Couple questions from a newbie.

And i mostly play ST SnGs.

When can i stop playing only premium hands?
I feel like every game i drop to about 1000 chips before i play anything and then just get bullied around by everyone.

Is there any video/site explaining hand strenghts?
My VPIP is around 5-11 and i think it should be higher but i just dont know if my hand is strong or not in some cases.

When to limp in and when to raise preflop?
I almost never raise preflop and because of that someone gets to see the cards with a weak hand and in the end they hit something and i fold.

How do i play suited connectors?
I always try to limp in with them but almost every hand someone raises preflop and i just fold and lose chips for nothing.

How important are pot odds and implied odds in SnGs?

If i bet preflop should i always Cbet on the flop?
This seems to happen always when i raise preflop(thats why i almost never do it) I raise preflop and someone calls. flop comes and nothing hits and villain raises and i fold.

i know alot of these are situational and depends on other players and your position but just some general information always helps

(english is not my first language)

I recommend picking up a copy of Collin Moshman's Sit 'n Go Strategy, this book really helped me get started and plugged a lot of my huge leaks when I was starting out.

You should be raising pre-flop the vast majority of the time, persistently limping in with marginal hands and hoping to get lucky is not a good strategy. This is very basic but very important: when you limp/call, the only way you can win the pot is to win at showdown. However, when you bet/raise, now you have an additional way to win the pot, which occurs when all of your opponents fold.

Suited connectors look nice but when you do connect with the flop, it's probably going to be middle or bottom pair with no draws a lot of the time. The only time I would limp with suited connectors is in late position or in the SB when others have already limped in. If I decide to open a pot with these, I'm going to raise with them.

I c-bet the majority of the time, there are some situations where I may plan to do a delayed c-bet if I don't like the flop but I'm in the hand with only one villain and he/she shows weakness. If multiple opponents are in the pot and you completely miss the flop, usually a c-bet is just wasting chips here. There's an art to c-betting, you can do it too little and it can also get you into trouble if you do it too much.

pot odds are important everywhere, if you're constantly chasing 8:1 draws with 3:1 pot odds you're going to lose in the long run.

Lastly, limp/folding a lot makes you look like you're playing scared and this is the kiss of death at a poker table, because people will run all over you.

Is there any video/site explaining hand strenghts?

Yes there is .

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...sky_Texas_Holdem_Starting_Hand_Strategies.JPG

All these questions are brilliant & each answer would come with a personalized approach & have multiple conclusions with different outcomes.

I just read as much as I can on these forums (as its very down to earth with explanations) & then remember what Ive done at the tables & how often these key factors come into it.

There are many books and also site that have ways of explaining good hands and position is also important. pokerstars has a pokerschool you can join for free it has helped my game very much

One of the Harrington on Holdem volumes discusses stack size vs blinds for ranges that would probably help you out. His M & Q strategies are quite useful

bussikuski said:

When can i stop playing only premium hands?

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Right away. You can play a tight range early on, but limiting yourself to just premiums is too tight.

When to limp in and when to raise preflop?

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Don't open-limp at all. As you learn, you may start to find specific situations where you can do so, but even then, it isn't likely to be meaningfully better than open-raising. So, you stand to lose very little if anything if you simply eliminate open-limping from your game, at least until you've improved quite a bit.

How do i play suited connectors?

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A large majority of the time, just fold them. If you open, raise; don't limp. As above, you can delay adding SCs to your game until you've learned to play a solid TAG style.

If i bet preflop should i always Cbet on the flop?

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Usually. If you're only opening premiums, then you should almost always cbet. Even if you open somewhat more, your range will still be tight and you should cbet pretty often. For the most part, the exceptions that arise won't be very hard to recognize; e.g. there will be heavy action and/or you'll be OOP with the prospect of cbetting into multiple opponents.

Thanks for the answers! Got a couple more questions and dont really want to make a new thread but here we go.

How do i change my playstyle when im the chip leader?
Sometimes i get a huge lead early but dont know how to take advantage of it and end up losing the lead.

How do i play in the bubble?
Mostly i just play tight and try to steal the blinds and just fold if someone 3bets or with a good hand i just shove it, and i havnt really been succesfull.

bussikuski said:

Thanks for the answers! Got a couple more questions and dont really want to make a new thread but here we go.

How do i change my playstyle when im the chip leader?
Sometimes i get a huge lead early but dont know how to take advantage of it and end up losing the lead.

How do i play in the bubble?
Mostly i just play tight and try to steal the blinds and just fold if someone 3bets or with a good hand i just shove it, and i havnt really been succesfull.

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1.Play only premium hands since medium to low stacks will be stealing the blinds and you enter the pot to bust them out.

2. Play agressively using your position. Raise when entering a pot.

Shove selectively once every orbit of the blinds.
When in dealer button, raise if everyone before you folded. If you are small blind and all folded to you, shove. Do this in caution with medium to low stack opponent only. Dont shove or raise vs deep stack if you dont have good cards.

You do these things for two reasons. Stealing the blinds of the players that are tight during the bubble. Sending an aggressive image that will prevent them to steal your blinds. Cheers!

Good advice deluns. And of course keep reading on here as much as you can. Seriously i find that i do better when i play a little less and read and or study my past mistakes a little more.Poker is a lot like life. We got to learn from our mistakes or we are doomed to repeat them.

bussikuski said:

Thanks for the answers! Got a couple more questions and dont really want to make a new thread but here we go.

How do i change my playstyle when im the chip leader?
Sometimes i get a huge lead early but dont know how to take advantage of it and end up losing the lead.

How do i play in the bubble?
Mostly i just play tight and try to steal the blinds and just fold if someone 3bets or with a good hand i just shove it, and i havnt really been succesfull.

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One of the most common ways I see big stacks become small stacks is by making loose calls and allowing others to be the aggressor on the pot, when they're not trapping with the nuts. As the big stack, you want to be the aggressor, so if you're going to enter a pot either raise or 3-bet. Usually you will know when you're behind if somebody gives an indication that he/she is willing to get it in against the big stack, then it's ok to fold (unless you have the odds to call).

Another deadly weapon to use on the bubble is to re-steal all-in from the BB against someone who has a similar size stack and min-raised, it takes some courage to do this without AA/KK but it's extremely effective. How you play the bubble depends a lot on your stack size, if you have a big stack you can really start raising a wide range and push the table around but if you have <10BB, it's probably time to start shoving a lot while you still have fold equity.

my rule of thumb is if I am going to play the cards that I have. Never to limp in always raise max 3x´s the pot, unless someone has alrerady raised before me then I let them do the betting

bussikuski said:

Thanks for the answers! Got a couple more questions and dont really want to make a new thread but here we go.

How do i change my playstyle when im the chip leader?
Sometimes i get a huge lead early but dont know how to take advantage of it and end up losing the lead.

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It's table- and situation-dependent. One difference is that quite often, you can open wider because the smaller stacks will tend to be reluctant to enter pots with you. But this is a generalization, which means there are exceptions. For instance, when players still to act have push/fold stacks and you'll be or feel obliged to call with the bottom of your range, you may not want to expand said range.

How do i play in the bubble?
Mostly i just play tight and try to steal the blinds and just fold if someone 3bets or with a good hand i just shove it, and i havnt really been succesfull.

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Again, it's situation-dependent. That said, a common error here is playing tighter in order to cash. Nearing the bubble is usually a good time to ramp up your aggression, although your ability to do so can vary substantially with factors like relative stack sizes, how your opponents are playing, etc.