Questions to answer when reviewing your SNG results

[John Hurst]

Typical conversation I hear after a live tournament.
"How did you get knocked out?"
"I had Kings he had Aces"
"Nothing you can do about that"

I get the feeling that alot of these players go no further than that in evaluating their games. They take pride in, "getting knocked out with honor" i.e. losing with a premium hand and move on to the next tourney and hope for better luck. Well, the correct answer is to aggressively try and build your stack and not wait for premium hands.

If I had the time these are the questions I would answer after every game.

Was I aggressive enough on the bubble?

Was I too loose/too tight in rounds 1-3?

Did I defend my blinds when appropriate? This would be mostly a late game question.

How much did I know about my opponents when it was over?

Did I aggressively take advantage of all situational opportunities? This ties in very closely to the question about knowing your opponents style. If you strongly feel they are trying to slide into 3rd, did you take advantage?

In every key hand I played did I think about what my opponents hand might be? Often it is right to just aggressively bet to force opponents off draws especially if it is a multiway pot, but if you pay attention to the hands your opponent plays you can induce a bluff and maximize value on your big hands.

Did I incorrectly assume that I could always outplay my opponents later and thus pass up on small/medium edges? I think alot of people overestimate their ability to outplay opponents later and I fall into this trap myself.

How well did I play KQ/QJsuited/1010? These are 3 trouble hands for me. Substitute your own.

Knockout hand - unavoidable? This question is last for a reason. First investigate what got you into this situation. Take little or no pride in getting knocked out while holding a premium hand if you let your stack dwindle while waiting for it. Yes it sucks and is embarrassing when you lose when your K9 steal raise gets called by KK but know that long term it is the right move.