final table trouble

i keep making the final table on the 45 man sngs on full tilt but cant seem to take first and many times not even making the money

any tips on the hands i should be playing would be nice

to take first in these tournaments means that some where late in the tourney you should take favorable flips against another big stack to take the chip lead.

obv you want to flip with as good of a hand as possible. dont be afraid to take a risky flip with a med pocket pair since a lot of players will be shoving ace rags. and if you have aj+ hand dont be afraid to call somes all in, cause lots of times players will be trying to steal with garbage.

dont call too light though, and its always good to know who is tight and who is agressive on the table, and from there you should decide if you will call, 3 bet, shove or fold.

but don't be passive and fold lots of hands and get blinded out, just waiting for a good hand to double up with.

i play my med to big stack pretty agressive so that i can keep gaining chips or even double up to be the chip leader. i might make some risky plays that might cause me to bubble but if the play works i can become chip leader and have a good chance to take down the tourney.

also steal the blinds more at the final table, the blinds are huge at the final table and a couple of steals here and there and you will have a pretty big stack.

basically play like you are trying to win the whole thing, not just playing to stay alive and min cash.

You've asked the wrong question. It's not so much the hands you should be playing but the situations. Sure there are some general guidelines to hands you should play but that's not nearly as important as adjusting to the players at the table and finding profitable opportunities. Playing on a final table means you have to adjust as the table gets shorter and everyone gets more aggressive.

I'd suggest you play some 1 table sng's and some heads up sng's. There is plenty of information out there to give you a head start in these. The rest comes down to experience. Play a lot of 1 table and HU sng's and when you get to the final table you'll know what's needed to win it.

Stupid question, what's the payouts for the 45 sngs on FT, I mean since your already there, down to the final "I'm just guessing 9", would'nt you already be in the money? I'm not a SNG player on FT, nor have I ever really depoisted so that's why I ask...

Now as for making money on FT, it's simple 2 options which ever one you choose or suits you better, either play extremly Aggressive, By this I mean don't play Manic Poker, but attack the blinds relentlessly, that is also assumming there are'nt other players in the hand, and also that the blinds are'nt calling station types of players...

2nd option which I hardly do is play tight, and build an Image on the table and use that Image to make moves on your behalf

they only pay top 6

ive played lots of 1 table sngs but its different then reaching the final table if you think about it

players already have big or small stacks and the blinds are high

9 handed i already had success in aswell as 6 handed just having trouble overcoming the bigger stacks when they have 5-6x more then i have

and there no such thing as stupid questions only stupid answers

Well if that's the case then all you really must do is Just wait for the perfect Time, I mean, look if your wedge in between 2 monster stacks then your then there's really nothing you can do...Fair enough.... Now, It could also be another issue here which is that you are'nt using your chips Irregardless of cards for there purpose...Look FTs generally tend to make ppl more tighter as the money goes up, and it makes bigger stacks more Aggressive, now with that being said all you must do is use your chips, while there healthy enough to actually do Damage to the big stack, In-Order to just ride out the antes, and Blinds....

I don't use to play Sit'n'go but imo, I would wait for situations where I could squeeze the shorts or buy some flips with the deeps

Yea it really depends. Stack sizes are so important on these. With high blinds it's often a push or fold situation. You may feel like you have a comfortable stack but in just a few minutes you're suckin' air. So you gotta play.

I often watch the game purely from a stack perspective. The biggest stacks should be bullying, the smallest should be pushing. The middle stacks? Well, here's where you usually are. Some hang on and hope someone else will do the dirty work. Wrong!

Let's say you are in 5th. Average stack. You have to be willing to bubble out by playing while you have bullets or end up blinded away. You won't stay average by folding.

But a mistake here will cost you. The trick is to attack those who have a good reason to fold. The largest and smallest are a threat but the mids are vulnerable. Depending on your image and theirs, you should be able to get them to fold all but the strongest hands. They don't want to bubble either.

If you don't overdo it you should be able to make it in the $$ with a good stack and chance to move up.

Well put, seriously+10...