continually running on empty

yeah it's me again [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

the bubble play is killing me. absolutely killing me. i've looked at both the major SNG threads with all their links, but it's not helping. i finish 3rd 7x the amount i'm finishing first, and i'm ITM from bubble 69%. here's the effect on my ROI (i'm finally a losing player even with the rake!):

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jack0346/ROI%...TM%20Graph.png

i know it's early, but damnit something is really going wrong and i really need help with my supposed lack of aggression. i'd rather fix it now then later. i haven't scanned through them all, but i'd estimate at least 90% of the time there are 4 or 5 left i'm the short stack, and usually a major one. like last game with 4 left i had about 400 chips. it's either bust out on the bubble or somehow make it to third and be blinded out on the first hand.

the guides here say to play tight early. i think this is just wrong. i have done this only to see my chips dwindle to the point where my only chance of survival is a very fast game so the blinds don't catch up.

another problem is once i finally get a pushing hand, i have almost no FE. like last game, i had 400 and others had about 2000/2400/3200 or so. who isn't going to call that push? even if there's only one major stack, he will almost always take the initiative and try to bust me right there to get ITM for sure.

i'm just very frustrated because i have really looked over bubble play material on this site but haven't found it very helpful. i have tried to follow AleoMagus' guide but i just think it's too tight.

i am looking for any sort of advice, or maybe if you were kind enough to look at some full hand histories to see how i'm playing. thanks.

alternatively, if anyone has some full hand histories of their own (where they didn't get lots of good hands of course) that they could show me, i'd appreciate it. i'm hoping this will help me see the errors i'm making.

i think i should take a break as well until i really develop a better plan.

[tigerite]

[ QUOTE ]
the guides here say to play tight early. i think this is just wrong. i have done this only to see my chips dwindle to the point where my only chance of survival is a very fast game so the blinds don't catch up.

[/ QUOTE ]

No the guides are not wrong, you just don't have the patience to play that way. You need to learn it. Once you do results will improve.

i can't imagine that i'm being TOO impatient. isn't my stack size an indictation i'm being too patient, if anything? that i'm waiting too long to make my move? because i definitely play very tight early (once i even put it on away for a few minutes to fold me every time).

i can show you hands where i was in the action from a game if you'd like.

It's hard to play too tightly in the early stages of an $11 SnG. In most spots, AJ sucks and AQ is marginal.

[tigerite]

No, I think what you are doing is probably not pushing enough from the button and SB when you have 6-7BB or whatever.. and not using first in vigorish enough. Without hand histories though, I can't tell. But heck you've only played 60. You could just be getting cold carded etc.

[Insty]

[ QUOTE ]
once i even put it on away for a few minutes to fold me every time

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not playing tight, that's not playing.

i'm kind of making a joke.

anyway, let me post something just because i can, from another one of my bubble finishes. here's where i was involved (this was actually a very fast game, 5 handed at 15/30). one failed steal, one push and i'm out:

NL Texas Hold'em $10 Buy-in + $1 Entry Fee Trny:17680641 Level:3 Blinds(25/50) - Thursday, November 24, 05:35:25 EDT 2005
Table Table 67100 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 1: niceguy3088 ( $2865 )
Seat 3: EarlyBird123 ( $955 )
Seat 6: DonnyOnions ( $1510 )
Seat 7: TCH21 ( $1960 )
Seat 9: heret1k ( $710 )
Trny:17680641 Level:3
Blinds(25/50)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ Jh Ah ]
EarlyBird123 folds.
DonnyOnions folds.
TCH21 folds.
heret1k raises [125].
niceguy3088 calls [100].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Js, 5d, Kd ]
heret1k bets [50].
niceguy3088 calls [50].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 5c ]
heret1k bets [50].
niceguy3088 is all-In [2665]
heret1k folds.
niceguy3088 shows [ 7d, Qh ] a pair of fives.

***** Hand History for Game 3086989928 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $10 Buy-in + $1 Entry Fee Trny:17680641 Level:4 Blinds(50/100) - Thursday, November 24, 05:39:39 EDT 2005
Table Table 67100 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 1: niceguy3088 ( $4120 )
Seat 6: DonnyOnions ( $1385 )
Seat 7: TCH21 ( $2185 )
Seat 9: heret1k ( $310 )
Trny:17680641 Level:4
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ 7h 8h ]
heret1k is all-In [310]

standard game, ended up on the bubble again but i was more aggro this game and was up for a while:

