when i got a free $10 on Absolute poker i used the $10 almost exclusivly to play only 0.5 + 0.1 Sng's

my record was as follows 17 tournies, 2 3rds 1 2nd and 1 1st
plus 1 3rd from 2 attepts at $1

i currently play at UB where i deposited june/july 2005 and made a small profit playing 0.05/0.10 holdem (1-2 bb/100) i now switched to 5.5 SnG and have around 15 SnGs without a single cash finish.

i know that my sample size is still small but how bad does my run need to be untill i dedcide i have seen a losing trend and conclude that this is not my prefered format.

the reason i ask is that i have now eroded all the profit i made playing ring and am now using up my original deposit which i don't feel that happy about.

what are usual swings for this format?

how many times the buyin is needed for this format? (i think i have plenty but dont want to loose to much figuring out if i can play)

What's your SnG strategy?

Although there's big swings, I find that having a strategy/game-plan that you stick to through thick and thin allows you to keep faith with your game.

(losing 9 in a row is not uncommon, nor is placing 1st in 3 in a row with exactly the same approach)

Originally Posted by Irexes

What's your SnG strategy?

Although there's big swings, I find that having a strategy/game-plan that you stick to through thick and thin allows you to keep faith with your game.

(losing 9 in a row is not uncommon, nor is placing 1st in 3 in a row with exactly the same approach)

Briefly my strategy is as follows:

first few levels i play very tight raise AA, KK, QQ, and AK in all positions. also other hands like AQ, AJ, JJ, TT late. also in the early levels i will limp from late with 22+ and suited connectors. if after observing a few rounds i see there are a lot of hands seeing a flop unraised i may limp from early and mid positions with 22+.

i do not bluff for the first few levels only value bet if i hit.

later in the game i hope i have established a tight image, also i hope that other players have noticed that i am playing tight.

once the BB gets to around 100, there are fewer players, and people are feeling bubble pressue, i try to build my stack by loosening my starting hand requirements and looking for some stealing opportunities.

i try too look for situations as well as holdings where i can steal. e.g a player raising far too many hands and a holding with which i can steal his raise. i may make 1 or 2 bluffs and/or continuation bets in this phase.

a while back my strategy was very tight for the whole tourny, and my starting hand strategy did not change much in the later stages. i am trying to improve by playing slightly more agressive in the latter stages. i hope to be increasing my stack during the bubble period so as to have a good chance of finishing higher.

some of my losses happen during the bubble period where i have an above average stack, i try to improve but end up crippling/eliminating myself.

Well the problem I found with UB was that the competition was very strong. Being as old as it is there are a huge number of seasoned verterans. I went on a losing streak where I would lose almost every game at UB, but would win consistantly at other poker sites and in B&M. It got to be that the only place I did really bad at was UB.

I also notice that UB is a bad beat bonanza. Bad beats happen, they're a part of the game, I understand, but what I noticed is that they happen on almost every hand at UB. As a matter of fact, the majority of players at UB criticize the "system" for rewarding bad players. There is an active reputation among subscribers to that service that building pots for larger rakes is rewarded. I'm not so sure that that is true, but I do know that playing elsewhere online has revealed to me people with very different attitudes.

Playing in B&M and on other online poker sites, I haven't seen the level of ridiculous beats that I've seen at UB, and I was at UB for 3 years so I know what I'm talking about. I'm not plugging another site here, just telling you of my experiences.

It's not really fair for me to bash UB though, for it was UB that got me started in poker and for that I'm greatful. Here is my point though;
if you're having a losing streak you can try changing where you play. Sometimes that helps, sometimes it doesn't. Continue to evaluate your game. Remember the bad calls you make, don't repeat them, change where you play, the times you play, etc. Swings happen of course, but if any of these things are causing you to lose, then logic should tell you that continuing with the same variables will mean more loss.

Doesn't seem like there's anything massively awry Bobby but the devil is in the detail.

Any specific hands that have got you thinking?

I'd say trust your game and stick it out mate.

thanks for your help guys, i will post some specific hands as and when they arise.

i play for a few hours a night (usually 2 SnG's per night at the mo) anytime between 7 and 11 pm. most of the opponents seem to be from USA and Canada, so are playing during the say. so theese may not be the weakest opponents on the net. when i played VC i was playing mainly UK and european opponents. this may be a factor??

gder03 please could you explain why you reccomend either 10+1 or 1+.10.

i have BR for 10+1 but i dont want to move up when i am not beating 5+0.5

i may move to 1+0.10 if my bad run continues.

It may be that your game suits a particular level.

I played the 10/1 on Party for 300 buyins and was making money, but very slowly.

I had the BR so I moved to the 20/2 and then quickly the 30/3 as I found I was getting better results against the better players with more easily identifiable fish.

The strategy you have detailed is the widely recommended strategy. If you ever read any advice on SNG's they will give this strategy. The advice is so widely available that anybody with any interest in poker and a small amount of discipline can follow it.

Anybody with enough ability to observe their opponnents can also observe which players are using the same strategy. As such I believe the "building up a tight image" is pointless. By the time the blinds get high all the fish who are throwing chips around are likely to either have been knocked out or continue playing like fish. Conversly, any good players are likely to know that you when you raise 2 consecutive pots once the blinds hit level 4, that you have lowered your starting hand requirements and not just hit AA and AK.

I thought I could make a profit from SNG's but the problem is that if you play 10 seated $10 + 1 buy ins and they take on average 45 minutes to completion, and we say you finish 1st 25% of the time, 2nd 25% of the time and 3rd 25% of the time (highly unrealistic), your earnings are as follows:

3 hours = 4 tournamnets
Expenditure = -$44
1 x 1st place = +$50
1 x 2nd place = +$30
1 x 3rd place = +$20

Profit of $56 for 3 hours
= Approx $19 per hour

You can earn this working in a warehouse!


You will also find that as you move up the levels the competition will sharply increase. I also find it so frustrating in a tournmanet when you play perfect poker for 35 minutes and then go all in on KK and get called by A6 offsuit and bust out. In a cash game I would think excellent, what a mug, rebuy and I'm at the right table.

It's no consolation to me being knocked out a tournamnet and thinking well at least I was 75:25 favourite. I'm out the tournamnet and cant get back in!