okay here is the deal and i am starting to get pissed off enough to stop playing cause its retarded.

I get to 5th or 4th of almost all the S&G tourny's i play and when it gets down to like 4 or 5 guys left its no longer poker its more like lotto. People go all in every hand and when you get a good hand and try and call/raise the BB they just go all in. it doesn't matter that you have K/Q suited or 10's paired. they just go all in.

it seems when i do get something to play 4 players left 9's paired for example i raise the BB anticipating him going all in and sure enough he does and then wham hit with his K/4 offsuit and it rolls out another K or some shit.

any strategy you can help me with? i can get where its crunch time but damn its like i gotta have A/A all the time or just wait till players back out and the ante's eat them alive. Meanwhile the guys sitting next to me dont realize what is gonna happen when they raise 400-600 and the guy reraises all in and they hand the short stack another little stack of chips to play with.

ride it out or switch to ring games.

I stopped playing on party poker because of what you are talking about.

although I was winning, it wasnt any fun.

Ok, here's a couple of things I'll suggest:

If you play the "just survive" strategy too long, you'll always get the scenario you're talking about. I've found that I have to start making a move right around the time the blinds get to 25/50 - this is where my observations of the other players are very important, because I'm basically playing any two cards in a super-aggressive mode when the table settles into a tighter mode (you always make the most $ playing opposite the table and/or your normal style). I'm using my position and knowledge of my opponents to basically steal every pot I think I have a shot at, sometimes 3-4 in a row. I do this until some of the players wise up, but by that time I've either busted out or built a nice chip lead. (This takes a lot of practice and observation, but there's only one way to learn - get your ass handed to you a couple hundred times).

In particular, look for players I label as "fold'em/all-inners" - often 2-3 at a 10 player SNG. They just fold every hand that isn't JJ-AA, then jump all in on those hands or if they're short stacked. They're just trying to survive to the $, and I'm sure they're playing like 10 tables at a time and just trying to grind out enough 3rds & 2nds to make a living doing it (I tried it but I get too damn bored). Could also just be bots. You can push them all over the place, in particular if one or more of them is sitting in a blind position when you are either on the button or CO seat. Raise 2x the bb (to minimize risk), if they raise you back just muck whatever you have (they've got a biggie). Most of the time they'll fold to you.

Wow, that's a lot already so I'll leave it there. And if you find yourself in that situation of "all in" all the time, just look for hands that are favorites to win against randomly dealt hands (Q7o is the 50% mark, so anything better than that is a favorite against random cards). And when they draw out on you - it's life, and it means that you're a better player than them. (If you're getting drawn out on all the time, you're good, if you're drawing out a lot, you're not). Remember it's about the long run, and we all get runs of frozen cards, so just keep your chin up, experiment with your game, and remember that you're playing to have fun - so have some.

Jason

thanks for the responses. I'm not in a survive mode. Usually i am 2'nd 3rd in chips not usually first cause i am not that aggressive unless i have the best cards. So its more of a matter of i will not go all in all the time like they do unless i get a great hand. I usually raise them 2 x the blind then they snap some piece of garbage on me. anyways i just had 10/10 and got beat by ace/4. thats literally like the 6th time tonight i got booted in 4th place.

whatever

Originally Posted by cbender3

thanks for the responses. I'm not in a survive mode. Usually i am 2'nd 3rd in chips not usually first cause i am not that aggressive unless i have the best cards. So its more of a matter of i will not go all in all the time like they do unless i get a great hand. I usually raise them 2 x the blind then they snap some piece of garbage on me. anyways i just had 10/10 and got beat by ace/4. thats literally like the 6th time tonight i got booted in 4th place.

whatever

If you don't mind me saying so, you sound like you're on extended tilt. It's a really sneaky kind of tilt, where you think you're the best player but keep expecting horrible things to keep happening to you (kind of a modified Caro's threshold of misery kind of thing). I my experience it will last as long as you let it. There's only one cure, and that's to take at least a week off of poker - that's right, don't even think about anything poker related for a week. When you come back, you'll feel much better and I'd bet money your play will magically improve significantly.

Basically, this isn't a skill issue, it's a state of mind issue. And the longer you play, the more you realize how important state of mind is to your play.

Just a suggestion from someone that's suffered the same thing on many occasions (and every time denied it until it was just too obvious).

Jason

yeah i wouldnt play on party poker things like that seem to happen a lot there, or just play cash games, sometimes just wait it out, let the other players go all in and knock each other out, then when it gets heads up or even three handed, you can play a little looser because at least you know youre in the money

Originally Posted by cbender3

thanks for the responses. I'm not in a survive mode. Usually i am 2'nd 3rd in chips not usually first cause i am not that aggressive unless i have the best cards. So its more of a matter of i will not go all in all the time like they do unless i get a great hand. I usually raise them 2 x the blind then they snap some piece of garbage on me. anyways i just had 10/10 and got beat by ace/4. thats literally like the 6th time tonight i got booted in 4th place.

whatever

no offense man but you sound like you have a horrible sng system. this doesn't sound like tilt... it sounds like you're weak tight with high blinds. My advice would be to learn how to play low M shorthanded poker. It's all about aggression. You can't sit around and wait for good hands. Min raises are wussy beyond belief.

There are a few SNG systems that others have posted before, try searching and trying out a new approach.

Take a break and come back. Take a fresh look at what you are doing and even just be content with have a read for a while.
Just remember that you can lose an all-in with AA 10 times in a row... but in the long run you will work out ahead. YOU WILL HAVE BAD RUNS.

try turning the tables - you be the one going all in over peoples heads - make them make the tough call