When playing SnG games:
What is your main aim in the short term?
What is your main aim in the long term?
How do you tend to play, and at which stages of the game?

Well look for Steve post about this... I was a pretty succesfull SNG player, and I dramaticly changed the way I play in the first 4 or 5 stage and I just even more succesfull...

Helmuth says somewhere... ''Tigh is right'' but supertight is better!!!!''

Thats the way to go... I was pretty loose preflop before trying to hit big hands and then take down big pots, but I realized that yes, sometimes I was able to rack up 3 or even 4K for the top 5 game, but some other times the fact I was at 8 or 700 at the 100 stage was costing me ITM positions.

The 50-100 stage is the ey IMO... thats where you have to pick up spots and raise big to take downd the blinds and calls...

Any way... find those posts... easy to apply stuff!!!!

KJ

Originally Posted by KINGJACK

Helmuth says somewhere... ''Tigh is right'' but supertight is better!!!!''
KJ

He isn't a pro for nothing lol. The last few SnG games I've played have seen me make the money after playing at as little as three hands, but no more than seven. By that I mean seeing the flop, on a few of them I just had to fold. The other players seemed to be in a big hurry to get lots of chips or lose lots of chips like women late for a shoe sale.

On another note... Has anyone had success in these games by betting as though it were a limit game instead of pushing large chunks of your stack in?

Originally Posted by Tristan

When playing SnG games:
What is your main aim in the short term?
What is your main aim in the long term?
How do you tend to play, and at which stages of the game?

In the short term, my main aim is to get better at tourney play and win some money!

In the long term, I'd like to build a big bankroll and move up to bigger buy-ins. I used to just try any tournament I fancied, regardless of buy in or type or players or anything....just whatever I felt like or had time for at that moment. I've blown er...'one or two' (at least that's what I tell the missus!) $50 bankrolls playing like this. So now I am trying to be really disciplined, sticking to just $10 SNGs, to see if I can build a bankroll and get enough tourneys to have some meaningful stats that will show whether I'm any good or not.

I play the same SNG style as most people on here, there are some threads about it, basically play tighter than a duck's arse at first. Sit there and let the idiots knock each other out, while you take notes and get some great reads. In particular look for people who are easy to bully off hands and blinds. Limp with pairs and suited aces, anything that could make you a big score if it connects with the flop strongly, other than that DON'T PLAY.

Then when you get down to 5 or so players left, you open up and play your game. Start raising from position, by this time the blinds are usually worth stealing, so blind steal like a scouser in Ikea! Raise with pairs, suited connectors, anything you think will stand a chance if you're called. If you got lucky in the early stages and have made a bit of stack, use it to push people around. If you didn't make a stack in the early stages, some well timed all ins should do the trick. You should get serious respect, cos the idiots should be gone, and those left have paid attention and know you've folded for 45mins! Get really aggressive at this stage, more often than not they will fold, or if you sense you've run into something a bit tasty, get out yourself.

It's amazing how many players just seem unable to cope with such a sudden change in gears. Steamroller em with aggression! When you get down to four use their fear of not making the money against them! Bully like you're at school!

I find all this generally works and I either win, or run into really good cards and go down in an aggressive blaze of glory!

Originally Posted by Tristan

On another note... Has anyone had success in these games by betting as though it were a limit game instead of pushing large chunks of your stack in?

I use to...

I was limping every suited connect, Axs, 2 broadways etc... seeing the flop for cheap $$$... And then I was pretty passive looking for mistakes.

I had some good succes with this strategy, but the super tight approach is way easyer to play and insure more consistency IMO.

KJ

I have been playing exclusively at SNG's. My goal has been to build my roll up through higher and higher stake buy-ins. Hopefully build a roll, and my skills to be able to take shots at bigger stakes MTT's.

I had a great run of it for the most part, but am bogged down on a bad run where I have been fluctuating between $300 and $350 roll for the last 3 weeks. MY ITM has gone from 60% down to 44%, but I am treading water through this down turn.

I just left what had to be my most dissapointing SNG ever. I was the big stack at 5K with 4 left, and ended up in 4th after some really bad beats. What made it worse is that each player in the game was dead and out until hitting a miracle river to stay alive. We got to 400/800 with 4 people still left. One guy survived at least 5 all-ins against everyone else to go from $400 to the chip leader as I left the table. I have never not finished ITM after hitting 5K in chips. The only bright spot for me is that I took the loss like a man, and simply shook my head. Needless to say the hand that took me out was a horrible river.

To deal with this downswing I have been going back to basics and playing super tight early. It's definately the way to go. I feel like I am back on upswing.....1,2,7,4 last 4 SNG's, but this one just stings like hell.

P.S.: The 7 was just horrible play by me. The 1 & 2 were flawless poker.

In these types of SnGs Im not sure if playing super super tight until you hit a premium hand is the the best strategy. Although I still find playing hands in the first 1-2 blind stages without preimum hole cards (at the very least a mid PP) is not very smart. Ill be patient for the first 25 mins but if I havnt seen any great cards or been unlucky with the flops then I start to try to make a few moves with less then perfect starting hands. ie) low suited connectors, A10o AJo, AQo, or any Qxs,Kxs. If I hit a peice of the flop, ill try to bluff everyone out right there and steal the pot. This usally either gets me into big trouble or wins me a decent pot that gives me at least another 10-20 mins to wait for a premium hand. I the fact the blinds go up twice as fast puts alot of pressure on the super tight players.

I'm not saying you have to wait for a premium hand to play. I'm saying you have to wait for the blinds being high enough to worth the risk of plying a hand.

Basicaly, what I mean is, loosing 300 is a lot more painfull than winning 300 is meaning full in the 1st 4 or 5 stages.

Playing super tight super agressive early and limping PP in unraised pot is the only move you need to do to go ITM.

Then your stealing strategy will become a lot more efficent anyway.

Just my 2 cents...

Search for Steve-O's post on SNGs anyway, I'm sure you will understand what I mean.

I change my strategy in SNGs after this read and I'm just better than I was.

...I discovered it after 4 straight wins when I asked for avices for a 5th in a row and the JackPot... So I guess I could already at that time be considered as a succesfull SNG plyer! (Only Buyins under 30$)

KJ