Blind luck or skill?

[udontknowmickey]

I really dont' know wahts going on. I've spent all day playing SNG to get my mind out of a rut (5+1 and 10+1), lost every single one playing what I thought was solid poker. My last game I had AA and KK cracked early and was down to 200T in a limit 5+1 game early. Somehow by folding every single hand except for premium ones i was able to get to 2nd (with 50 chips when it got down to HtH).

Am I approaching SNGs with the wrong idea? I usually limp low/medium pocket pairs late position with odds from callers. I limp with two cards J+ from middle late. I've been mucking KJ, QJ from early. I limp Axs from late position. Raise premimum pocket pairs AA KK QQ and AKs AKo. Should I be playing suited connectors from late position? Should i be playing a much smaller mix of hands?

Finally, my AA/KK crackings. Should I have folded?

I'm dealt the two Ks at BB,15/30 limit early, everyone on average stacks, I would assume everyone's normal party quality.

5 limpers and SB completes, I raise all call.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Jd, 2d, 3c ]

I bet out (after SB checks)
4 callers
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 3h ]
I bet out, 3 callers
** Dealing River ** : [ 7c ]
SB bets out. I heisitate and call.

Should I raise? No draws seemed to ahve hit so I assumed he was on 2pair, but wanted to be shown a hand. Should I have folded under that assumption?

I'm dealt AA a few hands later and almost jump for joy. Still no solid reads on players. I raise utg and get 4 callers.

** Dealing Flop ** : [ 8s, Tc, Qd ]

Eh, alright flop, but not the greatest. I bet out, am raised, I reraise and he caps. Should I slow down? I call and so does another 2.

** Dealing Turn ** : [ 2d ]

I check, the capper bets out, I fold, sure that I'm against at least 2 pair if not a set or a made straight. Too weak?

River comes a 6 and the action is capped between raiser and caller.

Results


Hand1: SB shows JJ for slowplayed set. Was there anythingn i could have done? If I were him I would have bet out expecting a raise and to be able to cap it, but he won the hand, extracting alot from me and people around.


hand2: Caller shows Q6 for rivered 2 pair, raiser mucks AJo. Should I not hvae folded?

[CrisBrown]

Hi mickey,

The very low buy-in SNGs tend to play absurdly loose. In general, you want to "let the rabbits run," that is, play tight early and let the crazies take each other out. Once most of the rabbits are gone (and the blinds and pots get bigger!) you can be more aggressive and clean up.

I've typed the general principles for loose tables so many times I should make a macro, but anyway:

* Tighten up on high cards. Loose play favors improved hands (two pair or better), so Ace-high or even top pair usually won't hold up. If you're going to play hands like KQos or KJos, get in cheap and get out if you miss.

* Loosen up on strong draws: Axs, KQ-K9s, connectors, and medium-small pairs. If you hit your draw or a set, loose players will usually pay you off; hitting just one or two is likely to put you into the money.

* Slowplay big pairs. You're going to get other bettors and callers, so let others do your betting for you, and don't get pot-committed until you're sure it'll hold up. Think: "At a loose table, AA is just one pair."

* DON'T bluff or semi-bluff, especially pre-flop. They're going to call anyway. You can sometimes bluff later in the hand, if you're heads-up with a stronger player who'll lay down a hand. But not against rabbits.

* DO bet for value on the flop and after, and especially any improved hand (two pair or better). The rabbits will call with trash, so make them pay you off.

Reduced to its essence, at these kinds of tables you want to get in cheap, then get aggressive at the flop and after if you've hit for what is likely the best hand.

Keep in mind that you don't need to win many pots to make it to the money in a one-table SNG. If you play your hit hands aggressively, you can make it to the money by winning only 3-5 pots. Once you get to the final three -- when most of your opponents tighten up -- you can start to play more aggressively, stealing blinds, etc.

Hope this helps,

Cris

[Eric P]

I didn't read most of your post once it got to the specific point but i think you are approaching it wrong, in fact i know, when you say you have been limping with 20 in late position. this is a horrible play, you need to raise (especially later) whenever you enter a pot, not 100% but very very high. Limping is just a bad play, especially with hands like KJ that need ot hit a pair, and then still aren't always or even that often good. You are much better raising UTG+1 with a QJ than you are calling with a KJ in the cutoff. I'm not telling you to raise with that QJ utg, but it's just a general strategy thing. You want to win every pot you play, so be aggressive until you beilve you can't win the hand anymore.

[crockpot]

the general question about how to play preflop depends on how many players are still in. bob ciaffone wrote a good line about satellite strategy that applies very well to party SNGs: you must go from the rock of gibraltar when there are 10 players left, to a kamikaze pilot when it gets down to 5 or fewer.

this is especially pronounced in a no-limit tournament, but it applies to limit events as well. though the risk for losing a pot is low, the reward for winning it is low as well. it is more important to survive to the point where it gets down to 5 players, so that you can outplay the opposition there, than to win pots and accumulate a big stack by that stage. thus, tighten up your preflop selection significantly in the full game, but raise with a lot of hands when some players have been eliminated.

as for your hands: you couldn't have played hand 1 better. hand 2, did you have a read on the AJ as a maniac before the hand? either way, i think i would slow down on the flop and root for a safe turn card, then get aggressive to really punish the gutshot draws.