On Blind Stealing

[bluewilde]

I was wondering about which factors govern when you go into push/fold mode and aggressive blind stealing. I used to go by number of players, starting around 5. Going through HOH v. 2, however, Dan seems to emphasize increasing blind size as being the dangerous element that forces your aggressive play (hence the "zones" based on how your stack compares to the initial pot). Can I apply this fully to SNGs?

For example, if I find myself in the "red zone" (<5 blinds) do I start pushing marginal hands even if we're 7-handed (with as good a stealing situation as I can muster when I have 6 other players /images/graemlins/frown.gif )? On the other hand, if I'm in the "yellow" (10-20 blinds, but let's say I'm at the upper end of this spectrum) when we're 4-handed can I chill (be as conservative as I typically like to be)?

The way I've been applying what I've been hearing on the forums is:

a) push/fold at 10 BB (Harrington's system seems to allow for more shades of gray, but is it appropriate for SNGs?)
b) steal blinds whenever you can at 5/6 players (I've never been told if I can tighten up with a big stack; I've been assuming no, but wanted to check this)

Thanks all,

Blue

[TStokes]

I tend to judge when I need to steal on how big my stack is and what the blinds are more than how many people are left. If there are 4 people left and the blind is 50 I am obviously not going to be trying to steal blinds. On the other hand if the blind is 200 and there are 7 people left and I only have 1000 I am going to look for more opportunities to steal.

I follow the same rule with 10bb If I am under that I am usually in push/fold mode. I will tend to tighten up if I have a big stack and the blinds are low, but if I have a big stack and the blinds are large I am going to try and use it to my advantage to build a massive stack.

[Compy386]

Also the number of total chips in the tournament comes into play. In a place like partypoker, you are in shootout mode by the time you are 5 or 6 handed, and 10 big bets isnt necessarily terrible shape. Where are you usually playing your sit n gos?

[bluewilde]

Party, but I think I'll soon be switching to Stars for the smaller rake. I'm stuck at $5+1 because of bankroll limitations. I think I'm definately a losing player at SNGs (my records aren't sorted by MTT and SNG, so I'm not sure how much the SNGs are costing me), but I've won enough MTTs to keep me out of the red. Still, I'm really trying to understand the basic theory and develop that yet elusive "feel" for SNGs; they're my focus.

So yeah, Party $5+1s for now, Stars $5+0.5 as soon as I get my act togehter. Thanks for the input,

Blue