When you’re sitting on the bubble of a MTT and you are so close to cashing, it’s a little hard not to think about the money in this situation. After all, you don’t want to let all of your time spent on the tournament turn out to be for nothing.
But the problem with constantly worrying about the money is that it can cause you to play overly-tight, and not take advantage of +EV spots in poker tournaments. So many poker players wonder if there’s a way to avoid worrying about the money, and focus solely on their play instead.
One thing that will definitely help out here is experience because the more poker tournaments you play, the more you’ll be used to cashing. And when you’ve cashed in a lot of tourneys, making it into the money no longer becomes this big thing where you treat it like some sort of milestone. In short, experience helps you better focus on long-term solid plays, rather than playing every tournament like it’s your last.
Another thing you can do is try to solely focus on the math involved and opponents’ tendencies while you’re playing. By focusing on the math like pot odds and implied odds, you take your mind off of wanting to fold near the bubble all of the time just to make some money. And if you’re constantly monitoring player tendencies, you’re more likely to make a good move when it comes your way.
Finally, it helps to multi-task while you’re playing poker tournaments – provided it doesn’t keep you from focusing on opponents. You can play an SNG or surf the internet a little while playing because this takes a bit of the stress out of playing in late tournament stages. Assuming you can play without worrying about money in tourneys, you’ll be a lot closer to being a winning player!
