sit n go's

[steve7stud 0]

The system is something that I basically learned from watching a friend of mine who happens to play a lot of online tournys. As far as Smash's theory goes, I never tried it. Smash is a pretty bright guy though, and if he said that his system worked at low limit nl hold em, I would take his word for it.As far as Jacks go. If someone makes a standard raise, I would move all in with Jacks. There's only three hands that beat me. If my opppnent has one of them, I'm not overly concerned......it's a numbers game. Now if someone raises, and someone else moves all in before me, I lay my hand down.

[microtech 0]

I play a very similar TAG style in $5/.5 SNG at Jetset. It works over there pretty much the way Steve said. I ten to loosen up with 3 left and have had great success in making significant increases to my BR by following this method.

[zimmer4141 0]

Hey Steve, What levels of Sngs do you play on Party? I play the $200s fairly often, and have found them to be very profitable. Unfortunately, PokerTracker doesn't work well with Party Sng files, so I have no way of knowing exactly how much I win playing them. I also don't have Microsoft Excel, so I can't create a spreadsheet or anything.

[econ_tim 0]

Hey Steve, What levels of Sngs do you play on Party? I play the $200s fairly often, and have found them to be very profitable. Unfortunately, PokerTracker doesn't work well with Party Sng files, so I have no way of knowing exactly how much I win playing them. I also don't have Microsoft Excel, so I can't create a spreadsheet or anything.

Do you get Party to e-mail you the hand histories afterwards?It shouldn't be too hard to keep track since there are only 4 possible outcomes: losing, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st.Just use notepad to make a list of each SNG you play and the outcome.

[steve7stud 0]

Hey Steve,  What levels of Sngs do you play on Party?  I play the $200s fairly often, and have found them to be very profitable.  Unfortunately, PokerTracker doesn't work well with Party Sng files, so I have no way of knowing exactly how much I win playing them.  I also don't have Microsoft Excel, so I can't create a spreadsheet or anything.

I don't really play sng's all that often anymore. But when I did play, I played a ton of 200 sngs. I wanted to make sure that my theory was correct for all levels of play before I wrote this thread, so I experimented at lower limits as well.

[gpineo 0]

Just an addition to this post.On Fulltilt it does work. As Steve7stud has mentioned.Tried FullTilt 5+.50 lastnight and won. Now this is only the the third S&G that I have played on FT. It was a 9 person table but the method of TAG and once I was in the $$$ I still played TAG until I got headsup.Heads-up wasn't easy but I prevailed.P.S. Congrats Steve7stud on your position as a moderator. I am likeing the new improvements to the new site. Look forward to the new features for the Charter Members.Rock On FCP.

[DrZebra 0]

I would just move all in.......I don't want to "think" about what if's.

Forgive me if I'm taking this out of context, but I believe that your strategy is summed up in the above statement. It's totally true that if you play tight and overly aggressive you can get ITM about 40% of the time. As long as more than a quarter of those ITM finishes are above 3rd place you'll be a long-run winner.You'll surely find that this will work on the $5+1, $10+1, $20+2, and even a healthy percentage of the $30+3's you sign up for.If your ROI with this method is as high as 20%, and you can play 5 simultaneously for a 1 hour duration (to completion) then you can make as much as $30/hr on the $30+3's.As you move up in buy-in amounts, you'll find the strategy to be less effective and may only have an ROI of 10% in the 50/5 STT's and maybe none at all above that. Not to say I don't suggest your method for beginners looking to pad their bankroll from 1k to 2k, but to consistently win 100 and 200 STT's on party requires a more thorough mastery of "Party STT" strategy.I say "Party STT" because, the structure is so fast but it's still far from a crapshoot. I remember a time when I played with the same method you outlined and it appeared to me that as you went up in limits, the games became more based on luck. You'd have 10 guys who knew what they were doing shifting chips back and forth until the blinds hit 50/100 then two people would have big pairs and move in preflop. Then the big stack pushes a little until he knocks someone else out or everyone's even again. This continues until there's 5 left and the blinds are 200/400. I didn't understand.After opening up my understanding of the game and STT's, I find a looser style to be more effective. I can take advantage of players like yourself and be the big stack going down to the last 5 as much as 50% of the time.Single Table Tournament poker is certainly still poker. It's not "no reads involved" as you claim and it is a good way to pad your bankroll, especially by upping that ROI.You have to expect to finish out of the money more than 50% of the time. So by shooting for the top 3, you are shooting to hopefully do better than break even. Shoot for 1st place.

