https://www.replaypoker.com/hand/replay/1167196239
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Best hand not allowed to scoop limp ins. It may seem contradictory, but its actually both easier and harder at same time. Its easier in a way, because without bingo players where most of the time exploit, hand holds up, chip up, it would be harder in a way without that. Having a couple, few, some bingo players to exploit is good.
But if have 100 bingo players in a field of 125, which would be a lot of bingo players, then chances of cashing, before a bingo player gets lucky and bad beats you out, goes WAY down, because the extremely high variance, will usually knock you out of tourney before cashing, winning.
Now lets say the tournament was about 2 to 4 to 6 to 8 bingo players out of a field of 50 to 75 to 100 players, and the rest was semi fish, below average rec, semi reg players. That tournament would be easier to cash, win then the tourny that had lots of bingo players, because the couple, few, occasional bingo players would chip you up with less variance, less of a chance to get knocked out by a bingo player before cashing, winning, and would be able to exploit, outplay the semi fish, below average players with lesser varianced smaller balled poker that would chip you up with a lesser chance of a bingo player, etc, knocking you out before cashing, winning.
So a couple, few, some bingo players is good. LOTS AND LOTS of bingo players consistently knocking you out before cashing, winning because of high variance, law of numbers, law of probability, etc, is less good, not as good as a couple, few, some, bingo players.
That said, players who say they will win lots more playing good competition, instead of any bingo players, etc, is WRONG, as dont have a big enough skill edge and wont exploit, outplay, etc, good players often enough to win over the long term.
Give me fields with lots of semi fish, semi below average players, that I can, probably will outplay, exploit, chip up from, a couple, few some bingo players, and 1,2, couple, few semi good players to help cause me to play better, etc.
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I hear what youâre saying and I donât necessarily disagree.
I just think we have other options. Thereâs always an adjustment available to optimize results via exploit. If our opponents are playing poorly, this benefits us, full stop. Variance may go up if nobody is willing to fold, but I think youâre dramatizing how big this effect is with best play from Hero.
My approach to 100k tournaments (the smallest I play, with a lot more sticky âdonksâ than a 1M field) is now to simply play fewer hands, and be very aggressive when I do play. If there are multiple limps and I wake up with AJs+/TT+ I will mostly just stick it in pre. If I 3! isolate, flop comes KJ5 rainbow and villain checks, I will mostly just cbet jam. I am playing a narrow linear range so that Iâm simply ahead most of the time, and practicing big equity denial.
The fewer fancy plays I try to make at this level, it seems, the better I do. You canât âget them to foldâ in most spots no matter what you do, but you CAN rely on their ranges being too wide, their post flop play being largely straightforward and fit-or-fold, and their willingness to shrug and âgo with itâ once theyâve invested anything in a given hand.
My last 10 finishes @100k: 2, 54, 16, 57, 36, 40, 17, 2, 41, 1
And @1M: 5, 3, 3, 16, 11, 19, 16, 8, 3, 11
So yeah, my average 1M finish is better, but thatâs likely just because the 100k fields are usually much bigger.
The larger standard deviation for the 100ks may be more revealing; it does feel like I need to be willing to bust early more often in those, since we simply have to put our stack at risk against multiple opponents more frequently (even if we do often have TT against two random raggy suited hands).
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I really cannot stand it when other players want to dictate how people should play. This calling out of âbingo playersâ really gets on my nervesâŚits play money you have to understand and this is simply a product of thatâŚlet people have fun and play how they want without constantly moaning about them please.
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vlucky 
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@NickUK69 I completely agree
Fair point. It does effect the way you must approach it IMHO.
For me, the âsystemâ I play in MTT accounts for this.
I just tighten up a bit more, and do not grind down my own stack by calling every hand I am dealt. I see this happen at most tables and the problem is that when they are dealt a big hand to push, they have dwindled their stacks down to a point that larger stacks will call them just because they can. I do not think of chip as money. I think of them as weight of firepower. The less I have, the less of a threat I am to other stacks.
When I bet post flop I bet an amount that will make people consider before calling. I see these small 1/2 blind bets post flop by players who end up complaining some fish called them down. THEY are responsible for allowing them to do so.
Then there is position.
Before calling or betting I look to my left and see who is following me, the sizes of the stacks, and consider how likely they will call, fold, and or how likely they will raise to a amount that I am not going to call.
Also, I have no problem folding a winner or being bluffed off a hand. It means nothing to me. I am a student of military history. I am fighting a prolonged war. Not just fighting to win this battle. I will fold and just wait until a better situation to do battle with you
Finally I push my big hands pre-flop to stop as many as the BINGO players as I can and limit the amount of people I see the flop with. I do not push all AA/KK/AA/AK, but it is a majority of the time.
No plan theory style or system is perfect, it is about how consistent it is in results over time.
We all have a MTT history and you can see how consistent players are in making it to the money, which is the first goal. second is final table, then final 3.
Each phase of a MTT has different considerations and requires my play to adjust to each.
Find one you see is consistent and observe them. Some styles may work for one person, but not the next. The hard part is finding a style that you are comfortable in playing consistently. Then it is a matter of experience in learning to how to play it in multiple various situations and positions.
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