SNG Bubble Play

Hi, I'm a fairly new player (6 months or so) and make a small profit playing low limit SNGs.

I'm comfortable getting to the bubble and also using EV to look for good positions to steal when first to act.

The problem I'm currently facing is knowing when to call an all in/re-raise a large raise on the bubble particuarly when in BB position.

At present unless my opponent is quite obviously stupidly loose I would only call with a premium hand (JJ,QQ,KK,AA and AK suited).

I understand most of this decision is down to having a good read on your opponent's hand ranges but just wondering if anyone can share any advice/strategy for how to counteract steals effectively?

Thanks in advance.

Call with all pairs to 77, suited aces to AT, any suited broadway cards UNLESS the raiser is the table rock.

Resteal allin with 66+, Axs, broadway cards IF your stack is 13 BB or less.

STTs are actually great for getting a good idea of opponent ranges and you should have notes on everyone by the time you hit the bubble. Adjust my suggestions accordingly.

Obviously if they're not suited aces, then they're just trash.

I should've noted, my suggestions are those of Bond18. They've worked rather well the last few weeks, so, trash or not, I use them.

Get yourself a copy of The SitNGo Wizard - Home . There's a 30 days trial version of the software.

It can analyse the hand histories of your SNGs and analyse the quality of your push/fold/call push decisions based on ICM. It also provides a nice training tool. It's a really great tool if you're serious about SNGs

I like your calling range when faced with a raise and it is consistent with Collin Moshman's Sit and go advice when on the bubble. Of course, you have take in account the looseness of the player calling and his chip size relative to yours.

Scouseandy. First, let me ask a question or two. Is this a real money tourney or game or is it a freeroll tourney? Second, is are you in this event to win or just to get in the money. Finally, is really a comment. You should always be aware of your bank roll.

Freerolls, are easy to answer. Play quality hands and go for it. However, if your bankroll is small and you are trying to build it up in small cash tourneys or ring games. You have to be more careful. l have found that unless you have shown to be very tight from the start someone (or maybe two) will call you. Then it is up to the poker gods. Do not forget the size of your stack to the other player always plays a big part in whether someone will call.

I've been trying hard to use a mentality of play to win and I've been more successful than when I was playing tight just to beat the bubble.

My bank roll is currently 30x the buy in (I played $6 entry 18 seaters mostly but now up to $11).

I generally try to get involved early (against the advice of most with SNGs I know but the number of times you can take chips off poorer players makes it worthwhile I believe) and build a stack and then tighten up until the blinds begin getting higher.

At that point I'll generally pick and choose steal positions to keep myself ticking over whilst waiting for top hands.

As I say my sticking point has been how to react to the raises of others.

So you mean you have a 3000 dollar roll ?
That's awesome man, if it's true

Nah I only have a $300 roll for SNGS.

However, believe it or not my bankroll is about $7000. A few months back I won a cheap satellite to a 35k guaranteed at full tilt. Played it and came 4th out of 667 for $6600.

I'm under no illusions it was a fluke so instead of upping the stakes I'm sticking low and cashing some out to head to Vegas in a few weeks :-)

andyg13 on Full Tilt if you ever run into me!!

Just thought I'd mention that Poker Stars now has this on their prohibited list only while Poker Stars is running. So, it's perfectly fine to use it, just make sure you shut it down before opening the Stars client.

Interesting, but how they do expect to check this ?

The Pokerstars website, section for allowed programs.

Hmm, what I meant was how will they know when someone is running sit n go wiz at the same time as PokerStars ?

BTW: it doesn't say anything on how to detect it on their website AFAIK.

I don't get some of this.....Fold AQ early, yet, look to double up early??

While doubling up is a good thing...ALWAYS....you don't need to double up early....in low stake sngs 1 5 dollars. I try to see flops cheap with a lot of hands......connecting cards, suited gappers, a-2thru5 a 10thru k. When I say cheap flops, I'm talking a non raised to me.

If I get down to around 900-1k chips I'll then try to slow it down, and look to get some chips. If you're playing a non turbo tourney, you have a good 20 minutes before you get to 50 100 blinds and you SHOULD be able to find a decent hand by then.

People who double up in the first stage of a tourney, I notice, seem to try to bully people and while they may knock one more person out, they also seem to bubble for some reason. My thinking is that they don't know when to stop bullying. While typing this.....I have an example...LOL
This guy put someone out in hand 3 or 4. This is what happened during second blind escalation.

PokerStars Game #19997944349: Tournament #105089300, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/08/29 - 18:52:16 (ET)
Table '105089300 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: zanderlaad (2210 in chips)
Seat 2: bluerider66 (2210 in chips)
Seat 3: shouldBatwrk (1430 in chips)
Seat 4: wonka817 (1650 in chips)
Seat 5: Bruinsfan444 (1580 in chips)
Seat 7: swtexas (2950 in chips)
Seat 9: fayry24 (1470 in chips) is sitting out
wonka817: posts small blind 15
Bruinsfan444: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to wonka817 [Tc As]
swtexas: folds
fayry24: folds
zanderlaad: calls 30
bluerider66: folds
shouldBatwrk: raises 120 to 150
wonka817: calls 135
Bruinsfan444: folds
zanderlaad: calls 120
*** FLOP *** [Kd Jh Qc]
wonka817: checks
zanderlaad: bets 2060 and is all-in
shouldBatwrk: folds
wonka817: calls 1500 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (560) returned to zanderlaad
*** TURN *** [Kd Jh Qc] J♣
*** RIVER *** [Kd Jh Qc Jc] 3♠
*** SHOW DOWN ***
wonka817: shows [Tc As] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
zanderlaad: shows [Qd 8c] (two pair, Queens and Jacks)
wonka817 collected 3480 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3480 | Rake 0
Board [Kd Jh Qc Jc 3s]
Seat 1: zanderlaad showed [Qd 8c] and lost with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 2: bluerider66 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: shouldBatwrk (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: wonka817 (small blind) showed [Tc As] and won (3480) with a straight, Ten to Ace
Seat 5: Bruinsfan444 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: swtexas folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: fayry24 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I put this guy out the next hand his 45 to my kq.

I don't know EXACTLY how they do this...but you know how you have to wait for PS to load, it's checking your system...some people think this shouldn't be allowed, BUT, alot of online programs do this.....

Poker Stars' terms and conditions states that the PS client can (and will) scan your computer for actively running programs. I imagine they're a lot more lenient if SitNGo Wiz is found running than, say, one of the completely prohibited programs. (all of which can be found at the following link)

Prohibited Online Poker Software Programs

If you're not playing at Poker Stars, best to check their website or contact customer service, as different sites will likely have different lists.

Worst-case scenario: they are within their rights to ban you from their site, close your account, and seize any funds within. So, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew the situation before they accidentally broke the T&C.