Before you read this, please read Part 1 of this series by clicking here. 

The first time I played a MTT something clicked in my head, and I was hooked for good. I loved everything about them: the vast field of players, the competition, the fact that you could invest as little as $1 for hours of play. Don’t get me wrong - I was terrible, but I didn’t care, I loved every minute of it.

Over the next year I learned a lot about tournaments, and ring games became somewhat tedious and very secondary to me. I started to get much better at MTT’s; cashed in some, won a few, but eventually I realized that I had some serious flaws in my game that needed fixing before I could expect any real improvements. 

First of all, I was unable to maintain any sort of consistency in where I placed. Sometimes I would do great - making the final table, other times I’d bust out almost immediately. And I bubbled out – a whole lot. 

Second, I put too much stock into my cards, whether they were good or bad. I was unable to let go of a good hand, and became increasingly upset when I would lose time and time again even though I made the ‘textbook’ play. Conversely, I often let go of prime positional opportunities because I didn’t want to get stuck (or get caught) playing junk. 

Third, it was extremely hard to maintain focus on the game. Though I enjoyed it, I was constantly looking for distraction. (Apparently I am among the minority who now finds it easier to maintain concentration in a tournament over a cash game, but that didn’t come naturally to me at first.)

It was time to set some objectives and goals. I needed to know what it was that I wanted out of the game in the long run. When I was truly honest with myself, I discovered that it wasn’t about making a quick buck. It wasn’t anything trivial like wanting fame and fortune. I knew that deep down I truly wanted to be the best possible tournament player that I could be, and it had become time to let go of everything up to that point and start over fresh. 

Next: How I reinvented my game