Final Table strategy?

[MikeSmith]

Once you guys reach final table, do any of you have a specific strategy?

Last night i went into a final table for a 20 dollar 180 person sit n go as the chip leader. I went down to 40,000 after 2 hands and kind of went into defensive mode just waiting around for premium cards. I played a pot here and there but once we got down to 6 i was at 26,000. The table was not playing tight at all so i couldnt steal blinds which really threw me off my game because thats what i do alot during the small sit n gos.

My strategy once i hit 26,000 was to just wait out for the lower guys to get knocked out unless i got my big cards. Once we were down to 4 i had 18,0000 and was shortstack, big big stack raised with everything, i pick up A10 and push back he calls , he has K10 diamonds and flushes me out of the tourney.

I just want to restate, is it bad to go into defensive mode at this point? The reason my stack got down to 18,000 was b/c of unsuccessful steals. Whats your strategy here?

When table is that loose and ur no longer chip leader i think u have to go into a TAGish mentality. I mean the hand that u lost u were a heavy favorite to double up right there. You could try restealing if ur in position and someone have been acting like a maniac. I think "defensive" is a bad mentality if ur trying to win, but being tight-aggressive is a better mentality. If u have been playing tight for a while and these people arent complete donks u can try for the occasional steal. Most people will see that ur playing "defensive" and take advantage of it. Push back 1x with a half-decent hand.

add a few opportune pushes, no way you can wait for premium hands

How many times have u played the 20 table SNG?

I've played about 10 of them and everytime I bust out around 20th. I'm getting more and more addicted to them.

[Rizen]

Yes, it's bad to go into defensive mode. The only real advice I can give on Final Tables is play to win. If you play to move up a few spots, then you will move up a few spots, but you'll (almost) never take first. Play to win does not mean play stupid, bad, or wreckless. It just means you need to still keep concentrating on making the best decisions possible, and not go into a shell hoping to move up a few places.

In my experience, each final table is different, and the optimal strategy for each table is different as well. You need to keep a constant pulse on the table. I've been at tables where people were so interested in just moving up a few spots I was able to go super aggressive and steal tons of blinds to move up. I've been at others where there seems to be an all in every other hand and had to switch gears and wait for a solid hand to double up with.

The bottom line is that your final table strategy will adjust depending on the table. Chances are, solid poker and good decision making are what got you to the final table, so stick with that. If you go weak/tight at the final table because there is more money on the line you're going to find yourself taking 5th and 6th in an awful lot of final tables...

-Rizen

[MikeSmith]

[ QUOTE ]
How many times have u played the 20 table SNG?

I've played about 10 of them and everytime I bust out around 20th. I'm getting more and more addicted to them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably around 10 tourneys, a 4th, 5th and 3 other cashes in the teens. My 5th was a rough beat when my flopped set ran into runner runner flush allin, would have had around 130K if i won that hand. These are fun and definitely helping my MTT experience, i recently took 3rd in a rebuy tourney as well. Keep at it, make good decision and catch a few lucky cards.