My first 100 $10+1 SNG's

[Virox]

So now I’ve played my first 100 NL SNG’s $10+1 and here are my thoughts of it.

I’ve been a limit player before and played over 10.000 hands at Paradise (5,5bb/100 hands) and some on other sites. But I found SNG’s to be much more exciting and fun.

I really started out on a hot streak and was killing the games at Paradise.

Paradise 47 SNG’s
ROI 68%
ITM 53%

The problem with Paradise is that you can only play at one SNG table at a time so I started playing on Party instead.

Party 53 SNG’s
ROI 6%
ITM 37%

Here I had an horrible run, it took me 30 games before I finished in first place… I guess some of it was bad luch but the Party structure is also very different; you start with less chips and with higher blinds. Both bad for the experienced player. Does anybody else have this experience that their ROI is higher at Paradise than Party? And if so, how much should I expect the difference to be?

My stats for all the games look like this:

Total
ROI 35,5%
ITM 45%

I guess 35% ROI are probably okey but I would feel much more confident moving up if my Party ROI wasn’t at 6%!!! From now on I will probably play one $20+2 and two $10+1 until I become confident at the $20+2 level.

I basically play after “ABC SnG poker: AleoMagus´ how to beat 10+1”. But it can off course not cover all situations so here are some thougts. I had seven 4th place finishes in 53 SNG’s at Party so maybe I’m doing some things wrong…

1. Calling min-raises on the bubble?
If I’m the Big Blind I really don’t like to fold when the Button min-raises except when I have an absolutely crap hand. But what about on the bubble? Button has been min-raising about 50% of hands…

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (4 handed)

UTG (t1995)
Button (t3508)
Hero (t1405)
BB (t1092)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, T/images/graemlins/club.gif. Hero posts a blind of t100.
BB folds, UTG folds, <font color="CC3333">Button raises to t200</font>, Hero (poster) calls t100.


2. When to fight with the big stack on the bubble?

SB had won two of the three last pots (not showing any hands)

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t300 (4 handed)

Button (t1955)
SB (t3550)
Hero (t1455)
UTG (t1040)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J/images/graemlins/club.gif, J/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
UTG folds, Button folds, <font color="CC3333">SB raises to t700</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises to t1455 (All-In)</font>, SB calls t755.

Was this too aggressive? Should I wait for UTG to bust out?


3. You and another low stacked on the bubble?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (4 handed)

SB (t3020)
Hero (t530)
UTG (t400)
Button (t4050)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4/images/graemlins/club.gif, 8/images/graemlins/club.gif.
UTG folds, Button folds, <font color="CC3333">SB raises to t400</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises to t530 (All-In)</font>, SB calls t130.

I know for sure that UTG will just fold his hands and wait for me to bust out. Was this play correct?



I guess I find the bubble the hardest to play (and heads up) so any tips and comments are greatly appreciated!

/Virox

[rjb03]

I believe it is generally agreed you can get a better ROI at rooms like stars, Paradise, and those like it. A lot of people feel that you can make more $/hr at party, however, because of the faster games and the caliber of players there. As for multi-tabling, play many single table tournaments first and get a feel for the players, structure, and speed of the game before you just jump right in at a new site.

[RacersEdge]

In #3, the lowest stack is about to pay the blinds - and probably go all-in with average hand that one of the big stacks could easily bust him out. Why mess with that with a 48s?

[SpeakEasy]

[ QUOTE ]
I guess I find the bubble the hardest to play (and heads up) so any tips and comments are greatly appreciated!

[/ QUOTE ]

BE AGGRESSIVE!!

I've tried nearly every strategy, and the one that consistently works the best for me is amping up the aggression when you hit the bubble.

Raise, raise, raise with decent starting hands. The big stack(s) will usually play tight to ride through the bubble, and then turn more aggressive. The short stack(s) will usually play tight in the hopes that the other three fight amongst themselves and knock someone out. My most common outcome with this strategy (doesn't always work -- most common outcome) is that I will move from 3-4th place up to 1st-2nd place on the bubble, and it can happen fast while the other players fold through the bubble.

As with all poker rules and recommendations, there are always exceptions, and you will sometimes hit a table with one (or more) others who use this same bubble strategy of aggression. Overall, however, this has not been the case, and aggression on the bubble has worked the best for me.

You will know you are doing it right if it appears as though someone flipped your "on" switch when you hit the bubble. You've been a rock through the early rounds playing solid ABC poker, and then you've suddenly shifted into 4th gear and become loose-aggressive when you hit the bubble.

Same thing applies to heads-up play. Unless your opponent is very skilled, by staying aggressive you can usually tell when your opponent has a real hand and you need to back off. The majority of my opponents heads-up have been fairly predictable in their play -- bet/call when the flop hits, fold when the flop misses. Again, there are sometimes exceptions and you'll end up playing an opponent using the same highly aggressive strategy, but not the majority of the time. Practice occassionally by sitting at a two-player tournament table.

The strategy of aggression is probably a reflection of the common adage: "Betting can win the pot two ways: you have the best hand or the other player folds. Calling only gives you one way to win the pot." It doesn't always work, but in the long run this will allow you to win more tables than you lose.

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]

1. Calling min-raises on the bubble?


[/ QUOTE ]

My standard defense against an overzealous minraiser is not usually calling, but moving all-in, if I have the stack to do it with.

On the bubble he is more likely to fold, unless he's baiting you with a monster. But you can't be afraid of monsters when the guy is raising with half his hands.

eastbay

[Virox]

[ QUOTE ]
In #3, the lowest stack is about to pay the blinds - and probably go all-in with average hand that one of the big stacks could easily bust him out. Why mess with that with a 48s?

[/ QUOTE ]

He had been folding several hands in a row so I was pretty sure he would fold again and wait for the blinds to come to me again. So I thought I was better off taking the chance now than later with even shorter stack.

[Texas Pete]

#1 all-in or fold
#2 that's a good all-in
#3 easy fold

The key principle in bubble play is to be the aggressor. Basic example: all-in with AJos UTG; fold AJos if UTG is all-in. Stack size should affect your decisions too. E.g. today UTG went all-in, I had AKos on the button and about the same size stack. I folded. Sue me.

[lastchance]

#1, I have no idea how to play minraising well, but I generally fold, simply because a minraise is a lot more of my stack on the bubble.

#2 = easiest all-in in the world. You have Jacks. You only have 1x BB more than the short stack. All the shortstack has to do is steal one round of blinds to put you in a bad spot. Gotta go all-in here, no calling half your stack off or anything.

#3 is probably a fold. You can still fold your way into the money, and 48s is too weak to go call with.