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Lately I've switched over to 100% SNG's on Stars. I have had mixed results but I know in the long run (like 1000 SNG's from now) I'll have an ROI of 20%+ which is steady money and my bankroll will be solid enough to move up. I started using AleoMagus’s spreadsheet (just Google it) and it tracks all kinds of stats--I'll post my results for May at the end of the month. If you are serious about playing SNG's, that spreadsheet is an absolute must have.
(This is my first drunken post. I thought I should say that to explain any typo's that may occur.)
SNG's are something that fits my style of play. I like being able to run over a table with a big stack and not worrying about the monster suckout for hundreds of dollars. I enjoy the aggression and balls it takes to make some of the plays I make on a regular basis. I have never felt so strong about my play as I do when I'm playing shorthanded in a SNG. That being said the most important 2 things about single table tournament poker are as follows...
#1: Play ultra-tight early and avoid races. I don't mean kinda tight, I mean virgin asshole tight. My money will not go in a pot at all without 1010-AA, AK. I am dead serious. I fold AQs out of the small blind like it is 72o. I won't limp with 99. There are so many people making mistakes will small pairs and A-junk that you can wait for a premium hand and double up. I hate seeing QQ vs. AK all in early. AK is a foldable hand up until the blinds get to 50/100 or the game is 6 handed. If you do this and avoid a bad beat you will have 2500 chips easily when you get to the bubble. That is when true SNG players come alive. Trust me.
#2: On the bubble you should switch into the highest gear you feel comfortable. The blinds are worth stealing. Attack medium stacks with junk and go after short stacks with better than average hands. Raise with K8, A3, J10--but do so in position and not every hand. Steal blinds. Fold if you get reraised. If you get called and flop a hand worth playing, play it all in--this puts them to the decision. I have noticed that everyone expects the shortest stack to be the next one out. That means everyone else is avoiding playing pots. Forget taking out the shortstack--chip up off the chip leader! The difference between 3rd and 1st is a lot bigger than the difference between 4th and 3rd--put the idea of "bubbling" out of your head. I am in it to win, not make the $$$. That being said, I still don't have many 4th place finishes (out of the $$$) because by stealing blinds you put yourself on a comfortable stack and you can avoid making some sub-optimal calls because you are playing with their money.
I will probably write a more detailed post about how I use position and a few common situations soon. I think that I have a pretty good idea of how to beat SNG's on a regular basis because people make the same mistakes every tournament I play. Cash game play is too routine for me. I get bored but it isn't my style to loosen up so I can adjust my mindset to the game. With SNG's every stage requires a different skill and every hand is completely situational. I look forward to writing some more blog's about a couple specific situations soon, but alas, I must succumb to the alcohol and go to bed.
Oh yeah, T.I.'s new CD is great.
posted by Kevin Kushion @ 12:17 AM
2 Comments:
I like the general idea of the SNG strategy, but I have a couple mods/add-ons and as someone who has made virtually their entire bankroll on SNGs, this works for me.
I love playing any pocket pair when I can see the flop for cheap. At Paradise for example, you start with 1000 chips when the blinds are 5/10. Thats 100BBs! Hit a set and hope to get paid off big... people can't fold top pair in SNGs. The same thing goes for playing a sneaky draw, like a double gutshot.
Once you hit, play super aggressive if you think there is a possibility that the other player hit. Check raising scares a lot of people, a simple bet will get you a defensive call.
When you get to the bubble, the number of situations is so large that I think you'll have a hard time describing exactly what to do. I've learned to trust my feel for the game and players that I've developed during the SNG. The best piece of general advice is that if you go all-in, try like hell to be pushing with your last chips, as the other person might fold. It is not a sin to get caught in a bluff, it is to sin to call with one.
I agree with Tom's intuition about getting in cheaply early with small pocket pairs. As a general rule of thumb (Not to be held as a constitution by any means) I would say if you have 40+ BB and your opponent(s) who come in for raises must also have 40+ BB or you are probably losing EV if otherwise. Odds of flopping a set is about 8 to 1, and if you call a bet of 4BB, you have to net approx 32BB to get your money worth.
In general, I favor the "Survival" mode in MTTs and Sit N Gos. I am not going to do anything crazy to get an early lead, but if an early lead comes to me, I'll welcome it. I just wait and blind for a long time before I pick my spots. Blinds are worth stealing later on anyways. To give you an idea...the only MTT I've won, I was in 102nd place out of 108 left at one point (500 total). I was 8th place of 10 at the final table. Being in the lead is an advantage, but is by no means an indicator in how you will finish.
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