Late game play?

Hello,

I have been playing pokerstars for about 3 weeks now, starting with SnGs i can usually end in 3rd place but i can't seem to come in 2nd or 1st. I switched to DoN because i can grind them easier and they basically give the same reward as coming in 3rd for SnG.

How exactly would i play during the bubble, usually if i'm big stacked i only play AA, AKs, KK, occasionally AK, QQ, JJ. what should i be playing if i'm short stacked or middle stacked, during late game when the blinds are 50/100 75/150? I heard that you should play aggressive and loose if your short stacked and middle stacked, should i just be playing any 2 cards?

What are some good SnG guides that i should read?

Thanks,

Well are you playing DoN or SNGs? They are drastically different play styles.

If your playing SnGs you should look forward to double up when you are a small or mid stack. Basically
you want to get more involved before the blinds eat u up.
But this is not universally applicable just try to play differtn then the rest...if the other players play very loose then play more tight and vice versa....
just dont get eaten up by the blinds.

Huuy said:

Hello,

I have been playing Pokerstars for about 3 weeks now, starting with SnGs i can usually end in 3rd place but i can't seem to come in 2nd or 1st. I switched to DoN because i can grind them easier and they basically give the same reward as coming in 3rd for SnG.

How exactly would i play during the bubble, usually if i'm big stacked i only play AA, AKs, KK, occasionally AK, QQ, JJ. what should i be playing if i'm short stacked or middle stacked, during late game when the blinds are 50/100 75/150? I heard that you should play aggressive and loose if your short stacked and middle stacked, should i just be playing any 2 cards?

What are some good SnG guides that i should read?

Thanks,

Click to expand...

It sounds like you'd learn a lot by reading Moshman's SNG book but i'll give a few tips here.
Firstly, tightening up on the bubble is the thing you shouldn't be doing. Other people on the table won't want to go out on the bubble either, and so will tighten up, which you should exploite with aggressive play.

Secondly, the blinds are usually a high % of your stack by this point, and your stack could be only 10BB. This means two things. Firstly, when you come in for a raise, it will usually be all-in (as a 3x BB raise will almost make you pot committed, why give them a chance to push you off your hand?).
Your starting hand ranges should be wider as your only 4 handed (and so premium hands are very rare) and also because people won't want to call your all-in with marginal hands in fear of bubbling.

If you are the big-stack you should be unrelenting in your raises pre-flop, especially picking on medium stack sizes as these will want the least confrontation (hopeing that the small stack goes out first).
If your big-stack, widen your range a lot (25%+ of hands) and always be first to get it all-in. You don't want to be calling with the big stack with marginal hands because you will have better spots in the future.
Hands you want to be pushing vary due to table image and the image of other players, but should be around A-x, K-4s+, and PP, and suited connectors. (Basically anything with showdown value). Remember 89s has 40% chance of winning against AKs if you do get called, and so shoving these hands is usually always profitable.

If you're medium stack, you want to be looking for spots to steal (or even re-steal) to get into a big stack position from where you can become super aggressive. For example if someone has been raising PF 75% of the time, a well timed re-steal 3bet could earn you a lot of chips (up to 40% of your currenty stack). However this is more advanced and probably less likely to work in micro stakes IMO.

Short stack - pick spots, don't shove ATC (any two cards) but ones with showdown value. Shoving ATC is fine in certain circumstances but this is playing your position rather than playing your cards.

So the main points:

1. Don't tighten up on the bubble, become more aggressive
2. Medium sized stacks will be very scared of your big stack as you have the ability to knock them out on the bubble
3. If you're the medium stack, don't get involved with the big stack unless you have a very strong hand
4. Look for spots to steal blinds, play your opponents.
5. Don't start shoving ATC as better spots usually always appear (however sometimes shoving ATC is acceptable so check SNG Wizard for when this is true).

if we're talking sngs and you're big stacked you should be playing more hands, not less

and you i dunno what your shoving range is when short but you should probably be shoving more

There is usually two schools of thought. Some players while playing the shortstack look for a quick double up by moving in with any ace or hands like that. Other players prefer waiting it out for a good hand than double up. Being the short stack you need to understand that you cant sit to long or you will be blind out. If your the big stack usually in middle or late in the tourney you want to at all cost AVOID THE OTHER BIG STACK AT THE TABLE!!! I stress that so much because he can bust you and totally ruin your chance of cashing. Look to bully the short stacks who are just waiting around. But dont play to loose against them or you could slowly go down in the ranks. Playing the middle stack there is not to much strategy. Usually you just want to play ur regular game. In late tourney dont chase your draws to often and dont call down with middle pair too often either. A lot of people think that doubling up right away while being a middle stack is the best option in the late phase of the tourney but as the blinds go up you want to work to win a hand every once in a while. You woudl be suprised how far you can go using that method. Going for a quick double up is to risky while near the bubble. But when your heads up and three handed you definetly want to play more aggresive. My last piece of advice is when you get to the final table let everybody else kill eachother out while you slowly move up the pace game.