[dms26 3]

I like your idea...But my complaint is this. What percentage do you have to be ITM to beat the juice, long-term, and how high is the variance? It's something between 40% and 50%, and even worse for Party's $5+$1 20% juice.I personally just don't think sit and go's, (ESPECIALLY Party) are profitable for making long-term money because ofa) the structure leads itself to preflop move-ins from 5th place on downB) as that happens, results tend to approach math more and cut down on "statistical outliers" a.k.a. long term winners who win because of consistently correct decisions.c) variance is... high, for lack of evidence or data to back that up.I do know from my own experiences, that you can make the objectively correct poker decision ALL the time, and still frequently lose because you're rarely better than 60/40 all in preflop... and you have to be all in a lot preflop to win.I'd really love to see a data table, but I can't even decide how big a sample size is statistically significant. I think it needs to be closer to 1000 SnG's than 100 SnG's.

If you are talking about party SnG's I'd agree with you, but sites where you start with 1500 chips and have a decent blind structure do allow for some post flop play. It's fairly easy to double up in the first 2-3 levels if you get a big hand or a big flop, people will pay you off with weak hands.Once you double up you have plenty of chips to work with and can start to think about stealing blinds when they move to 50/100 or so. SnG's are the one type of game I was able to beat from day one, cash games and tournies took much more practice and time.If you are playing at Party I'd move immediately, the rake is too high and the structure blows.

[MoLeafsMo 0]

This thread is EXACTLY the kind of topic I needed to come across when I came to the site. Maybe some of you guys can help me out?I've recently started playing online, and I've played in a bunch of 5 + .5 SnGs on PokerStars. I'd say I've done reasonably well considering how much of a rookie I am, but I think I might be a little too raw to know exactly what I'm doing well and what I'm not.I wish I'd kept track of all my results from the beginning, but I'd estimate that I've cashed in about half of the tourneys I've entered (give or take) and won several, definitely more than I would have expected. I've definitely won enough to have increased my BR about a third in that time.I guess I should get to a point soon, so here goes: All the talk on this thread so far, from Steve's theory to all the variations of it that others have suggested, and other spin-off points made, seem to acknowledge the difference that is made by the particular sites on which you're playing. But other than acknowledging that things may be different on PS, I haven't seen any specifics on how things are different and how one's strategy should be altered.I play pretty TAG in general, but my play certainly changes based on how things are going in a given tourney, though I can't really say how in specifics. I know that when I cash in a tourney, I'll certainly have collected a lot of blinds on the way and won a (seemingly) high percentage of pots I've entered, and when I bust early it may have something to do with my being utterly flummoxed on how to play weak aces.So, my question (I promise there actually is one) is, can anyone give me a general idea of how this strategy applies to SnGs on PS, or a general idea of how one should play in those tourneys? I think after getting a response or two I'd be able to work backwards and see how much or how little my play resembles the advice I'm given, and if anyone is still interested, I can get a lot more specific about my questions (of which there are sure to be many). Also, any general advice on playing weak aces would probably help, and it would satisfy those of you who are irritated by all my generalities and prefer to answer specific questions.Anyway, sorry for going on for so long, but any help you guys can offer would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance.Mo

[MoLeafsMo 0]

