I play online tournaments mostly the $5/$1 and the $10/$1. I play SNG and multitable. In the last month I am down 250 dollars. I win the SNG's here and there but maybe once every 7 or 8 times. Multitables I'm respectable but out of the money. I believe I am a tight player I see the flop with pocket pairs ak aq etc. I will only see the flop with low pocket pairs and a/low kicker in the early stages if there are no raises. and only A/low kicker in a late position with no raisesIt seems I sit and sit and sit and don't seem to get a chance to play because i am getting cards like K5 37 J8 Q4 When I flop the highest pair I bet it like I should 2 pair or trips I raise but my problem seems to be i sit there hand after hand maybe seeing a flop and if its a low pocket pair folding after or not being able to call to see the flop. Do I need to loosen up? Perhaps I should see the flop with any facecard that comes in the pocket, but from the things I've read that seems to be a losing play but how could I do worse? Many thime in the SNG's i seem to finish 4th 5th or 6th. Comments.....opinions......advice.....Help!!!!!!! Also when a SNG is down to say 5 people what should I have in my pocket to call the flop? How loose should I be then?
You could just be having a cold wave of cards. You get those in tourneys too you know. It's more of a losing run.
I'm assuming you play NL. Being you're a tight player maybe you should try buying more pots. If you play tight most of the time and you raise on something weak (KTo, JTo etc.) they'll respect you more. Just an idea, it may not work depending on the table and the players you play.
Yes I play NL I am in a freeroll right now playing loose. My loose is seeing the flop with any facecard. So far its working. Thats what I love about freerolls. Great place to test new theories and tactics.
Some people have different opinions on this but if you only play the the top 5-7 hands you will slowly lose your chips. Even when the time comes and you do have a good hand, half of the time someone beats you with a worse hand but good flop. In my opinion that method will get you nowhere. You should read a few books. Also, try to play by the moment. Every situation is different. Positions are a big deal and the later your position the more hands you should play. Try playing suited connectors and A/x suited cards. Also, try to read people, remember you don't always have to have the cards or the best hand. Sometimes you should know your opponent has nothing and you should raise him and make him fold. And be more aggressive on the flop to know where you stand on the hand. Theres many things and this is all basic stuff but I'm just giving you a few ideas, hope it helps.
Early off in tourneys it's sometimes good to play a looser game than you would with larger blinds. The first 3 sets of blinds I tend to play more JTo, Axs, and things like that.
Playing freerolls is a good idea to practice any ideas you might want to work out. However, calling every face card wont work in the long run.
In a SNG you can often literally fold your way to the money. I find that at the $5 tables many of the players are so bad that they will self destruct before the second level. If the table is loose aggressive, it's probably best to play very tight-only play premium hands, and enter the pot for 5-10 X BB. If the table is aggressive and I can be sure of a raise behind me, I will often limp from early with AA or KK. Then when it gets raised up, I move all-in.
If the table is more passive, I will play some non-premium holdings in late position, but I won't take a hand too far if I don't get substantial help. In the first few rounds of a tournament, forget about bluffing-with one exception. If I enter the pot for a raise and I end up seeing a flop, I will usually make a pot sized bet regardless of the cards that fall. If someone bets into you, or you are checkraised be ready to give it up unless you are pretty sure your hand is good. Be very wary of trying to make steal raises-bad players will look you up, especially early on. There's something about the small blinds early on that makes poor players play really bad. And what ever you do, never,ever,ever,ever call a pre-flop raise with garbage like AQ,AJ,AT,KQ,KJ,KT,QJ,QT, and JT, especially out of position. If the raise is less than 5% of your stack and your stack is not small, AQs, and AJs can probably be played, but you are looking to hit a flush or straight draw with them. Forget TP/TK, and even two pair, your hand is probably no good. If the pre-flop raiser has AA,AK,KK, or QQ, none of the above hands are any good. This applies mostly to early stages of the tournament when the table is still full and your stack is near or above average. For me, AJ is an auto-fold from EP, so is AQ. In MP or later I will limp, but if I'm first in, I will probably raise it up, figuring that if I hit TP/TK my hand will probably be good. I will play any PP from any position, even for a moderate raise. On the flop, set it or forget it-unless your pair is an overpair to the flop or you get your set, you're done.
