Very first sng

[ericgarner118]

I played my first sng today and didn't do very well at all. I was just wondering how bad i played this hand and what i should have done better.

pokerstars Game #17661013837: Tournament #89552573, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/05/24 - 15:27:49 (ET)
Table '89552573 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: BernieDK (1160 in chips)
Seat 2: adk47 (1780 in chips)
Seat 3: crazeenius (710 in chips)
Seat 4: distrex (2060 in chips)
Seat 5: DWCALL (1450 in chips)
Seat 6: jos777 (1340 in chips)
Seat 7: Donjelek (2140 in chips)
Seat 8: teletubby111 (1390 in chips)
Seat 9: ruselll (1470 in chips)
adk47: posts small blind 10
crazeenius: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to distrex [5d 5c]
distrex: raises 140 to 160
DWCALL: folds
jos777: calls 160
Donjelek: calls 160
teletubby111: folds
ruselll: folds
BernieDK: calls 160
adk47: folds
crazeenius: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qs 8s Qc]
distrex: bets 20
jos777: calls 20
Donjelek: calls 20
BernieDK: raises 980 to 1000 and is all-in
distrex: calls 980
jos777: folds
Donjelek: calls 980
*** TURN *** [Qs 8s Qc] [Jc]
distrex: checks
Donjelek: bets 980 and is all-in
distrex: calls 900 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (80) returned to Donjelek
*** RIVER *** [Qs 8s Qc Jc] [Th]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
distrex: shows [5d 5c] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
Donjelek: shows [Tc Jh] (two pair, Queens and Jacks)
Donjelek collected 1800 from side pot
BernieDK: shows [7c 7h] (two pair, Queens and Sevens)
Donjelek collected 3690 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5490 Main pot 3690. Side pot 1800. | Rake 0
Board [Qs 8s Qc Jc Th]
Seat 1: BernieDK (button) showed [7c 7h] and lost with two pair, Queens and Sevens
Seat 2: adk47 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: crazeenius (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: distrex showed [5d 5c] and lost with two pair, Queens and Fives
Seat 5: DWCALL folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: jos777 folded on the Flop
Seat 7: Donjelek showed [Tc Jh] and won (5490) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 8: teletubby111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: ruselll folded before Flop (didn't bet)

 

[S93]

PokerStars Game #17661013837: Tournament #89552573, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/05/24 - 15:27:49 (ET)
Table '89552573 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: BernieDK (1160 in chips)
Seat 2: adk47 (1780 in chips)
Seat 3: crazeenius (710 in chips)
Seat 4: distrex (2060 in chips)
Seat 5: DWCALL (1450 in chips)
Seat 6: jos777 (1340 in chips)
Seat 7: Donjelek (2140 in chips)
Seat 8: teletubby111 (1390 in chips)
Seat 9: ruselll (1470 in chips)
adk47: posts small blind 10
crazeenius: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to distrex [5d 5c]
distrex: raises 140 to 160 First 7-8BB is a huge bet,whouldnt a standard 3-4BB be better?What are u trying to represent with this bet? Your UTG with 55 raising is not a good play u whant to get a cheap flop and try to hit a set.
DWCALL: folds
jos777: calls 160
Donjelek: calls 160
teletubby111: folds
ruselll: folds
BernieDK: calls 160
adk47: folds
crazeenius: folds
*** FLOP *** [Qs 8s Qc]
distrex: bets 20 Preflop u bet 160 and now you min bet.Not good,if u really whant this pot a standard c-bet whould be in order some thing like 400-500 might do it.
jos777: calls 20
Donjelek: calls 20
BernieDK: raises 980 to 1000 and is all-in
distrex: calls 980 U min bet he pushes all-in,your beat...... Why are u calling this u have a healty stack and no need to get involved when obvs. behind.
jos777: folds
Donjelek: calls 980
*** TURN *** [Qs 8s Qc] J♣
distrex: checks
Donjelek: bets 980 and is all-in
distrex: calls 900 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (80) returned to Donjelek
*** RIVER *** [Qs 8s Qc Jc] [Th]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
distrex: shows [5d 5c] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
Donjelek: shows [Tc Jh] (two pair, Queens and Jacks)
Donjelek collected 1800 from side pot
BernieDK: shows [7c 7h] (two pair, Queens and Sevens)
Donjelek collected 3690 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5490 Main pot 3690. Side pot 1800. | Rake 0
Board [Qs 8s Qc Jc Th]
Seat 1: BernieDK (button) showed [7c 7h] and lost with two pair, Queens and Sevens
Seat 2: adk47 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: crazeenius (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: distrex showed [5d 5c] and lost with two pair, Queens and Fives
Seat 5: DWCALL folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: jos777 folded on the Flop
Seat 7: Donjelek showed [Tc Jh] and won (5490) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Seat 8: teletubby111 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: ruselll folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Dont get this the wrong way cause im not trying to be mean,but this is terrible played.
You play small pocket pairs to set-mine if u miss u fold u dont call an all-in,the min bet c-bet is terrible and the call even worse.

