Large Field MTT Tourneys

Hi all,

I know there are some here that play the larger field MTT on whatever site they prefer and I am beginning to jump to those. I feel very comfortable in a SNG cashing more than 50% of the time. I have also played many 9-10 table tourneys and feel confident saying I'm ITM 20% of the time. In making the jump to 100-200 table games, are there things that need to be adjusted for or brought into consideration? I have been reading some articles on large field MTT and figured I could tap into the knowledge here on the subject. I have played in a couple of them and know that there is more variance but are there specific situations to try to avoid? (Besides the obvious race early)
Any help on the subject or reading material would be great. Thank you in advance.

Well, first off, variance is much much higher -- if you find yourself cashing in 20% after about 200 of these, you're doing pretty good. The lower the buy-in, the higher the variance, in my experience.

One thing that probably flies in the face of much poker literature, is this. If you're playing in the type of tourney that a lot of people satellite into for very cheap amounts (e.g., Full Tilt $26 buyins, the Sunday PokerStars $100k, etc., where the effective satellite price is $2.20, $4.40, etc.), and you have any pocket pair higher than tens (or even 99, really) in the first hand, do not ever fold pre-flop, especially to an all-in.

Yes, you may well run into AA or KK, but as often as not, you're running into a semi-bluff (soooted ace, mid kicker, or mid PP, sometimes even soooted QJ) by someone who either usually plays micro buyins and is going to war early with any A, or who figures they're really only in for $4 or whatever, so let's donk it up.

In my experience at the $2-10 buyin level (where most of the larger fields are, I've had too many occasions where I've folded, say, JJ on the first hand, that I raised in early position, to an AI with a caller behind me, and one had 88, the other ATo, and such, to the extent where I now believe it's long term +EV to call all such situations.

Honestly my biggest tip for the large multi-table tourney newbie is to not overwhelm yourself with the shear amounts of opponents you will be up against. Try not to get into the habit of checking the tourney lobby to find out what place you are in, how many players are left, or how many chips the chip leader has. Just play your table because that is the only element of the tourney you can control anyway. Once you realize that whatever happens on the other tables is of little meaning you can put the other strategy to work.

As far as strategy I suggest buying Harrington On Hold em'. If you plan on playing any kind of NL Texas Hold em tourney and you have not read this book then you are throwing money away. There is just too much to cover in one post. One big thing to consider is tourney selection, mainly the structure. While many players seem to enjoy a turbo tourney I am the opposite and search for the longest structure with the biggest starting stack. I do a whole lot better in a longer structure tourney than your run of the mill 10 minute blind 1500 chip donkfest.

Of course, Danny makes great points. The one other thing I would add is that, even in the non-turbo variety, it is crucial that you develop blind stealing and restealing skills. While you can only play your table, the reality is, the larger the field, the more blind levels you're likely to have to go through to get to the end.

For instance, the $4/180s on Stars are usually completely over within 4 hours, with final table starting ...what...just after hour 3, most often.

In your average 1200 runner tourney, you're often still 100 players from final table at that point in time. Not that it's any more difficult, per se, but you do need to steal blinds/antes probably a bit more than you may be used to, depending on your nature.