This thread is EXACTLY the kind of topic I needed to come across when I came to the site. Maybe some of you guys can help me out?I've recently started playing online, and I've played in a bunch of 5 + .5 SnGs on PokerStars. I'd say I've done reasonably well considering how much of a rookie I am, but I think I might be a little too raw to know exactly what I'm doing well and what I'm not.I wish I'd kept track of all my results from the beginning, but I'd estimate that I've cashed in about half of the tourneys I've entered (give or take) and won several, definitely more than I would have expected. I've definitely won enough to have increased my BR about a third in that time.I guess I should get to a point soon, so here goes: All the talk on this thread so far, from Steve's theory to all the variations of it that others have suggested, and other spin-off points made, seem to acknowledge the difference that is made by the particular sites on which you're playing. But other than acknowledging that things may be different on PS, I haven't seen any specifics on how things are different and how one's strategy should be altered.I play pretty TAG in general, but my play certainly changes based on how things are going in a given tourney, though I can't really say how in specifics. I know that when I cash in a tourney, I'll certainly have collected a lot of blinds on the way and won a (seemingly) high percentage of pots I've entered, and when I bust early it may have something to do with my being utterly flummoxed on how to play weak aces.So, my question (I promise there actually is one) is, can anyone give me a general idea of how this strategy applies to SnGs on PS, or a general idea of how one should play in those tourneys? I think after getting a response or two I'd be able to work backwards and see how much or how little my play resembles the advice I'm given, and if anyone is still interested, I can get a lot more specific about my questions (of which there are sure to be many). Also, any general advice on playing weak aces would probably help, and it would satisfy those of you who are irritated by all my generalities and prefer to answer specific questions.Anyway, sorry for going on for so long, but any help you guys can offer would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance.Mo

[DrZebra 0]

I think that general consensus is that players on PP are crazy and players on PS are more TAGish and the structure is more forgiving.That said try not to play weak aces. If you are somehow priced in play them like you would try to fly a kite with holes in it. If the wind takes it, let it be, if not, no need to worry, it's what you expected.

[Emptyeye 0]

I'm presuming you play main NL tournies, correct? If so, a disclaimer that my advice comes mainly from a limit ring game background and taking the advice with a grain of salt is a good idea. ;)That said, in general, I tend to simply dump offsuit aces up to and including A9, or possibly even A10. With suited weak aces, I like to try and see a cheap flop, with the knowledge that I'll have to hit fairly hard in order to continue post-flop (Hitting the ace and only the ace does not count as hitting hard).

[doubleatrain 0]

I know this is a topic that's getting to be fairly old in forum time, but I just found this one, and was wondering if any of you all with more extensive experience at the Party sit 'n go tourneys have any thoughts on the advice laid out in this post at the www.bet-the-pot.com forums. http://www.bet-the-pot.com/forum/poker-art...rticle4537.html. It doesn't greatly differ from steve7stud's advice, but looks like it's more aggressive at times. Just curious. Thanks!

[jayboogie 0]

This is basically the strategy I use and I think most good players do the same. I rarely if ever play a hand in the 1st 3 levels, only hands I'm playing are big pairs, AK, AQ, middle pairs when I can see a flop cheap. I'll dump AK or AQ though if the action gets heavy pre-flop, it's not really a hand I want to play early on in a tournament, because you usually won't get paid off and it's going to miss the flop a good majority of the time as well.Typically, you'll have 3 players eliminated by the time you're at the 4th level, and you should pretty much always be alive at this point, because you shouldn't have risked your chips without the nuts early on. Considering that you'll usually be among the last 6 or 7 players every tournament you play and Top 3 gets the money, that means you can reasonably expect to finish in the money at a reasonable rate.I'm trying to finish in the money as the primary goal and when it gets 3 handed, I will switch gears and go for the win. It's important to be a good shorthanded player, otherwise you'll end up with many more 3rd's than 1st's which is not a good thing.