I suggest reading some of the strategy articles at the top right side of you screen

 

[ericgarner118]

Thanks a lot. I've started reading some stuff so far, obviously I need to do a lot more reading.

 

[S93]

Thanks a lot. I've started reading some stuff so far, obviously I need to do a lot more reading.

Every one haves to start some where,if u just try to read a litle play as much as u can and post hand historys u will become a goodplayer.

Here are some good articles u might whant to read.I know it can be boring sometimes reading all thease articles but belive me they really help.
Poker Odds for Dummies - Poker Odds Made Simple!
Poker Advice for New Players - Beginners guide to Poker.
Low Stakes Sit N Go Tournament Strategy

 

[feitr]

Yea this is a train wreck from start to finish.

1. Pay attention to position. You don't want to be playing from UTG if you can help, and you sure as hell don't want to be raising a hand like 55 from UTG. Just limp and try and hit a set and if you miss then fold. That is your best line for small pocket pairs when you are learning.
2. Pay attention to the size of your raises. While this is somewhat of a personal preference, you might want to use a rule of thumb like 3-4x the BB with no limpers than add one BB for each limper. As you play you'll learn the size of raises best for the stake at which you are playing. Raising 8x BB from UTG with a hand like 55 is just awful. You want to limp or fold it.
3. What on earth is the point of a 20 bet into a huge pot? What are you trying to say there?
4. Don't call the all in...how do you possibly expect to be ahead here even at the terrible play in 1$ SnGs? You were doing fine until that point and still would have had 1800 chips.

 

[MR TOYMAKER]

Dont get this the wrong way cause im not trying to be mean,but this is terrible played.
You play small pocket pairs to set-mine if u miss u fold u dont call an all-in,the min bet c-bet is terrible and the call even worse.

I suggest reading some of the strategy articles at the top right side of you screen

He's giving you good intel on stg play. Betting and patience is the way to a winning roi (return on investment) with stg. If you win too mnay of these playing like this you will run into sharks in STG and they will read your play and dominate you.

 

[ericgarner118]

Thanks for all your input guys. Atleast one good thing came out of my crappy play; I got a pretty cheap lesson on what not to do. Better to do it in a $1 game then make the mistake later on. I'm sure if i just stick around here and do as much reading as i can i should be able to bring my game up.

 

[S93]

Thanks for all your input guys. Atleast one good thing came out of my crappy play; I got a pretty cheap lesson on what not to do. Better to do it in a $1 game then make the mistake later on. I'm sure if i just stick around here and do as much reading as i can i should be able to bring my game up.

I whould also recament that u post some more hands on here,its a great way to get fead back on what to do/not do.

And btw if u whould look at the first sng of every player on this HUGE forum im preaty sure 90% of them are like that.
Just part of learning the game by making mistakes only thing you have to do is make sure not to do the same mistake twice

 

[c9h13no3]

Yeah, wow, there are so many things here that are bad, its hard to know where to start. The big things I can think of are:

1) Play small pairs for set value early on. You want to see a cheap flop, make 3 of a kind. If you don't make 3 of a kind, fold.

2) Stop min-betting/raising. Take this play totally out of your game. Sure, there are spots where min-betting is useful, but this is not one of them! Stop doing this altogether.

3) In a sit & go, you want to adjust the strength of your hand that you are willing to go all in with to how high the blinds are. If the blinds are at their first level, then I only go all in with the nuts or near nuts. So pocket aces & kings preflop, sets, straights & flushes postflop. As the blinds go up, then you can start putting all your chips in on lesser hands. But in the beginning, you REALLY need to have the goods when you put your chips in.

 

[Effexor]

I am overjoyed that a new person is willing to post here and accept the responses without taking it personally. If you continue this attitude and continue posting hands, I guarantee you'll be a much better player in short time.

 

[rob5775]

Eric,

Welcome to the forums and glad to have you here. As Effexor already said, it's good to have a new member who isn't afraid to ask questions to get better.

With the blinds as low as they are compared to your chipstack, I really don't mind a raise utg (first to act preflop) with this hand. It adds variety and will get you callers when you get a monster like AA/KK etc.

However, if you feel you post flop play isn't strong, then this is a EASY fold preflop. You make a huge preflop raise that will only be called by stronger hands then make a tiny flop bet that reeks of weakness. I wouldn't recommend a continuation bet here, but if you do, please go for half the pot or more.

You can not call the all in here as you obviously well behind to the shover or a likely caller behind you. Save the chips and fold.

I give a A+ on the effort but a D- on execution. I have a feeling that your grades will improve with more time spent here at CC.

 

[vanquish]

basically, don't use the call button in tournaments...

 

[rob5775]

basically, don't use the call button in tournaments...

