Future MTT EV

I have been getting back into a good rhythm at home now.  Being back in a routine and putting in consistent volume makes me feel confident about my game.  I have been impressed with some of the guys I have worked with in the past few weeks.  We are getting good results and feel like each others success pushes each individual to newer heights.

I have had a few wins on PokerStars and numerous final tables.  I have been happy with my end game, particularly in turbo tournaments.  In one $109 turbo I felt as close to playing optimally versus my opponents than ever before.  I have done well in individual tournaments previously and felt like I didn't play as well as I could, which is nice when you get lucky and win, but what really satisfies me is knowing that I played well regardless of the result.

Being process driven is a hugely important aspect of playing poker.  This is, as opposed, to being results driven.  It can be very hard at times to discern certain aspects of luck versus skill but this is where having experienced and good thinking players around to discuss MTT situations is invaluable.  Probably two of the guys I have learnt the most from are Liam Moffet and Mat Brown in MTT's and heads up play.  Without those two guys I would still be a pretty terrible MTT'r.

I had two really interesting situations this year in tournaments come up that highlight future tournament EV.  One was in Queenstown SnowFest (Vs Boartskiepe) and another in Melbourne APPT (Vs Mitch Carle) I took the lower variance route when I thought that I had a slight edge in the situation.  I passed up slightly positive EV situations for potentially even more positive situations later.  Unfortunately in those dominant later situations I lost.  There are always good future situations to come in ANZPT events.

I think against tougher competition say the Sunday 500 on PokerStars with a table full of thinking regulars you have to take the slightly positive situations.  In live 2k's the fields are relatively soft and making some sick call or 6 bet shoving pre-ante is a bit of a waste of future tournament EV.  People are just waiting to spew chips into you if you give them the chance.  Both passive and aggressive players find ways to give you there chips. Live really is a grind but well worth the time investment if you are patient and can see the long term benefits of taking even better MTT spots.