[JSCME 0]

The only thing I do differently than what has been discussed here is: I tend to get super aggressive in position when it gets down to the bubble. Even the loosest idiots seem to tighten up when it there is a visible chance of making the money. If it is checked to me in the SB or Button I will usually raise regardless of my cards. This also tends to help later on in the tourn. People will pay more attention to the table when they are on the bubble. After seeing me steal the blinds one or two times my image will become a bit of a LAG bully. I will tighten up as soon as it is down to 3 and then when I get a good pocket I will push and often get called by inferior hands.

[The Bwaves 0]

How could you fold this don't you know what you have:***** Hand History for Game 3147427555 *****15/30 Tourney Texas Hold'em Game Table (NL) (Tournament 18002761) - Mon Dec 05 00:58:11 EST 2005Table Table 67401 (Real Money) -- Seat 5 is the buttonTotal number of players : 10Seat 1: jt6662 (820)Seat 2: econ_tim (730)Seat 3: holdem1031 (915)Seat 4: KhanMan (775)Seat 5: fastchase198 (1140)Seat 6: stuart2323 (785)Seat 7: bedshockey27 (705)Seat 8: Bren8449 (815)Seat 9: devodude (735)Seat 10: yankhater977 (580)stuart2323 posts small blind (10)bedshockey27 posts big blind (15)** Dealing down cards **Dealt to econ_tim [ 3h, Kh ] Bren8449 folds.devodude folds.yankhater977 raises (30) to 30jt6662 folds.econ_tim folds.holdem1031 folds.KhanMan calls (30)fastchase198 folds.stuart2323 folds.bedshockey27 calls (15)** Dealing Flop ** : [ Qc, 9d, Qd ] bedshockey27 checks.yankhater977 checks.KhanMan checks.** Dealing Turn ** : [ Td ] bedshockey27 checks.yankhater977 checks.KhanMan bets (15)bedshockey27 folds.yankhater977 calls (15)** Dealing River ** : [ 8d ] yankhater977 checks.KhanMan bets (60)yankhater977 folds.** Summary **Main Pot: 190Board: [ Qc 9d Qd Td 8d ]jt6662 balance 820, didn't bet (folded)econ_tim balance 730, didn't bet (folded)holdem1031 balance 915, didn't bet (folded)KhanMan balance 860, bet 105, collected 190, net +85fastchase198 balance 1140, didn't bet (folded)stuart2323 balance 775, lost 10 (folded) bedshockey27 balance 675, lost 30 (folded) Bren8449 balance 815, didn't bet (folded)devodude balance 735, didn't bet (folded)yankhater977 balance 535, lost 45 (folded) Raise and win! Krablar!!SW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[UNCpoker 0]

This is basically the strategy I use and I think most good players do the same. I rarely if ever play a hand in the 1st 3 levels, only hands I'm playing are big pairs, AK, AQ, middle pairs when I can see a flop cheap. I'll dump AK or AQ though if the action gets heavy pre-flop, it's not really a hand I want to play early on in a tournament, because you usually won't get paid off and it's going to miss the flop a good majority of the time as well.Typically, you'll have 3 players eliminated by the time you're at the 4th level, and you should pretty much always be alive at this point, because you shouldn't have risked your chips without the nuts early on. Considering that you'll usually be among the last 6 or 7 players every tournament you play and Top 3 gets the money, that means you can reasonably expect to finish in the money at a reasonable rate.I'm trying to finish in the money as the primary goal and when it gets 3 handed, I will switch gears and go for the win. It's important to be a good shorthanded player, otherwise you'll end up with many more 3rd's than 1st's which is not a good thing.

Good post, I play mostly like this with the exception of when it gets down to 4 handed. Depending on my stack size, I will get very aggressive. If I am the chip leader, I will still play very tight, and push hard with good pockets, but if I have a smallish to medium stack, I will push with a lot of hands to steal bllinds or hope for a double up. I won't do this with any two cards, but any A-9 up, any pair, two face cards. I may not get third as often, but I do end up getting 1st or 2nd a lot more this way. Now of course the less than premium hands I wouldn't play to raise, I am talking more about it I am first into the pot.

