Who has a good strategy for SNG tourney's?

[Penguinfan]

Or at least who will share a decent strategy? Be honest there are thousands of people on Party at a time so odds are we are never gonna bump into one another so your secret is safe with me. In another thread I said something to the effect that I will try to win hands before the flop and take a stand with premium hands rather than try to play after the flop. TP replied that this was fine for weaker players. Weaker players huh? Well I am never one to say I am right and always looking to improve so I can easily admit I am wrong when need be, and if now is one of those times then so be it. Especially at Party where if you double up even once you can usually cruise to the final three, chips are at a premium, it does not take long playing too tight to become short stacked, I mean with 600 chips and the blinds at 150/300 you are up against it and better hope it's down to a maximum of 5 or 6 players at this point.

Do you really want to call with premium hands and see a flop only to have to navigate through it? The biggest problem is that people will play pocket pairs like they are a lock, any pair and you never know if they hit a set when you get a ragged flop holding AK. If they bet do you continue and hope to catch, do you even need to catch, you just don't know.

Who has a good working strategy for Party SNG's? I'm talking Party in specific because of the chips you get to start with and the blind structure not being timed.

Any help is appreciated.

[PShabi]

Penguin,

I am by no means an expert. However, I will share some points of my SNG strategy with you.

Generally, I play the 20 man SNGs because I like the payout for my money. It takes a really drunk night for me to not make it to the final table in these things.

1) Extra tight from the get go in the early rounds. Toss KJos in early position without blinking. While this doesn't seem like a "revolutionary" play to good players, most internet players cannot lay a doubled painted hand down preflop in EP.

2) With position, I almost always try to raise or reraise pre-flop with a hand that I want to play. I like to be the aggressor. Sure, I take down a lot of hands early for just a small pot with KK, but it sets up my play for the rest of the game. It's really a good thing when I get to showdown a winner with some of these hands so I can advertise that I'm not going to be fucking around with marginal hands. Sometimes I'll flash without automucking.

The exception is if I have a small wired pair or ace suited. Then I may just call to see for cheap.

3) Once I've showed down a couple of my raising hands and create an image, I like to get aggressive. I will make plays to steal the blinds almost every round from 2 or 3 off the button. I really don't like to steal from the button because people are just waiting for that. This gives me ammo for the late rounds. This is really effective following the first break because it seems the field tightens up when the blinds raise to these levels.

4) Usually, at this point, I've moved into the final 10 with a top 4 chip stack. Now, I just pick my spots. If I've got a hand, I'm gonna raise and try to get you out. I look for chances to pick up pots by raising preflop. But mostly, I'm gonna need to catch a few bigguns. Usually, I do, and am in the money.

Now, you know that this is very basic. Gotta use reads to feel your way around. Without sounding arrogant, I feel like I am a natural here. Even though your reads are limited in the online game, the gut has gotta help you out here and there.

PS. What's your party Id? Just to stay clear.

[Penguinfan]

Oddly enough it's penguinfan and I am not someone you need to fear, I have said before I am a losing player who is steadily approaching level to profitable. I think I agree that in the first two rounds it is acceptable to fold most hands, in fact I do fold everything but AA and KK in the first two levels because people can and do call with anything and I like to wait for the 2 or 3 biggest idiots to bust out before I get to really playing, hopefully they will bust out when I get AA or KK, but that doesn't happen often enough to count on.

[BlackCoffee]

I like to play fairly loose at the start. If i'm in late position, i'll try to see many flops cheap. If i hit the flop I can build a stack lead or knock someone out (even AA and KK). If I dont hit, it's easy to fold.

I play alot tighter in the middle part (close to the money) and i'll push it at the end. When already in the money, If I'm leading, i'll pressure the small stacks, If i'm down, i'll be desperate.

[Slayre]

I am going to approach this in a different manner...

I'm no expert, i've only recently starting winning more than I have lost, I generally play the 10+1sng's on party..

Take a deck of cards...deal out 10 hands, 10 times.... keep track of how many hands make sense to play before the flop.. keep track of how many pairs are dealt.....

on each set of 10 hands, pick the 3 best that you think are playable, then deal the flop......see which improved and which didn't.

no real need for turn or river with this exercise.

If you have not gotten pokertracker, do so. Also get a good book on poker, perhaps Theory of Poker by David Sklansky.

