Need help with the party $20 SNGs

[Stefan Prodan]

I've played about 50 of these so far, and my ITM % is 40, with my ROI being...something very small and negative (overall, I'm down $60 or thereabouts).

What tends to happen is one of two things:

I will come in to the late part of the game as a chip leader and then either get too tight or try to bully people and get called down by a hand that beats mine.

Or, I will come in to the bubble very shortstacked and never be able to climb back up because I don't have the stack needed to bully people around.

Anyway, I try to follow AleoMagus's guide, but I find that all that really happens is that I get really shortstacked by the time I'm in the bubble and then he has me playing so tight that I can never get a hand that I can bet with. It seems like a really timid way to play, in general. Or am I just running card dead?

Also, I'd like some general advice for turning an early chip lead into a late win. What are some good ways to exploit my stack size in order to bring home the 1st place finish? (I've only had 2 first place finishes out of these 50 SNGs)

[reecelights]

As you noticed, if you're ITM 40% you should be making money. At 33% you should be breaking even. The only week I broke 33% (36% ITM) in the last 8 months and had a negative ROI, 50% of my money finishes were 3rd.

I agree with you about AleoMagus. Great reference point but think about this: He recommends only playing about 20 different hands (11%) in rounds 1-3. I have found that this may be too tight as well. What becomes very difficult is what to do if you don't catch any of those hands by hand 30 and are the short stack at 655 with 50/100 blinds.

As far as early chip leads: don't try to "exploit" them. Try to protect them. If you double up on the first hand (the way I did last night) you're already in great shape with 6 left. If you stay tight and aggressive, you will still have most of those chips, if not more by the bubble. And when you get ITM, people will be more inclined to believe you when you raise. The more hands someone plays against you, the easier it is to formulate a heads-up strategy.

If people sense you are bullying and stealing, they will tighten up more, trap more, and you'll be more likely to be giving those chips back. Another tourney I was in last night, one player had about 4500 with 5 players left. meaning the rest of us averaged 875 each. He was playing hands like A2o UTG, and would automatically bet the flop. Eventually when he limped everyone started pushing, and he won maybe 1 of 10 of theose hands. He finished 4th.

I would look more at your bubble and heads-up play than at how to play with an early chip lead.

[schlach]

One of the problems I've just noticed with my own game on the Party $20's is how often I get down to 2 or 3 blinds with three to six people left, when I'm forced to go all-in with any high card trash and hope it holds up. The problem of course is that with only a couple blinds, it's impossible to steal, and at least the BB or the large stack will invariably call. Occasionally I've won three races in a row, but much more often I get knocked out on the first try. This is a problem.

So after mulling it over with the roommates, we decided that I need to be stealing more on a pure bluff when I've still got about 10 blinds left, when people are much less likely to want to call with J8o and put such a large chunk of their stack at risk. This means more pure-bluff raises for blind-stealing, and not waiting for a hand. If you can steal enough to keep yourself at no less than 8 or 10 blinds or so, you might be able to keep your head above water long enough to let some of the other stacks crap out while you wait for your monster.

Of course if you get called or reraised you have to conclude that your 92o is probably not good enough to see a showdown and let it go. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

If you've got the early chip-lead, don't put it at risk. Don't call raises with anything but monsters, don't steal unless you wouldn't mind a call, and never give anything away. At this point in the game everyone is fighting amongst themselves to try to get a piece of your stack to stay alive as the blinds chew them up; don't give em the opportunity, and their success will only come at the expense of knocking other people out, which benefits you.

See you at the tables =)

[Lori]

It seems like a really timid way to play, in general

In general, in low limit SNG poker, timid is good.

However, when you are not being timid, you need to make up for lost time and be very bold.
When you get a feel for the danger level of your stack (And you can go lower than your natural instinct tells you), you should make some bold moves to get outside the danger zone.

There is a fine line between bold and reckless, and some examples would help.

Lori

[el_grande]

I think you have to look at that guide as a guide and not the rule.

If you play strictly by those rules then it will basically come down to whether you get lucky on the bubble because you will be the short stack at that point.

I follow that guide about 80% of the time, but you have to loosen it up a bit or use your own ideas that you think are right for the particular table in order to maximize your profit.

[poboy]

[ QUOTE ]
What are some good ways to exploit my stack size in order to bring home the 1st place finish? (I've only had 2 first place finishes out of these 50 SNGs)

[/ QUOTE ]

You've either had very bad luck or aren't being aggresive enough short-handed. I think one of the most important ideas in Aleo's guide is to gamble for 1st and settle for 3rd. Once you get to level 3 or 4 blinds it's time to come out of your shell and start fighting for pots. This will give you enough chips to play with once it gets down to 3 people, at that time you really have to be aggresive. I believe any Ax or Kx hand is worth playing here, you can't afford to wait for good hands anymore. Also the fact that you've been playing tight all game will win you some pots just because people think you must have the goods to be betting. You will have alot more 3rd place finishes this way but you'll also take 1st more often.

[PITTM]

i would say that sngs have been one of my most profitable ventures and also probably contain some of the most devistating moments. the fact that youre playing against some RIDICULOUSLY bad players in an all or nothing scenario can cause some of the most frustrating situations. today for example...

coral hand histories arent working so im doing it manually.

i get A /images/graemlins/diamond.gifK /images/graemlins/club.gif in MP, raise, get reraised call, flop is J /images/graemlins/spade.gif4 /images/graemlins/spade.gifK /images/graemlins/spade.gif, all spades, i bet the pot, he calls, river is 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif. i go all in, (the pot is the same size as my stack, he calls and turns over AQ, for NOTHING. until the river is a 10 and im knocked out of the tournament.

so many holes have been punched and things have been broken as a result of RIDICULOUS sng outcomes. i dont berate the people but i do hate that they make me feel sick about playing poker for a few hours after those beats. barf.

rj