why why why

sim75

any ideas folks would really help my game here
last few tournys ive played i get down to last 10 players and ive been playing tight and if you know me i dont play tight but i listened to advice few weeks ago and really changed game
i get big chip lead ie yesterdays 150 guarrnteed 65000 chips in play i have 26000 so bigchip lead but go card dead i dont need to get involved but i get ace jack and a player with 2900 chips pushes i call he shows 44 first card on flop comes a 4 lol drawing dead so i lose next hand get pocket  10s again player with 3000 ish goes all in i call he shows 8 8 river comes an 8 so lose again it happens a lot to me i end up crashing on the bubble in 6th top 5 get paid
my question is this why is it when i get in front i just seem to get to involved i could have walked away from the table and cashed i was fuming when i went out any advice on what i should be doing please

philmenow

its because u want to WIN..not just cash.think most here would lose in the same sort of way..u say u didnt need to be involved,next time situ arises think about wether or not u really need 2 be 'in the mix'..but its not bad play that made you lose,its bad luck..

lynx3ffect

pretty simple, either you play to win or you play to cash. If you wanna cash then dont make close calls near the bubble!

acebarry10

Hi Sim

The problem is, the short stack at the table is going to have a very wide calling range simply because they have very little to lose, in the first instance you call with AJ, the cards go over and shows 44, you are a very slight dog on this one, but with the TT v 88 you are 80% fav, it will come if you keep using position, and you chips and get in ahead, it is the correct play imo.

hurst05

im calling with any 2 cards in both those situations, lose both and you still have 20k, but you get 2 chances of knocking the bubble out. 

The_Don90

As Hurst says im calling with any stong starting hand, thats alot weaker than A,J or 10,10.

FlashFlush

The hard part is building up the chipstack, you have done this and now the easy part comes.. Just wait for the small stack shoves and call with almost any 2 cards. If the luck is with you then you will basicly win the tournament with still 3 or 4 players left. If you lose, Oh well you still have plenty of chips, but next call has to be a little more selective.

Always play for the win dont worry about limping into the cash, a low payout is normally your buyin back or double it. A win will be around 15 buyins (for a small tournament) so if you win 1 of these you dont need to cash for the next 15-20+ touraments and still be even.