Ok, the first round, i buy into every unraised hand...with any hand, and ofcourse play the premium hands more seriously.

second round.. q8s,medium or higher suited connectors,no raises, is playable to me, plus any pocket pair.

once the third round starts, you prolly down to 8 or less players, blinds sting alot more....think bout that 100 hand exercise you did, and consider what people are most likely 'limping' in with.....this is where i tighten up and let the other 6 or 7 players take each other out...and again, playing my premium hands more seriously...

don't chase.... your pair of 7's prolly isn't any good with over cards on the board... paired board could mean FH for someone.... don't use the auto click options...... try to notice who is trying to steal blinds and if they do it alot, try to nip it in the bud....ie, protect your blinds I suppose is a bettre way to say that...

when you get down to 4 players... again, think about the 100 hand exercise.... cept, odds are, everyone pretty much has the same crap, only in different colors...shapes... if your short stack, you can't afford to wait for the perfect hand, you have to be aggressive... if your medium stack, or average, you still need to be aggressive just not as much...just remember, most likely, all 4 of you have crap hands....if your chip leader, keep in mind, this can change quickly...you can bully the short stacks, but, the average stack will prolly stand up to you....you have more time, to be more selective in the hands you choose to play, but, not all that much...

there ya go.. please forgive my neglect of technical terms...

[Penguinfan]

Thats pretty much opposite the advice you usually get on these typr of games, but this ultra-tight style tends to leave you short stacked early more often than not.

[Aequitas58]

Do you have AIM? If so, look me up, I'll give you something I've learned.

[Slayre]

heh, that is what works for me..... im not going to patent it or write a book on it... i've tried other ways.. and generally get busted out early or on the bubble...

but, as i said, im no expert, and am not near enuff at the level i would like to be... right now im trying to slowly work in different strategies by using my PT stats to find my holes...

i have a limited amount of money to play with, and if i lose it all, i have to wait til the following pay day..... so, my goal is to win just a few dollars each session, or lose even less than a few dollars...and hopefully, by the end of the month, i'll still have a bankroll and i take what ever i can out, pay some bills and such, and start all over with my minimum bank roll...

as far as being short stacked early, yeah, pretty much every time... and pretty much everytime, i end up in the money too....short stack or not... i won tourneys from a stack of 85, and i've lost tourneys with stacks of 4500, which says alot...

im rambling... i guess another aspect, is to not let the 1 or 2 outters get you down, and hopefully its a minimum loss..long as I play consistant..hand for hand, i usually do pretty well....

[Penguinfan]

I am instant messanger illiterate, there are a bunch of them. I assume that is AOL instant messaging? I don't have it, but will download it, whats your ID?

I have already got a lesson from you, catching cards against TP is EASY!!!

[Aequitas58]

I wouldn't say I'm giving you a LESSON... who am I to give a lesson!? lol. I would pass on the info I learned from someone, that's all. Forget about DLing the software... if you want me to just send you a PM, I can do that.

Oh, and catching cards is especially easy when you get to CHECK to see them or call the minimum bet.

[2Tone]

I think advice is also going to have vary on what level you are playing at. In my experience the $5+1 are just crazy, so I'd only play top-tier premium hands (and play them hard) during the first couple of rounds, because maniacs are going to knock each other filling up inside straights, and catching flushes. Once the dust settles and there are seven players left, and blinds are creeping up, then it's time to engage .

But the $30+3s are a different story. Naturally, people are less likely to throw away $33 on a draw, so play gets more sensible, and you have be much more crafty.

[johnbaker]

the key to sng success (in my opinion) is seeing cheap flops with suited connectors when you know the other player(s) have hands they wont be able to get away from when you hit a flop. i like playing pot limit holdem sng's, because pocket pairs cant raise out my suited connectors preflop. any pocket pair is also very profitable, because if you hit a set and have position, you WILL double up if anyone hit the flop at all. people in sng's are all about donating... people will always call your all in with top pair on the river with any kicker unless theres like an open ended straight on the board or 4 to a flush or something reeeeally scary like that. being able to play position is key to breaking people in sng's, so if you dont understand how to play position, i suggest you learn.

depending on how much raising goes on preflop in your sng, you might be able to safely limp in early position with suited connectors. if it is an aggressive or reckless game, then obviously dont play them up front...

also in pot limit, do not slow play any strong hand that could get broken. you need to raise as much as possible preflop with JJ-AA, then depending on the flop, you will be able to actually go all in and keep idiots from screwing you.. if you have appropriately pumped up the pot.

i like the fact that you admit to being a losing player at the moment; being able to admit this shows that you have potential to become a winning player. keep questioning your own plays and strategies, and keep improving your game... you'll definitly become a good player this way.

-jB

[Penguinfan]

Thanks for the advice. JB, it should be easy to admit your a losing player when you are one, it is what it is. I always loved the posts at RGP that start "Now I consider myself a strong player" and then go onto say how their pocket 2's got run down on the river when a "moron" made his broadway straight.