How to end a SnG?

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Bentley540

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I have spent a lot of hours playing $1.50 9 man turbo SnG's on pokerstars, my goal for the week was to get my $50 BR up to $80. My BR has gone down to $26, its been up and down like a yoyo, yesterday I was as low as $23 but managed to get it back up to $44 ($0.02/$0.05 Cash Games), only to get down to $26 today.

I'd say I'm a solid player, I'm tight-aggressive but I can't seem to get ITM and bust out in 4th or 5th. How can I iron out the creases and make the money more often? Should I now drop to the $0.50 SnG's?

Early Stages (L1-L2):
I play only AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, KQ, KJ (regardless of position)- Raising 3.5 BB's if not raised before. If it is raised before I re-raise if I have AA,KK,QQ or JJ

Mid Stages (L3-L5):
I open my range to J 10s, 10 9s, 8 9s, and any pair (raising 3.5BB's) folding to any re-raise or any raise before me.

Late Stage (L6+):
I'm all in with A 8 and above, K 8 and above and any pair

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks
 
wasal2002

wasal2002

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Wow I play similar to you and I also play 1.50 sngs. only difference I dont shove at the end. Funny I still have been up and down as well. The only thing I could think for myself is to be more patient in some situations and more aggressive in others.
 
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spazdm

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Im no pro but I would stick with your tight playing such as maybe your mid stage style all the way through. It sounds like to me that you play to lose in the end, now dont get me wrong I would play A8 in the end but not all in per say. maybe raise with it but if they push I wouldnt call unless you are bigger stacked because chances are they are only pushing with like AA, AK,AQ or a pocket pair. But some say I dont get as much out of a hand as others. I hope that helps a little bit :) Good luck in tonights freeroll if your playing.
 
wildyetty

wildyetty

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my question is why just 9 man sng's i dont find the risk is worth the reward, if im strapped for cash on pokerstars I like to play at least a $1 45 man sng if not the 180. at least when you cash in these you are making something for the time spent.
 
westside1950

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Well, the key in 9man SNGs is bubble play and then 3 way and heads up.
I agree with you that early stage you should tighten up and just play strong hands like the ones you stated.

Later on, analizing your opponents and their habits( and exploiting them) is the key to success. If you opponents fold his BB 90% of the time push almost any hand into his BB, etc.
Find their weakness and take advantage of that. That's the key ;)
 
MrFerguson

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Are you all in, in late stages regardless of your stack size? Varience is a lot higher in SNG's than cash, seems like you were running well in the cash game why not try that for a week and analyze your results
 
MrFerguson

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Also
KQ, KJ, aren't really good hands to play in EP, do you mean suited? or any suit? Early stages of a SNG are similar to cash games so positional play is as important as hand selection in the early stages if not more so, maybe this is a leak that needs fixing as position is key in poker as you already know
 
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gipetto541

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lol have u ever acutally played a SnG? your silly rigid rules will change based on player type and icm, i mean your "theory" is correct but no-one plays by the book like that otherwise youre gonna be fighting for 3rd place finishes = not profitable
 
VGShaa

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Follow the position, play tight or aggressively in the early stages of the blinds. You have a good tactic. Keep playing, strumming intuition. Watch the size of your stack, do not let it fall to less than 10bb and better 15. Your game will depend on your opponents are at the table. Follow their style of play.
 
Michael Paler

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Your little Level map seems to leave out number of players left, position, stack size, player habits.....seems like it's a very exploitable range, frankly. I would never just shove in a late stage with a8 or k8 just because that's what I got. Plus, that range is a mile wide. Middle card kickers are just plain dangerous in many situations; you cannot make but a 5 card st8 either way.

Goodness, I hope you are not varying your opening bet size in accordance with those hands.....
 
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Ranny

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Concentrate less on your hands and more on position, exploit tight players, study other players betting patterns.
 
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seghill

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last 5 - by that time you should have a read on other players - the aggressive ones will still be pushing so the playing of position should still yield benefits even if you are playing tight.
However now is the time to try picking up a few blinds if others appear to be playing tight with the idea of reaching the last 3. Blinds at this stage become so important.
 
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trancefan

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I was watching a movie from the 90s about kids playing chess and a quote stood out to me "Never play the board, always the man." It kind of sounds like you are "playing the board" and not the man across from you. Your strategy is based simply on your cards and timing which is not a way to win big. You have to read when your opponents are weak and bet even though you may have air. Watch the experienced players who raise in LP just to pick up the blinds from weak players. You need to do this on occasion even with hands outside your range.
 
arabarran666

arabarran666

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Most of the players are to tight at early phase of SNG. I play just a bit looser against them. I usually end up with more chips at the bubble and that is the phase for me when i tight my game waiting for good hands to shove against their A x cards, or just wait for them to fight each other. There is always one small stack at the bubble, avoid being one.
 
TeUnit

TeUnit

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think thats a good foundation, but also think you should look at the villans and optimize your play verses their tendencies
 
romych007

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I think that you need to play tight in the early stages , and watch your stats Hold'em Manager , as well as calculate the weaker players and making them
 
2easy4ninja

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you need buy holdem manager ))
for watches for enemys
about chances QQ vs AK dont worry, its a game )
 
TomKat1958

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There are many different types of strategy and lots of advice for winning. I knew a guy that always whined he couldn't make the final table at my local casino's Wednesday night tourney, with 30-40 players on average. I watched him. He was easy to bluff and would fold good cards pre-flop anytime anyone raised much over the blinds. When he had the winner he always shoved. He was very easy to read and blamed the cards and bad luck. Always complained how another player beat him with cards that should have been folded. If you have top pair, two pair or even a set, you're going to have to fold sometimes or risk being taken out. You have to learn to manage your chip stack in a tourney and you must pay attention to every play in most every hand. Play the players and the game, not just luck with cards. If someone is betting heavy and they have outs you don't have, watch out. Learn to command the respect and fear of the other players. Anytime you feel threatened or at risk and you're facing a draw, simply fold. There's always another hand when you stay in and hang on to your chips. If you always expect to win by having the best hand after the river's out, Im afraid you're never gonna finish in the money or especially take down 1st in a tourney, even a 9 player SnG.
 
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PBG789

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Question for you - it's level 2 you are dealt 99 on the button and it's folded round to you. Are you really folding? Having a basic strategy is fine but poker is never a game of absolutes. You have to adapt to players, stack sizes and anything else that is going on. You also need to exploit position, defend blinds when you are getting the right pot odds and any number of other things. Having a totally rigid game plan means you are missing out on lots of potential good spots and most likely making yourself quite easy to play against.
 
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Lumpz72

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I think most players get too tight when at/near bubble time. I know I have this tendency. But this is where you can get the most value from stealing. I hate those players who min raise steal continuously around that time, but I must admit is seems effective.
 
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