[blinky 0]

This thread is extremely odd to me.1. The responses make it seem like the SNG is a untempered brand new form of poker. Im sure 75% of strat posters are familiar with and have played 10+ SNGs in their life. And its not like theyre so insanely hard that without this thread's system the average strat poster would be lost in a SNG.2. The responses make it seem like steve7stud's concept is completely original and works perfectly. Systems similar to this have been posted on a good number of poker forums and poker websites. Id guesstimate that ive read 3 different articles detailing in one variation or another this exact strategy.

[Davin 0]

as zebra mentioned earlier, to make sng's profitable, you really must aim for top 2, not just to cash. with that said, playing only premium hands will not get the job done.the key to placing 1st or 2nd is to build a bigstack by the time it's 4-5 handed. you'll have to be very lucky to accomplish this by only playing big hands. thus, i've found it to generally more effective to play position more than play hands. in general, the majority of sng players have the same tag style that i've read in this topic... this makes them incredibly easy to exploit. if it gets folded to me or just a single limper (sometimes even if its two limper), i'll throw in a bet in late position (co+1, co, button). i know that people dont want to get invovled in pots early w/o good hands, and they're not going to be limping w/ good hands. you can build you stack nicely w/in the first couple rounds just by picking off pots pf, and on the flop if you can narrow it down to just one opponent.with that said, i generally tighten up after the first 2-3 levels. by now, my table image is usually shot, and if i continue raising so often, i'll eventually get looked. this is generally where i do the most damage. if i do find a hand to play, i will get paid off if i hit. you wont believe the range of hands that call me down when i have tptk or tpgk. bottom pair, middle pair no kicker, small pp, etc. by changing gears now, i'm doing it at the right time as my opponents will finally catch on to my aggressiveness. i often tighten up earlier as well. anytime one of my bluffs gets picked off in the first few levels, i tighten up for the next couple of orbits.next we come to the bubble levels. with 4-5 players left and blinds up in the 75/150 to 100/200 zone, i'll re-introduce my aggressiveness. the majority of the time, i'll be one of the 2 bigger stacks since i'll have one person pay me off in one of the prior levels w/ a mediocre hand. hopefully, i'll have shown down a couple good hands now, and have regained respect for preflop raises. i've found that players on the short stacks (and in 3rd place in particular) will fold almost everyhand pf. the blinds now are worth fighting for, and this again is a good time to pad your stack for the final push.once im in the money, i tighten up. the other two players will generally loosen up and begin playing garbage in hopes of busting another, and they have no worries about busting themselves. ill still raise my fair shair of hands, but ill also fold the sb and button a lot simply because i know i'll find better spots. sng's is all about your perceived table image. loose->tight->loose->tight has been a winning formula for me.o... and one more thing, some of the stated sng sample sizes are just ridiculously small. 3sng's, 8? play at least a hundred before you make any judgement about how truly profitable sng's are by playing strictly a tag game. and a last note, party's sng's are ridiculous. play ub, stars, fulltilt, royal vegas, etc. if you would like to actually play poker instead of a crapshoot, because w/ just 800 chips, it's not that much more (i've once signed up for a pp 10+1 sng, walked away from the table after the first level, and come up 3 hours later just to find out that i placed =])

[JSCME 0]

and a last note, party's sng's are ridiculous. play ub, stars, fulltilt, royal vegas, etc. if you would like to actually play poker instead of a crapshoot, because w/ just 800 chips, it's not that much more (i've once signed up for a pp 10+1 sng, walked away from the table after the first level, and come up 3 hours later just to find out that i placed =])

And this is a crapshoot how? The party tourns aren't fun to play, but if you play it tight (sucks as posting/folding) you can make it to the final 3 pretty damn easily.

