Live: SNG National Championship

Hey all, I was hoping to get some advice from all you SNG pros. I'll be playing in the SNG National Championship this Saturday at Hawaiian Gardens Casino in Los Angeles. Was just hoping some of you could give me some useful tips to help my game. I have played maybe about 10 live SNGs before, and a few online, and I've cashed more times than not. But I've only gotten first like once or twice live. Anyways, here is the structure:

9 players (maybe 10, not sure)
3,000 starting
10-15 blinds
15 minute rounds
Winner of first table gets $3K
Winner of the entire tourny gets $30K
So needless to say I need to aim for first. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
EDIT: forgot to mention the most important thing, its NL hold em.

You seem to already know how to play SnGs, what type of advice are you actually looking for?
The only advice that I can give you is treat evey table as one individual table and just bring your A-game and play extreme tag early on then loosen up later(but you probably know that already), so just keep your focus on the table at hand and good luck.

It sounds to me like your ready. I will give the same advice, be sure to focus on the table at hand and watch how all hands are played. Your in it to win, so take them down every chance you get, but play it smart and don't lose all your chips to early, let em ride when need be. Good Luck.
I Love playing SnG

OUt of interest, How much is it costing you to enter?

Based on the prize for first it looks like 375-$400 to enter.

Does only the winner of the table get paid? If so, this is more a variant of the "shootout" format than a sit n go.

This is a multi-table SNG, so once you win the first you play the next which consists of the winners of the other tables. Pretty much the same as a shootout.
Buy in is $1,050 for the 100K guarantee tourny. I'm still a little unclear on the format however. For instance, if there are 200 players, that means there will be 20 winners from each 10-player tables. So at some point do they have to combine the last two tables? Otherwise there would be 2 first place finishers or something. And if that's the case why the hell call it a SNG championship?
Thanks for the advice. So at what level would you start to loosen up a bit? Or is that determined more on the # of players left?

If you are shelling out that much for glory, then play it the way you played to get the confidance to get into this tourney. Expect everyone else to be as competent as you are. Hope that they are much less competent, but do not count on it.

#1 tip. SURVIVE.
#2 tip. Slow down. Take enough time to piss off the other players. Don't make the mistake of rushing to judgement.

Hawiian Gardens is just down the road from me, walked through it last week. Looks like a little tent till you get inside. Sorta like the Harry Potter tents at the beginning of Goblet Of Fire.


Best of luck to ya.

Thanks, ya HGC looks like a crappy place but I actually like the action there a lot better than Commerce and the Bike. And you are right, I will need to slow down and survive. Sometimes I get carried away.

Well just finished the event. I got 3rd place, cashed for $10K

And of course the last hand must be brutal:

Me: 3,500
BigStack: 25K+
Other guy: 7K

He's on the button, raises
I look down at AQo, push
He calls, flips 77
Flop Q6Q
Turn 9
River 7

Good night.

Great job!

Excellent! Congrats.....

I have sat at many single table or two table tournaments and just sat with cards so bad you cant play and too many people in each pot to pull a successful bluff. these are my words of wisdom in this situation dont get over anxious I have made it to the top plenty of times in this situation and its not because i am some great poker wiz I am patient. Other players get nervous and make bad descisions when other peoples stacks rise when theirs stay stagnet and they push and alot of times loose. I wait and almost always my cards improve and with the blind structures the way you say they are you have plenty of time for that.

also remember it is better to give a short stack a small pot instead of doubling them up.

when heads up be aggressive.

Good luck and win big!

Played another live tourny today and got 2nd for $9K! good weekend