What has changed..

I was contemplating why I have had trouble winning a Mook lately.. It is an interesting question.. Sure I could blame it on bad cards and all that, and there has been some of that, but I think I became a cash game player. Ick. What a nasty thing to be.

I was once told by the noble and obnoxious Felicia, Who btw, I love, and respect a hell of a lot, that I would make a GREAT MTT player because of my fearless and reckless nature. She also said I should quit Poker but we can ignore that for the moment.

I have been thinking about the differences between cash games and MTTs and it all comes down to the fact that in a cash game you can wait. You can rebuy. Although you do need to have some of that fearless nature and live by your guts and reads you also in some ways have a margin for error.

In the MTTs we all play it is totally different. Once your out that is it. Cya. Go Away. Take you ball and kiss my ass. It does not really matter how you lost your chips it just matters that you did. So when someone makes you decide for your entire tourney it is a much harder choice. The longer into the game you go the harder the choice is.

I think some of the best plays I made last night.. and the ones not by coincidence that got TO the final table were good, solid, bluffs at the right time in the right place. My two favorites of the night were against AlCanPlayWithHisCardsUpCauseThatsHowGoodIAmAtReadingHim. He made a semi-bluff steal of 2400 when we were down at the final table and I pushed all in against him with of all cards T8o. On the bubble. That move took balls. I read him for a steal. I also knew he was of the Cult of the Lady who Folds alot and had the skill to let a hand go. He later did a simular raise but I read correctly he had a monster and let him have my blind. He was my P@WN last night. It was kind of fun.

I have really cut alot of bluffing and stealing out of my game. I have played solid poker and in my last few Mookies it has done nothing for me. I have gotten chip leads fairly early on, but by the time the blinds hit 400/800 I would allow myself to be blinded out. Being in first place for 3/4ths the tourney is NOT my goal. My goal also is not to make a few bucks at the end of a five hour marathon tourney. My goal is to go deep and win first in every single Mookie I can.

Every single MTT you play that lasts over an hour is going to have a period of time when you have hot cards and a period of time when you are card dead. If your not willing to take caculated risks at these dead times and do a little stealing or re-stealing it does not matter how well you play the rest of the game. You will be a loser.

One good example I saw last night that really inspired me.. and beleive me I NEVER thought I would say this about him.. was when NewInNov lost a big pot and was chipped down to 4Kish on the bubble. He immediatly fired his entire stack twice against the blinds in LP. I am pretty sure (and he probably can verify) that he did not have two monsters.. but he knew in this situation with the bubble approaching he could make a couple of moves, chip up 4K, and be in better shape for a while. It was very good. Very aggressive Poker and it worked.

So next time I play a Mook I am going to be a little bit more of a wildman. Add a little crazy shizzzahhh into my game and see what happens. I may donk out early but I think I will be able to extend my early lead into a monster chip stack and take down one of these mofo's finally. My finishes lately have been in the last two tables and I have been chip leader most of the last two Mooks. I think a few adjustments will get me over the hump.