[steve7stud 0]

This thread is extremely odd to me.1. The responses make it seem like the SNG is a untempered brand new form of poker. Im sure 75% of strat posters are familiar with and have played 10+ SNGs in their life. And its not like theyre so insanely hard that without this thread's system the average strat poster would be lost in a SNG.2. The responses make it seem like steve7stud's concept is completely original and works perfectly. Systems similar to this have been posted on a good number of poker forums and poker websites. Id guesstimate that ive read 3 different articles detailing in one variation or another this exact strategy.

I agree. Who the heck is this steve7stud guy anyway?

[HtotheNootch 0]

as zebra mentioned earlier, to make sng's profitable, you really must aim for top 2, not just to cash. with that said, playing only premium hands will not get the job done.the key to placing 1st or 2nd is to build a bigstack by the time it's 4-5 handed. you'll have to be very lucky to accomplish this by only playing big hands. thus, i've found it to generally more effective to play position more than play hands. in general, the majority of sng players have the same tag style that i've read in this topic... this makes them incredibly easy to exploit. if it gets folded to me or just a single limper (sometimes even if its two limper), i'll throw in a bet in late position (co+1, co, button). i know that people dont want to get invovled in pots early w/o good hands, and they're not going to be limping w/ good hands. you can build you stack nicely w/in the first couple rounds just by picking off pots pf, and on the flop if you can narrow it down to just one opponent.with that said, i generally tighten up after the first 2-3 levels. by now, my table image is usually shot, and if i continue raising so often, i'll eventually get looked. this is generally where i do the most damage. if i do find a hand to play, i will get paid off if i hit. you wont believe the range of hands that call me down when i have tptk or tpgk. bottom pair, middle pair no kicker, small pp, etc. by changing gears now, i'm doing it at the right time as my opponents will finally catch on to my aggressiveness. i often tighten up earlier as well. anytime one of my bluffs gets picked off in the first few levels, i tighten up for the next couple of orbits.next we come to the bubble levels. with 4-5 players left and blinds up in the 75/150 to 100/200 zone, i'll re-introduce my aggressiveness. the majority of the time, i'll be one of the 2 bigger stacks since i'll have one person pay me off in one of the prior levels w/ a mediocre hand. hopefully, i'll have shown down a couple good hands now, and have regained respect for preflop raises. i've found that players on the short stacks (and in 3rd place in particular) will fold almost everyhand pf. the blinds now are worth fighting for, and this again is a good time to pad your stack for the final push.once im in the money, i tighten up. the other two players will generally loosen up and begin playing garbage in hopes of busting another, and they have no worries about busting themselves. ill still raise my fair shair of hands, but ill also fold the sb and button a lot simply because i know i'll find better spots. sng's is all about your perceived table image. loose->tight->loose->tight has been a winning formula for me.o... and one more thing, some of the stated sng sample sizes are just ridiculously small. 3sng's, 8? play at least a hundred before you make any judgement about how truly profitable sng's are by playing strictly a tag game. and a last note, party's sng's are ridiculous. play ub, stars, fulltilt, royal vegas, etc. if you would like to actually play poker instead of a crapshoot, because w/ just 800 chips, it's not that much more (i've once signed up for a pp 10+1 sng, walked away from the table after the first level, and come up 3 hours later just to find out that i placed =])

Wow, I disagree.Shooting for the top 2 is just bad. Get in the money and then gamble for first. The difference between 3rd and 2nd is 10% of the prize pool. The difference between 3rd and 1st is 30%. It's way worth the gamble to try to win the thing.Finally, while I see your point about the fast party structure it has it's advantages for a TAG. You can just wait for your hand, and if you hit you'll hit the money. If you get short and hit your push, odds are you'll hit the money. The fast structure has another advantage that I had to have explained to me. If my ROI per tournament is 30%, and it's the same at party and fulltilt, party is more profitable since you can play more games per hour. Even if you lose a slight amount of ROI, you'll still make up for it in tourneys per hour.

