Some MTT epiphanies I've had lately...still in play after last night

A couple of weeks ago at the spaghetti dinner Dino threw for us degenerates, errrrrr, poker players who donated toys to the Toys for Tots program, I shared some thoughts with Stevo, and a couple of weeks later with Cheryl (tournament director for Dino's game), and both of them thought there was a lot of wisdom there to use in both our bar game and regular tournaments. We're assuming non-turbo conditions here, as well.

Basically, I made the point that in our bar game it is pretty easy to make the final table of 10 (out of a field of 25-30), and now that I've been 8 of last 9 weeks, I can share the way to do it:

1) Obviously, dodging the landmines that happen early in tourneys are important. Occasionally, some idiot will not only call a 4x BB raise with 7-2, but then will also shove all his chips in with the same hand into a J-4-2 rainbow flop where you've got 9-9, and then will hit a 2 on the turn to double up. Thankfully, however, #2 was in play before this occured.

2) First couple of levels, be active - but no need to be maniacal, either. If the blood is in the water to take someone out early, by all means go for the kill! First few hands of any tournament I like to see cheap flops, and if I can hit a small straight or something, I can get a lot of chips in a hurry - especially if an ace hits somewhere on the board. Most players in bar games aren't getting away from a pair of aces early on in a tournament. And then when this happens, players may shove with 2-2 into an 8-5-5 board (and announcing that they're trying to buy the pot) while you're holding 10-10, just adding to your stack (at 5500 10 hands into a tourney where we start with 2300 chips).

3) Know your players, and play accordingly.

4) Position, position, position...did I mention position? If you don't understand this, stop right here and read about it on the Internet or in any poker book.

5) Have a great deal of patience...but don't overdo it, either. You can't wait until AA, KK, QQ, and AK, or get down to 2 BBs if you want to make deep runs here.

6) Keep your emotions on an even-keel. People whine about losing hands like happened in #1, but that's poker - drop your F-bomb or your G-D once, and move on.

7) Have an idea how many chips players at your table have at all times - this will affect certain decisions you make during the middle and late stages of a tournament.

8) Get the most value out of your big hands. Raising to 2000 with K-K when blinds are 100/200 is not getting any value, whatsoever. Flopping quad 9s and getting some guy to give you all his chips after the river, however, IS getting great value!

9) Most importantly, bar and charity poker games feature alcohol - people tend to have loose lips and multiple tells in these settings. Take your time, listen to what they say and how they say it, and use that information to make the right play.

That's about it - took 3rd this week for my bottle of wine when uber-loose player called my all-in of K-Q for 12K chips (1K-2K blinds) with Q-5, and she hit straight on the turn...I win that hand, I like my chances of making it 3 firsts in 4 weeks, but with the final coming up in 2 or 3 weeks, I'm just trying to not only clinch my spot as top point-getter for this season, but put up a ridiculous point total, as well.