ITM preflop review

looking at my stats so far has revealed something frustrating. right now i am finish 3rd about 4x the amount of times i finish first. i actually finish second a bit more than first as well.

now i'm using the gamble for first settle for third idea, but i'm starting to think i'm doing it wrong because of my numbers. looking at the SNG guide in the archives, it seems that 3-handed any Ace/King/Queen is a good hand to go with as well as pocket pairs of course. however i am frequently finding myself busted when playing K/Q or Aces with a low kicker, to someone with an ace or domination.

say i just played pairs, Ax, and maybe KQ-KJ, would this be to tight? i seem to run into overcards so much as well as domination ITM, i feel maybe i am playing too fast. then again the blind structure kind of dictates this.

let's look at the three positions:

button - easiest by far, since i am the first bettor. push with my suggested hands and maybe a few others.

sb - if button folded, do as before, but if button bets, how to tell if he has my beat as opposed to trying for a steal?

bb - if two bets to me, check unless i have pocket pairs or maybe AK-AQ? it's likely here an ace is out. when button raises and sb folds, not very clear again if it's a steal or a better hand.

anyway, i'm just looking for some ITM preflop recommendations. let's assume for the moment stacks are even, as i'll push with a lot more short and wait longer with a big stack.

[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[bones]

You aren't going to get many responses because the questions you're asking are both too vague and can be answered by sngpt when you actually do give some details.

Can you narrow it down to whether the problem is with your pushing range or calling range?

[mosdef]

[ QUOTE ]
[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

This may also be a result of poor pre-ITM play. If you are entering the ITM stage with short stacks, there are no strategies that will result in you getting an even number of 1sts and 3rds. Even if you play very well ITM, if your stack is only 15% of the total chips (for example) when you start ITM, you aren't going to finish first more than 25% of the time you find yourself in this situation. And this is a very optimistic number.

[johnny005]

Another thing that could be catching you more 3rds than first is VARIANCE...

How many sng's have you played?