[Davin 0]

my point about shooting for 1st or 2nd was that 3rd was pretty much a waste of time. while playing tag may land you in the money more often, it isnt condusive to building a large stack by the time it gets to the final three. playing looser and more aggressive will ladndyou in the money often enough and with a larger stack compared to tag play because of previous gambles. by having a large stack going to 3-handed play, you increase your chances of winning the entire sng. as most people have said, you have to hit a hand to win a party sng. with other sites where you start w/ almost 2x the amount of chips, you have room to manuever and build a stack w/o actually hitting a hand. these sites emphasize post-flop play a lot more than party's pick a good hand and go w/ it strategy. and considering the fact that post-flop play is where the difference between good players and bad players is greatest, it seems to me that party's sng's are indeed more of a crapshoot than other sites.

[SuitedHooks 0]

Everyone is arguing about whos strategy is the best...why not use your own strategy that works best for you. There are so many different types of players out there, some like to be aggressive right out of the gun, some like to sit back and get aggressive in later levels. Some people prefer partypoker some prefer pokerstars...once again that all comes down to how you play your game, which site suits you the best for your style. Now if anyone cares here is my strategy and how I play sng's and have been doing very well....I play at Pokerstars, as Partypoker seems too much like a get luck fest for me. Here is my basic strategy for a sng, I try and stay clear of any coin flip all ins untill later rounds if I have a big stack where the chance is to knock someone else out and it wont kill my stack. I never engage in any big pots early on unless I am sitting with a nice hand and know I have my opponent beat. Now I totally disagree with the OP when he says it is impossible to get a read on a player in a sng. You can get a read, but maybe not untill the later rounds after you see how he has been playing a little bit, your reads will be important in the later rounds when you are 5-6 handed with 50/100 or 75/150 blinds. You need to be able to put your opponents on a range of hands if they come out raising. For instance if you have a big stack who is playing aggressive now because he knows he can and is trying to steal pots, I am sitting maybe 3rd in chips and I think I got a good read on him and he raises a pot the button or right off the button I will push with almost any 2 cards knowing he is going to fold. Now I know most of you will say well that is stupid what if he has a hand and calls, then that is a bad read on my part and I will be a little more careful next time. When the blinds are in the 50/100 75/150 range and there are anywhere from 4 to 7 players left I try and become the table leader, no matter how many chips I have. I want the small blind to know that when im in the big blind that he is scared to even call cause he knows I will raise with almost anything, so he just folds his small blind to me when i have nothing. If you are short stacked, lets say your sitting T1200 which is shortstacked for that late. Your not goin to be able to get into the money unless you start building up chips, most people will sit there untill they get a big hand and just raise and then push after the flop and hope to double up, my opinion on that is you may not get to see that hand your hopin to, your gonna end up in the BB with As6h and end up pushing when someone raises and run into Ad10h etc... and your out cause you waited and was hoping to catch that hand to propell you into the money. Bad idea when your short stacked, you have alot of power, position is the key to picking up chips, if your on the button and pick up k high or q high, you better be raising or pushing...you need to pick up those loose chips out there, you know the bb is not going to put half his stack on the line if he is currently 2nd in chips and in decent shape to money. Of course you need to pick your spots wisely, but i want the table to know im not scared to bust out, ide rather bust out in 6th trying to pick up chips to get into the top 3 than sit back and wait around to pick up a big hand and when you do pushing with t600 and busting out in 4th or 5th. Always put your opponents when there in a hand with you, on a range of hands. Never just assume your ahead when you have slick and hit your K on the flop when your opponent pushes, dont insta call, sit back think for second on what he may have and where he raised from or limped then called a raise, and whatever you do please do not put your tournament life on the line early on in a sng unless your packin a nice hand.....now that was mostly about how I play when i am short stacked, cold carded or not hitting flops or takin a bad beat along the way...etc...of course when your a big stack life is so much easier....flame away

[Actuary 3]

flame away

I would but I didn't read it!More Paragraphs are your friend