There's a call button? Is that next to the beer button?

Call? No.

Beer? Yes.

 

[feitr]

Eric,

Welcome to the forums and glad to have you here. As Effexor already said, it's good to have a new member who isn't afraid to ask questions to get better.

With the blinds as low as they are compared to your chipstack, I really don't mind a raise utg (first to act preflop) with this hand. It adds variety and will get you callers when you get a monster like AA/KK etc.

However, if you feel you post flop play isn't strong, then this is a EASY fold preflop. You make a huge preflop raise that will only be called by stronger hands then make a tiny flop bet that reeks of weakness. I wouldn't recommend a continuation bet here, but if you do, please go for half the pot or more.

You can not call the all in here as you obviously well behind to the shover or a likely caller behind you. Save the chips and fold.

I give a A+ on the effort but a D- on execution. I have a feeling that your grades will improve with more time spent here at CC.

Not really applicable for $1 SnG on Stars. It doesn't really matter how strong your post flop play is if you are UTG in a multiway pot vs calling stations. And players aren't exactly going to pay any attention to table image so i don't really think you'll get much more action when you hit a monster. I'm pretty sure that players will call any raise @ $1 if they like their hand and they probably don't really care how much you have raised earlier.

Not only that, but mixing it up (ie. occasionally raising suited connectors and small pocket pairs from early position) is something more geared towards at least NL50+ and more often NL100+ where you start to encounter regs who will begin to raise you off of pots if you always limp from EP with a small pocket pair. It isn't the sort of thing i think you should be trying when you are just starting to learn the game. For new players stick with the basics imo...small pocket pairs = limp, hope for a set, and fold if you miss.

 

[rob5775]

Not really applicable for $1 SnG on Stars. It doesn't really matter how strong your post flop play is if you are UTG in a multiway pot vs calling stations. And players aren't exactly going to pay any attention to table image so i don't really think you'll get much more action when you hit a monster. I'm pretty sure that players will call any raise @ $1 if they like their hand and they probably don't really care how much you have raised earlier.

Not only that, but mixing it up (ie. occasionally raising suited connectors and small pocket pairs from early position) is something more geared towards at least NL50+ and more often NL100+ where you start to encounter regs who will begin to raise you off of pots if you always limp from EP with a small pocket pair. It isn't the sort of thing i think you should be trying when you are just starting to learn the game. For new players stick with the basics imo...small pocket pairs = limp, hope for a set, and fold if you miss.

Fair enough. I agree that most people are not paying attention at a dollar sng, but there will be a couple. At every limit there WILL be someone paying attention and taking notes, so mixing up your play is a good idea.

If you recommend sticking to the basics, then limping utg with a small pocket pair is -Ev and a easy fold. Limping with mediocre hands in early position is only effective if opponents do not raise you, forcing you to call or fold with bad odds. If you're opponents do not fear that you may be limping with a monster (aka: AA, KK) hoping for a re-raise then they will raise like you don't exist (remember, they are low limit players who are unobservant... like you said).

Small and medium pocket pairs play better in cheap, multi-way pots because you hit a set so rarely you need a large pot to have positive expectation with them. Limping from early position doesn't really meet that requirement.

 

[c9h13no3]

I don't mind a limp at all. Even if we're raised, we're still likely to get set odds...

 

[CfPoker]

I whould also recament that u post some more hands on here,its a great way to get fead back on what to do/not do.

Also post hands you won. Very often you might lose a hand despite playing really well (the posts most often found on here because people sometimes want to confirm they played it right), and win a hand despite playing it really bad.

Also, when posting a hand try and do it without the final results. You often get a lot more meaningful analysis if you do that as we're then in the same boat as you not knowing what the villian has.

 

[FatLane]

I would like to add that you have taken the first step to becoming a much better player. You are actually taking the time to analyze your game by participating on this site and reading articles. This gives you an instant advantage over the thousands of players at poker stars who have no desire to improve their play.

Secondly, don't feel bad, you were not the only one to play this hand badly. Bernie was the first player to throw away all of his chips with a pair of sevens; Not a good play when you have two other loose players and a pair of Q's on the board. Then, Donjelek throws away half of his remaining chips by calling the all-in with absolutely nothing at all. Then when Donjelek's useless J comes on the turn, he carelessly throws the rest of his chips away. bluffing at what should have been an empty side-pot.

This is the kind of hand that demonstrates the need for the "Poker Stars Donkey Filter". At the end of the hand, a message appears (with the sound of a braying donkey). The message says, "DONKEY ALERT: You all lose. The pot will be divided evenly among those that folded away from this hand"

 

[AZE]

I'd say you played it pretty awful. 55 is a garbage hand you're UTG and you're raising like 1,000,000 times the BB.

Do a lot of studying.

 

[ericgarner118]

Thanks alot guys, I've learned alot with just this one hand I've posted up on here. I'll make sure I keep up the studying and learning.