Seat 5: dollar45 ( $125 )
Seat 10: heret1k ( $730 )
Seat 8: lostin111 ( $1110 )
Seat 4: GobBluth72 ( $990 )
Seat 3: ifidawon ( $2255 )
Seat 1: rarebel ( $1955 )
Seat 9: bloomers43 ( $835 )
Trny:17675269 Level:2
Blinds(15/30)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ 3s 3h ]
lostin111 folds.
bloomers43 folds.
heret1k raises [100].
rarebel folds.
ifidawon calls [100].
GobBluth72 folds.
dollar45 is all-In [95]
heret1k calls [25].
ifidawon calls [25].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8c, Js, 6c ]
heret1k checks.
ifidawon checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kc ]
heret1k bets [30].
ifidawon calls [30].
** Dealing River ** [ 9d ]
heret1k checks.
ifidawon checks.

Seat 5: dollar45 ( $375 )
Seat 10: heret1k ( $575 )
Seat 8: lostin111 ( $700 )
Seat 4: GobBluth72 ( $1770 )
Seat 3: ifidawon ( $1850 )
Seat 1: rarebel ( $1895 )
Seat 9: bloomers43 ( $835 )
Trny:17675269 Level:3
Blinds(25/50)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ Td Tc ]
heret1k is all-In [575]
rarebel folds.
ifidawon folds.
GobBluth72 folds.
dollar45 folds.
lostin111 calls [550].
bloomers43 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7s, Qh, 5d ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7d ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5h ]
heret1k shows [ Td, Tc ] two pairs, tens and sevens.
lostin111 shows [ Kd, As ] two pairs, sevens and fives.

NL Texas Hold'em $10 Buy-in + $1 Entry Fee Trny:17675269 Level:4 Blinds(50/100) - Thursday, November 24, 00:47:32 EDT 2005
Table Table 66987 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 10: heret1k ( $900 )
Seat 8: lostin111 ( $925 )
Seat 4: GobBluth72 ( $735 )
Seat 3: ifidawon ( $575 )
Seat 1: rarebel ( $2870 )
Seat 9: bloomers43 ( $1995 )
Trny:17675269 Level:4
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ 6s 6c ]
GobBluth72 folds.
lostin111 folds.
bloomers43 folds.
heret1k is all-In [900]
rarebel folds.
ifidawon is all-In [475]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Tc, 2h, 4d ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9c ]
** Dealing River ** [ Th ]
ifidawon shows [ Ks, Js ] a pair of tens.
heret1k shows [ 6s, 6c ] two pairs, tens and sixes.

Seat 10: heret1k ( $1125 )
Seat 8: lostin111 ( $425 )
Seat 4: GobBluth72 ( $885 )
Seat 1: rarebel ( $1575 )
Seat 9: bloomers43 ( $3990 )
Trny:17675269 Level:5
Blinds(75/150)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ Kc 5c ]
rarebel calls [150].
GobBluth72 folds.
lostin111 folds.
bloomers43 calls [75].
heret1k checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8s, Ts, 2c ]
bloomers43 checks.
heret1k checks.
rarebel checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kd ]
bloomers43 checks.
heret1k bets [150].
rarebel folds.
bloomers43 folds.

note how my stack has fallen:

NL Texas Hold'em $10 Buy-in + $1 Entry Fee Trny:17675269 Level:7 Blinds(150/300) - Thursday, November 24, 00:57:54 EDT 2005
Table Table 66987 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 10: heret1k ( $675 )
Seat 8: lostin111 ( $1300 )
Seat 4: GobBluth72 ( $1935 )
Seat 9: bloomers43 ( $4090 )
Trny:17675269 Level:7
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to heret1k [ Ac 9h ]
heret1k is all-In [675]
GobBluth72 folds.
lostin111 folds.
bloomers43 calls [375].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Th, 6h, 2h ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Tc ]
** Dealing River ** [ 2s ]
heret1k shows [ Ac, 9h ] two pairs, tens and twos.
bloomers43 shows [ Td, Kh ] a full house, Tens full of twos.

[tigerite]

Yuck. First hand, push preflop, or if you are going to raise, and get that flop, then push it. He won't have a K the vast majority of the time. You played this very weakly.

2nd. No no no. How did you get to 3BB and pushing UTG? I don't like this. I would actually probably fold here. Your hand isn't bad and has good suckout potential, but by folding, you increase the chances of DonnyOnions mixing it up with a big stack, and well, who knows what your BB hand will be.. you might even get a freebie.. the big stacks may want the bubble to keep going, and not to mention (for some reason) people fold so many times when they think the short stack will call with a large range, like it matters mathematically.

i was down to 465 after losing that first hand and then got blinded down to 3BB.

would you be willing to help me over AIM during a sng sometime?