Successful SnG players:Are you usually short stacked when in the $?

[Cosimo]

A couple quick points. One is that 16 SNGs is a tiny sample. The other is that 66 vs AK is a coinflip; it's not a bad beat.

I'll limp with a few more hands (mostly Axs) than the guide suggests in the first round, or in the second round from the BB. I'm trying this out to see what happens, so I don't suggest it. Sometimes I get lucky (which means 150% of my original stack going into level 4), sometimes I get very unlucky (50% of my stack due to a great hand gone wrong).

[lacky]

always good to analize and question, but ive been beating the $55's for a long time, and two days ago in 16 trys i got 2 3rds. Tonight, in 17 i got 3 1st, 4 2nds and 3 3rds.
Look harder after at least 100.

Steve

[patrick dicaprio]

losing with QQ is not a bad beat to AK. I really hesitate to go all in with QQ. if reraised i will usually call and see what develops. compare this to a guy who raises when I have QQ and act after him which is a different situation.

without watching your play my guess is that youarent aggressive enough in the middle levels. you can steal quite a few blinds from any position once it gets down to five or six. you usually can build a stack this way with good judgment.

Pat

[patrick dicaprio]

reraising here is a good strategy with weaker hands as you point out. often if there is a small raise you can reraise with any two cards and take it down, thereby getting the blinds plus the small raise. similar thinks are true when there are limpers.

Pat

[djcolts]

Yeah, I think I do. I've had a couple of 1st places in the last couple of days where I was extremely shortstacked (under 500 chips) at some point, but eventually won the SNG. Either everyone folds and I take the blinds and stay alive, or I'm in at least a 50/50 shot of winning most of the time, so it seems to be effective.

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OK. I'm often at 600 to 700 at level 4 - so I guess I'm used to all-in or fold time by then.

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and what are your results when you push with good cards at this point? do you make more chips than you lose?

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[RollaJ]

Sometimes Ill raise 2-2.5 BB when 3-4 handed, when people are the most scared of losing chips.

Of the hands you listed :
1. 77-AA, AK, AQ
2. AKs-ATs, KQs-KJs, QJs, JTs
Id leave out QJs and JTs, maybe Id limp with those or try a 2BB raise, but to me that hand is the same as 45s.
For most of those hands, if I had 9BB left I am probably just making it 2.5BB, if I had 7 BB left (or less) I am going all in. I want to make it very hard for people to call. Id usually even do it with AA as Id be moving in a lot so Id hope for a kall from someone with A-8, K-T etc.

BTW once I am one of the big stax, Ill raise any hand I play to 3xBB AA or 79s they all get raised, take advantage of scared money

[SparkMan]

If your play on the bubble is above average then I prefer the turbo SNG's on PS. They last about the same length of time, but when you get to the bigger blinds you don't seem to be as far behind the bigger stacks if you haven't won a pot yet. Also in the early stages you can afford to see 2 or 3 flops for cheap. On party if you do that and miss each time you're severely short stacked going into the 50/100 blind round.

[Algasm]

AA,
I get into pretty much the same situation as Death Valley and end up just pushing my T700 or so when the BB is T100. So far in the 33 $30 I've played I've got 9 firsts 1 second and 7 3rds. I also have 2 4ths and 9 5ths. So I either bust out in 5th or make the money. My ROI is 70% in this same small sample set. I'm going to stick with playing tight and going all in when the blinds reach T100. It seems like I always get one decent hand on the bubble that gets called where I'm 70/30 to win. When I double to 1400 I can usually make the money. Hope this helps.

[Jason Strasser]

In general, this is how my stack progression goes.

In the first 3 rounds I'll either have doubled up against a crazy, be eliminated by either running into a monster with a monster of my own (or be eliminated by silly [censored]), but most likely I'll be somewhere around 800-900 chips. I may've had AK and raised, and then missed the flop and check/folded 3 handed, or something like that. I'd say I'd average about 850 chips by the time I'm at level 5.

Then when its 100/200, I'm almost always in push/fold mode. From there I either double up, get eliminated, but most of the time steal blinds to usually creep up into the 1000-1400 range. Then its more of the same. I'm usually not the small stack when we are down to 3, but often I am.

AA, my impression of you as a player is that you are trying to be far too mechanical. There is no guide to winning poker. It doesn't exist. Apply concepts, play ABC poker, and think for yourself. Post some hands where you faced some tough decisions, and we'll try to help you out.

[FyrFytr998]

I hardly ever make it to the money in first. Most of the time I'm third. I then wait a few to see if second tightens up or goes for the jugular and adjust my play from there.