Desperately seeking help on my game

[UncleRemus]

Thanks for the analysis smiley. I'll have to reconsider when I limp with low pocket pairs (Stopped doing it from EP a while ago when I started 4 tabling, since I found it too hard to keep track of how passive/aggressive the tables were. I think I'm a lot better with that now, though, and should probably take your advice and limp in EP on the passive tables)

Completely agree with the QJo hand, although I'm glad I made the move, as it made me realize that my game *WAS* off and it was time to make a post and try to get some help. The first step to recovery is admitting I have a problem.

Thanks a lot for the analysis!
Remus

[UncleRemus]

Thanks, Sucker, this really means a lot for a couple reasons. It's good to know that these streaks can happen, and I'm not suddenly awful. Also, you're probably right about overanalyzing this whole thing. I just need to keep playing and believing. I think I'll start a new spreadsheet for a while, just so it's not in my face all the time for a while.

Thanks for the advice and vote of condidence,
Remus

[UncleRemus]

Haha, 3 histories (all are 2 parts). I don't expect people to go through everything, but anything they have time to do is greatly appreciated. I wanted to post a couple different finishes, just so I could get a good idea of where problems might be. I guess that is quite a bit though, haha.

[eastbay]

This shouldn't be used as an excuse, but I'm pretty sure the games have toughened up a bit. I am usually pretty skeptical about this, as various claims to it have occurred regularly over the year or so I've been following this board.

But, just too many players I know to be solid players, including myself, are finding it increasingly difficult to crank out the 30-40% ROI they have been consistently cranking out over the past year.

eastbay

[captZEEbo1]

hand history 3, I'd recommend limping with any pp when blinds are 10/15 or 15/30, then just folding to a raise. Sets are so bank, and what's 15 chips if you can end up seeing a flop for 15? I think you played it pretty much the same I would've played it, except early on. When there was a table full of limpers, and you had AQ in bb, sometimes I just allin there and pick up the blinds, and hope nobody calls with like 66 or something gay. But playing conservatively in the beginning is always good too. Also I probably woulda raised 99, but it ended up working out b/c you were up against KK (who knows why he didn't raise pf). When it was 5-handed, I don't think I would have mucked AJo utg. That's a pretty good hand 5 handed.

[The Yugoslavian]

Maybe I shouldn't be posting advice considering my recent results in 20+2 SNGs but here goes:

In your first hand I think limping with 33 is fine (no, not b/c u would have flopped 4 of a kind) for 15 chips. You have huge implied odds if you hit your set and it's an easy hand to get away with to any substantial preflop raise.

I think on level 4 you are UTG 5-handed with AJo -- can't you go allin here for value, or is the possibility of getting called to high?

You call an allin with J2o I believe as a short stack on level 7 -- is this the right play? Does one call the big stack SB with anything here? It seems waiting may be in order as you certainly are some sort of decent dog.

You are on the button at some point late with K8s and I think you can steal or even bet this hand for value due to your stealing equity.

Then you go allin in the SB with 7Ts one orbit later which seems extreme. Do you bet any two cards in the SB 4-handed against another medium stack?

Heads up I think you can wait for a better hand than T8o -- although the blinds are awfully high.

I don't see anything *I'd* call a major mistake and think you played decently.

This all comes with the disclaimer that my ROI in 200+ 20+2 play has gone from 40% for my first 70 or so down to -4.5% even though I think recently I've been playing well. It usually seems like I'm outplaying my opponents but it's one OOTM streak after another. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[The Yugoslavian]

I looked through the history and had all of the same thoughts as Smiley it turns out with one exception. With 79o in the SB I don't think I'd go allin either.

However, you are only a 46/54 dog to a random hand (not as bad as I thought before I checked), have some stealing equity, and are putting 790 chips at risk to win 600 outright or 1390 if called. So, on a closer look, allin here makes much more sense.

With 82o you are a 36/64 dog so the situation is significantly worse against your opponent's random hand. Plus, against 20+2 opponents I think you have less stealing equity as well since he will *want* to call you and bust you out.

Like I said in my post about your 3rd HH, I don't see decent, solid play and there don't seem to be huge -EV leaks.

I also agree with what Smiley said about the statistical significance of only 300 SNGs. One thing I am definitely trying to take away from many insightful 2+2 posts on this matter is that sticking to your 'A' game through poor short term results makes or breaks an SNG player. If you need to take a day off, post these HH to make sure you don't completely suck, or have to go for a walk, do it since you need to play your most confident and solid game each time you sit down at a table.

My previous disclaimer (of how I suck and am a complete moron) still applies, [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img].

[UncleRemus]

Hi Yugo, thanks a lot for the reply.

You're absolutely right about the AJo UTG 5 handed. By my calculation a push there was +EV by about 100 chips, give or take. I should have pushed that.

The allin call with J2o was because nearly half my stack was in the blind, and I figured to be about a 2:1 dog on average, and the pot was laying me better than 2:1 odds.

Again, you're right about the K8s hand, I should have pushed to steal the blinds. It appears I missed quite a few steal opportunities in this tournament, perhaps timid by my recent streak. I have to remain aggressive.

The T7s hand I would have pushed with any 2. I had the BB covered, and UTG was so short stacked that BB couldn't call with very much at all.

I don't see the T8o hand you mention heads up, do you mean the 68s hand that I pushed with and lost? With that, I felt it was really my last chance to have any folding equity whatsoever, so I went for it.


I think the biggest thing you pointed out though were the hands that I missed great steal opportunities on. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for that, and remain aggressive.

Thanks a lot,
Remus

[The Yugoslavian]

No problem, you are very welcome.

I may take a look at your 3rd place game (the only one I haven't looked at yet). I think it has been helpful for me to see how someone else plays the 20+2 SNGs since this is exclusively what I've been playing recently.

I probably meant 68s when I said T8o -- although I don't have access to the game right now (I'm at work).

Yeah, you had a couple more stealing opportunities but played solidly.

You should also definitely feel free to limp on level 1 from EP with small pocket pairs (level 2 is more debatable b/c in 20+2 some dork seems to always min-raise and then you're looking at putting in 60 chips to play your set -- therefore you will need to get full value on your set almost all the time to make it profitable).

I know recently as I've been having a hard time cracking the 20+2 games that it is very easy to stop playing an aggressive bubble game (*hoping* to barely make the money*). However, this is the time when you need to stay aggressive and play as many clearly +$EV situations as possible -- it is where a decent chunk of your ROI comes from.

Keep refining your play and good luck!
[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[lorinda]

Reading one tourney is enough for me for one afternoon, but it seemed fine.

The QJo loss didn't seem too ridiculous given the number of hands you had folded to that point.

I did note that you didn't really limp with your pocket pairs in early position when you had a decent stack early on.
Although this is not neccessarily wrong, it may be an indication of your frame of mind that you were not willing to limp on three occasions with a nice stack and a little pair, on what was essentially a fairly passive table at that point.

Edit: That'll teach me not to read the whole thread before I post [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Lori