Just won another MTT (1st) - been a little while since I bagged a 1st, but one thing struck me big time, and I'm looking here to see if others agree...

Mid game, and definatley when it comes to the last 2 tables, the only times I've come 1st (really, 2nd downwards don't count here) - I've had to knowingly take some coin flip punts. You know, when someone keeps pushing all in or mega raising and you simply HAVE to call sooner or later or the antes and the blinds will drop you back too far to be a contender for 1st. The times I mean are when you call with A9 off, or the likes, putting the aggressor on pretty much anything and hoping your Ace holds up. Or pushing all-in to pre-empt the aggressor with something like KJ.

I've definately noticed, to get the amount of chips needed to make the final table a proper game, and not bingo (which it is for all the lower stacks), I HAVE to make some tough calls where I know it's 50/50 I'll lose half my hard earned stack.

Some good examples today were a guy constantly pushing all-in. I called with A9 off, he had K7 or similar. I won. Another chap doing it, I called with A4 I think, and beat him, just - had chips to spare here. And several occasions, even on the final table, calling all-ins to find my high cards were up against hands like 64off, or K2 off !

Without those wins, I'd be an also-ran clambering just to make 10th. With those wins I was chip leader by a 10k margin, moving up to a 20k lead. Sat at the final table with a 20k lead, then moved to a 50k lead. At this stage I had enough chips to call anything and soon won. The final hand was daft. He mega bluffed, and I called with Top pair, he had nothing (and were were nearly equal chips doh!). At one stage on the final table I went down to 2nd, it was no cakewalk.

I'm just fairly convinced that without extraordinary luck you simply MUST take some big gambles if you wan't 1st, liek it or not (and you probably notice I don't like gambling lol)

true, to WIN a tournament you got to win alot of coinflips and win pots like your A/9 vs the K/7 etc, you know you not gonna win a tournament if you lose those pots, everything needs to work to win.
I get kicked out of alot of tournaments by losing coinflips.
And the last time i've got this A/10 drama that's really annoying.
For some reason i keep losing with A/k, A/Q and A/J against A/10 in tournaments, it's been going on for a few weeks now, so that only shows how important the luckfactor is.

__________________
i must be blessed cuz im in badbeat heaven

Thanks - good to hear i'm not going mad :-) - I'm definately finding now that I'm shooting for 1st I'm out early with a big bang, or I'm in deep until the last 3 or 2 tables :-) - and that is where is gets hard work - big stacks, big blinds and constant antes - it's this stage where you really do need to start playing the players.

Yep, luck definitely plays it's part in tourneys. When I used to play regularly on PKR, I won a couple of the 6 seater tourneys, and both times I remember getting lucky more than once. In fact in one of them I had just crept into the money and I had the smallest stack of all the players that were left. So I was pushing with any ace, picture card or pair. I got lucky when dominated, like I would push with A-7, get called by A-K and I would hit the 7. Or I would push with a small pair, get called by a bigger pair and I hit trips. Sometimes, everything you do just works

Let's face it, if it wasn't for luck numpties like Jamie Gold wouldn't win a thing (and no, I can't stand Jamie Gold ). Watching him win the WSOP was painful because he actually thought he was playing really good, but in fact he was playing speculative hole cards and hitting the flop with some scarey luck.

On an un-related topic..everytime I see Jamie he is donking off money at the poker table..he must be going broke soon?

I too have played quite a few MTTs on PKR, have come first and second in $5 regular and have ended up in the money quite a few times. The luck factor in MTTs is very high, i lost with Pocket Aces twice in one tourny, once against pocket J's and once against K9. A part of my strategy is to fold all A-x unless I am in the BB or on the button with 2 or three limpers max. I see a lot of people playing hands like A4o, A8o etc. Some people even call a hefty raise with these cards preflop...I think if you want to survive a MTT then you have to refrain from playing such hands. I have no problems folding A10o under the gun. It really pisses me off to see players over rate their A rag hands in a MTT, and the worst is if they get awarded for their poor play....i see it too often, especially women..they typically overate Aces and so will call almost anything with weak aces. Just yesterday i was in a MTT had KK under the gun and raised 5x BB....then got called by a female, obviously she had the damned weak ace, and the worst part is she hit on the turn.....so I had to lay down my KK bc i was convinced she had it...and she did, A 9 off suit.
Any way thats just my opinion on playing A-x in MTTs..I stay clear away from playing them. I think only really inexperienced players get sucked into playing such hands out of position and with pre flop raises before them. In any case, its these players that usually pay off the more experienced ones in MTTs.