EARLY DAYS IN A MULTI

One of the questions I have received is how should one play early in a multi (from jackal).

My advice is that the way you should play should take account of 2 things.

1) Mindset

2) The blind structure and how long each level lasts and by how much it gos up by.

MINDSET

To win a multi you need to be in the right mindset. However winning a race (2 people all in) can soon put you in the right mindset. I am quite often prepared to risk my tournamant life early in a multi if there are a lot of players and the entry fee is small. If the entry fee is large then I dont want to risk them all in a 50 50 .

As an example if someone put me all in on the flop and I had 2 overcards and a flush draw I know the stats I win this hand v say top pair are almost 50% so in a huge multi that may last 4 hours i probably call here to try and accumulate chips as i know i play well with a lot of chips.

However if above is in a multi with say 100 players and slow blind structure i probably fold and wait for a better position.

BLIND STRUCTURE

If the blinds go up fast and at high levels eg 25 to 50 to 100 to 200 etc then i like to play fast and get involved early - if the blinds raise slow say every 15 minutes and 15 30 50 100 etc then you have plenty time and can sit back and wait for a hand.

One of the biggest mistakes I see in a mtt is when some one raises from the button (one off the blinds) to try and steal the blinds at the very early levels- quite simply when blinds are 8 15 or 15 30 there is absolutely no point.

MANAGE THE POT SIZE

The only other tip i can give for early in a multi is try and manage the pot size. EG if you are on a draw try and keep it small - if you have top hand then try and get rid of the other players but reevaluate this after each card is dealt. See my article on how i put someone all in when i had the made straight versus trips for an example of this - look back at the hand if i was on a draw i could easily have kept that pot small.

PS no good in the 50k last night my 55 was beat by ace jack that hit an ace on the river - however i was never in a good position. However was rakeback day today and I have played loads last month so got 700 rakeback - as usual link on right of blog if you are playing without rakeback you are missing out on free cash.