Bubble Question From a Beginner

[BarryDingle]

This is my first post, but I have enjoyed reading discussions on various 2+2 forums for the last 3-4 weeks. I just started playing online about 2 months ago and have had some success in the .25/.50 and .50/1 ring games on UB.

I decided to try my hand at some $5 SNG's as a change of pace this past week. I was in this situation last night on the bubble and was hoping to get some feedback on how more experienced players would handle a situation like this. Sorry, I don't have the exact hand history.

4 players left, big stack around t3500, small stack around t1400. I'm in 2nd with t2600. Blinds are 250/500.

Hero is SB with K/images/graemlins/club.gif T/images/graemlins/club.gif

UTG(t1400) folds, Button(t3500) calls, Hero completes, BB checks. Pot t1500

Flop comes K86 rainbow.

Hero bets 1000, BB folds, Button raises 1100 to put me all in.

Player on the button seemed to be loose-aggressive to me through most of the game, but I haven't played long enough to trust my reads well. I had seen him go all in once before early in the game with only overcards and again with top pair low-kicker.

I call the bet obviously, or I wouldn't be posting.... He turns over K8, and I'm out in 4th.

Did I play this completely wrong? I don't have much experience on short-handed tables and don't have a good grasp of how to play in these situations yet. Should I have raised pre-flop? Checked the flop? I already had 1500 in after the bet, should/could I have folded?

How would you more experienced players play in this position?

I'd also appreciate any general advice or strategies you can suggest for playing SNG's, such as early, middle, late stage strategies. Also, rules of thumb for when to bet and how much to bet/raise to not give away too much information. I understand that it all depends on the type of game and level of competition, but just some general suggestions to use as a guide until I get more experience would be appreciated. If you have links to previous posts that you think would be helpful for a new player, I would appreciate those also.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Potowame]

in the SB with the UTG player folding , and the Loose agressive player Limping to try and steal with a auto bet on the flop, I would think that I was ahead or I would have been raised by the aggressive player. Plus you should be ahead of a random hand the BB has.
with the blinds being that big I think its a good time to push preflop, and hope to win the pot right there. With 4 players left and the blinds being $250 / $500 it seems that everyone was waiting for the aggressive player to knock someone out then open up thier game. Another reason to step it up and let the weeker players blind out.
The worst thing that you can do in this situation is complete the blind, either fold (which 4 handed is not right) to hope the BB and button get in a war or Raise it, a call is a bad play in this point of the tourny.

[BarryDingle]

Thanks for your response. I knew KTs was a good hand 4 handed, but I didn't want to risk pushing on the bubble. There had been a lot of limping in this game even with good hands, and I was worried that the LAG would call with any ace if I pushed. I understand your reasoning for not just calling, and I'll know better next time.

I have only played 7-8 SNG's at the $5 level, but it seems that most of the players play them tight like a limit game with a couple of LAGs that will win a big hand early or bust out early. A lot of the players I've seen will only limp preflop or make a minimum raise. I even see a lot of minimum bets post flop. Seeing this, I will play a little looser preflop and try to see more flops cheap in hopes of hitting a big hand early. If the flop doesn't hit me hard, I'm only out 10-20 chips. Then I'll tighten up in the middle stages. Then if I make it to the late stages, I try to adjust to the remaining opponents.

Is this a reasonable approach?

Have others had similar experiences with a lot of limpers and minimum raises preflop in the low buyin SNG's? I'm sure it's much different in the higher buyin games.

[Potowame]

I mainly play 5 & 10, I will usually play really tight aggressive, in the early stages of the tourny and win one or two key hands and get the chip lead and pick up small pots here and there with 3 to four callers in them. You have to wait till the blinds get high enough to open up. when the blinds get to $50 to $100 your average player has about 500 - 700 in chips. This slows down the action because the Manic callers, can't afford to see every flop anymore. If You have won those key hands and got to about the $2000 to $3000- Start pounding from position (with good hands) and over betting with monster hands (with about 5 players left). you will get a lot of despreat calls with A? and K? or even Q?, and alor of allins on small pairs.
Don't go crazy though, make sure that you are playing quality hands, no reason to bluff with K5 ect. But if you pick up ace jack suited on the button no other callers and the blinds are short stacked, put alot of pressure on them. Pocket pair above 77 put them All in to call. I last thing Don't feel that You have to call a short stack all in with a poor hand to try and knock them out, unless you are on the BB with very little to have to call the bet.

[BarryDingle]

Okay thanks, I had seen some other posts about playing very tight early and didn't understand the reasoning behind it. I figured that if I could see a flop cheap, then why not take a shot on winning a big hand early thinking I could just fold the flop if it didn't hit me hard. I noticed that even post flop many people would only make minimum bets early on, which would also allow me to see the turn cheap if i flopped a flush or straight draw. I had success with this in the few tourney's I played, so it seemed reasonable to me.

I only have money in UB now, but it seems that most of the people here play Stars or Party. I understand that the blind levels advance differently on the different sites, but is there much difference in the quality of games on the different sites as far as the competition goes?

[Potowame]

I have only played on Party, I belive that this is probley the looses site in early rounds of small tournys. Blinds increase every 10 hands.
I guess the advice that I am trying to give you is common knowledge, and that is adjust your playing style to the way the other players are playing. If they are playing really lose , play tight agressive Preflop and after. Because you more than likley have a better starting hand than the loose player, and if you hit you will more than likley get someone calling your AK down with KJ or worse when a K hits, and ect, ect. And when the table tightens up , start to loosin your game a little, be aggressive preflop but if you get A caller with a loose hand you have to play the flop on very careful.
Like you said though, There is nothing wrong with calling a $20 blind with suited connectors or A5 suited to try and flop the nuts. But, you just have play them very careful and don't draw at every good looking flop, if the odds aren't thier to do so. GL