Is this a sound strategy? (I'm a moron. Help.)

[deepdowntruth]

I promise you I'm not a shill or anything, but I read an article on another site about a general approach to SNG play, and am wondering if this is a good general schema to attack SNGs. (Particularly, the advice to see a lot of cheap flops early and try to double up.)

Article is here: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/nl-tourneys.php

The other approach I hear, for the early phase, is to use your typical TAG cash game strategy the first few rounds and only to loosen up your raising requirements as the blinds rise in the middle phase, (but to keep pretty tight with regard to calling raises.)

The issue that bothers me about waiting around for cards in the first few rounds is that the early chip leaders are thereby determined by who gets the cards (which is the same for everyone, long-term) or by being one of those who *aren't* waiting around for cards. And then of course, a lot of the last phase of blind-stealing etc. is determined by coinflips. So if I just wait around till I get good cards and don't, I'm short-stacked and I will only win as many of these as my starting cards allow (and therefore the same as everyone else, ultimately, except for those who beat the game very often without cards).

So to me it seems that an early TAG strategy isn't optimal, but it's assuredly better than being the moron that I often find myself being.

I'm really trying to get as good at these as I possibly can and am stuck in $11/$22 land and don't want to be.

Comments?

[Chaostracize]

I think a good strategy is to be a little of both.

You've got a flaw in logic here. You're assuming that if you go TAG (emphasis on the T), everyone else will too, and you'll lose rake. This doesn't happen. You go TAG, and everyone else will play LAG, possibly loose passive, and you'll make a killing when you have AA and not lose the money that they all lose with A5. Unfortunately, in some games you just won't hit a premium hand in the early rounds, but your play was still sound as playing weaker hands is a recipe for disaster early and many of your opponents will bust out while you just slowly blind off in the early rounds.

It may still be +EV to play loosely early (I don't think it is though), but I'm just showing you the positives of early TAG style.

[Steve]

I think the key early on in the tourney is to remember that you can really blow a lot of chips playing junk like small suited connectors etc. Sometimes you don't notice it becuase it's only 15 here, 30 there, but it adds up.

Especially when playing them from EP/MP then a raise comes in behind you and you have to ditch it before you even get to see the flop.

[Shilly]

If you are just starting to play poker, I would recommend the tighter, more robotic approach. It is VERY possible to beat low-level SNGs with poor postflop play, as long as you're playing well on the bubble and when when the blinds are high--and a lot of players are able to do this.

The truth is, you'll never be the best if you play like this. You can make good money, but you'll never crush these games.

I just checked out that link you posted, and it seems to be the exact opposite of what people advocate here in the early rounds. I'd trust the people here. IMHO, in addition to just playing good poker and minding the payout structure, in these lowstakes SnGs you're capitalizing on three major mistakes that donks make: 1) they throw away their chips early, 2) they get into goofy pots, seeing the flop with most of their stack in the pot on the bubble, and 3) they call too frequently on the bubble. The simplest way to capitalize on this is to not make any of these mistakes. Further taking advantage of the situation by responding to their plays (ie playing suited connectors in the hopes of getting paid off when you hit big) often has pros and cons that are very hard to weigh.

Also, remember that in almost every tourny you're going to get an all in called or have to call for all your chips before the bubble. The more chips you keep early, the more money you'll earn when you double up and the more FE you'll have so you don't have to.