A big loser mistake I see is people moving all-in with AQs,AJs,KQs,KJs, and pairs QQ and below. DO NOT do this. AA and KK are the ONLY hands worthy of an all-in before the flop. Even AK is a hand that you only want to move in on certain occassions. If you get called, you are either going to be slightly ahead, or way behind. I'm still speaking about early on in the tournament when your stack is average or above. This is one point in the tournament where I beleive that the bigger your stack, the more risk averse you should be. I often see poor players get an early chip and then chip off by making it their duty to go out of their way and break every small stack. What they usually end up doing is paying off idiots who really should be out of the tournament. Let them steal the blinds, at these levels, there's just not enough money in the pot, and knocking someone out early really has no bearing on your overall chances of a money finish. DO NOT bully people with your stack early on unless a perfect opportunity arises. It just won't work, and short stacks will probably move in on you anyway. If you are fortunate enough to double up early, save your ammo for when the blinds go up, you don't want to be bringing a knife to a gun fight. Think about stealing and bullying this way-when the blinds are 5/10, risking a lot of chips for 15 chips is just plain stupid. There's a long way to go, and being chip leader now is meaningless. So if you are in the lead, don't risk it.
When the blinds start to matter, that's when you need to change gears and turn up the aggression. In a 1000 chip tournament, this is 30/60 and above. By now some of the loose cannons and calling stations have probably knocked themselves out. This is also the place where the rest of the bad players start to drop. Since the blinds are bigger in proportion to their stacks, playing loosely will chip them off in a hand or two. This is also where the weak tight players start to blind out. By now the better players will start to get more serious. They have invested some time in the tournament, and they are eyeing the money. This is the time to get aggressive. When the opportunities present themselves, steal the blinds. If you still have 1000 chips, stealing the blinds at 30/60 will increase your stack size by 9%, as opposed to 1.5% at 5/10. If you have a big stack, this is where you can start bullying, but you still need to pick your spots. At this point, consider raising with any hand you would call the BB with if there has been no raise in front of you. As the tournament progresses, it's important to avoid confrontations with the other big stacks unless you have a big hand. I try to win most of my pots without a flop, or if there is a flop, take it down there. It becomes much easier to bluff now because people are scared of being eliminated. As the blinds grow, it is no longer necessary to open raise for 5XBB, 2 or 3X is usually sufficient.
The next phase of changing gears is the bubble. This is when there are 4 or 5 players left. How you play the bubble depends on your stack size and the stack sizes of your opponents. Since there is not a huge difference in payout structure between last and first in a SNG (as opposed to a multi) if you are not in the greatest shape, it wouldn't be wrong to try and fold your way into the money. If there are four or five players left and I'm in third, I'm going to play super tight and wait for the small stacks to get broke or blind out. If I'm fourth out of four, chances are my opponents are waiting me out. At this point I often can't wait forever for someone to screw up or for pocket AA. I think at some point you have to just decide to push all in and reach out for lady luck.
Being the big stack on the bubble is a good thing. You can really use your stacks to steal from the short stacks. My advice from before is still true-don't get involved with the other big stacks. I was once in 4th place with no chance in hell of making the money. The first and second place stacks got involved in a big all-in pot, and the second place player got the short end of the stick and I slid into the money and got blinded out two hands later.
Once you reach the money, it's time to turn the aggression back up. In a typical SNG, by the time you hit the paydirt the blinds are at least 100/200 and it becomes pretty much a crapshoot at this point. If you enter a pot, almost always raise, 2-3XBB is usually good. With big hands like AA,KK,QQ,JJ,AQ,and yes even AJ-push it all in. With two opponents, if you get called, your hand figures to be a favorite. If you steal the blinds, you now have more ammo. If I'm in third place, it's all in or fold. Pure aggression is the name of the game when it gets down to three players.
One final note on playing with a short stack. I am working on a strategy of all-in or fold. Unless you are on the bubble, consider moving all-in with any hand you would call with if your stack is 10BB or less. By doing this, you are using the gap concept against your opponents, and you are increasing the equity of your cards by giving you two ways to win-you can steal the blinds, or you can double up if you are called and win. The earlier in the tournament it is, the more of a longshot you are for a money finish unless you get lucky. You will never get lucky if you don't try. If you just blind off, by the time you do get a hand, you are guaranteed a call, and even if you win, you still are in bad shape. The sooner you start to push, the more of a threat you are to your opponents. Simply calling or making a small raise as a small stack is wasting chips, and the less chips you have, the less steal equity you have. See "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players" for more detail on the all in or fold method.
