, it is so easy to get away from your hand because you didn't invest 8x the bb preflop. By making even this little raise, you have taken some control of the hand and you could make a stab at it. If you get a good flop (A-x-x-) you know can slow play it a bit. IMO, A/K only has a lot of power later on, when the fish are gone and the blinds are high.

[digitaldoc]

First, I think it's a great question to be asking. Here is how I've been playing "Tight is Right".

From early position I stick to my monsters. AA - JJ raising 3xBB and maybe limping with TT and 99. I'll also limp in A/Ko and raise A/Ks. I'm really learly playing from early position. I'll let my little pairs go early on unless the table seems really tight. Then I might limp them in to catch trips.

From Mid position I also limp in with 66-99 and I'll add A/Q to the mix.

From Late position I add 22-55 as limps and maybe A/J occasionally on the feel of the table. As it gets a little later in the tourney, or I have grown my chip stack 2 or 3 times I'll add in suited connectors like JT or QK down to 78.

Remember that you are looking for that really nice hand to double up on or even triple up on. And the more chips you have to double up, the better. You're not really in trouble till you start getting to the 5xBB chip stack. Also, how many times have you seen someone else push with AK unimproved only to loose to a pair? I'm much more willing to let go hands with bad position so I conserve my chips for a better double up opportunity later on. Patience is key here in the beginning.

While you're watching a lot of hands from the sidelines, take the opportunity to see who's in the pot the most, who raises the most, and who lays down for what sized bet post flop. It becomes very easy to figure out who the callers and the raisers are. You'll want to know this later when you decide to enter a pot.

[ihategnomes]

In a MTT tournament, I will try to limp about any PP 55-99 as long as its not a large part of my stack / late in the tournament. 44-22 only with position. AJ is a bad calling hand. Pitch it from EP. I will generally open-raise with AJ from MP-LP. I never call a raise, if there is too many limpers to raise and get good results, I might not play the hand. Becareful about continuation betting during the first part of MTT play. The blinds are low, most likely any bet you make on the flop that is not an overbet will be small too to drive away players whos biggest hole is calling too much. Most MTT players do the exact opposite of what you are suppose to do. They play loose to begin with then tighten up when the blinds get big. This is bass ackwards.

[DBL0SVN]

Lately, I have been having some troubles in the first hour or so of my MTT's. I have read in many places that in the beginning, "tight is right" for the beginning allowing for the maniacs to bust out, and then you can start playing poker....

However I have been bleeding off chips in the beginning limping hands 22-TT, AJ. And Raising with JJ-AA, AQ, AK....then when I miss my stack suffers when sometimes I will try and take down a pot and get reraised and am forced to let it go.....

Is this not tight enough in the beginning? should I tighten down to like QQ-AA, AK in the first hour? I had success in my first few MTT's but I dont really remember what I was doing, probably just getting lucky.

So can someone help me out with this "tight is right" phase....Thanks.

Depends on your style - if you really want to be tight, you'll only play AA and KK early on. And if you are having trouble being that disciplined, just don't take your seat until the first 1/2 - 3/4 hour has passed. Think I'm joking? My 2 best MTT finishes - I didn't sit down until the tournament had already started and 1/3 to 1/2 the field was already out. That way you ensure the crazy gamblers are out. Think of the chip goals you require to make it ITM or on the final table. Doubling or quadrupling up in the first hour will not get you anywhere near your target. Controlled aggression in the middle of the tournament and maniac play on the bubble is what you need.

[gabe]

bobby, post some hands where you think you made a mistake. it will make it much easier for us.

[BobbySalami]

bobby, post some hands where you think you made a mistake. it will make it much easier for us.

Well, unfortunately, Full Tilt doesnt let you go back and get past HH's. You have to copy and paste them at the time......but at my next MTT, I will copy and paste many HH's for everyone's analysis....

But thanks for all the replies so far...it makes me see a few things that I do wrong in the early stages....But keep it coming if anyone has anything to add.

[gabe]

bobby, post some hands where you think you made a mistake. it will make it much easier for us.

Well, unfortunately, Full Tilt doesnt let you go back and get past HH's. You have to copy and paste them at the time......but at my next MTT, I will copy and paste many HH's for everyone's analysis....

ooh that sucks. try to post them though, you should be able to pick up a few things.