Still getting clobberd middle part of SNG's

[DeanCarl]

My last 4 finishes: 4,4,7,4

This is getting tiresome.

When something as consistant as this pops up I find it hard to put it down to varience or coincedence. I HAS to be something I'm not doing (or doing). But somewhere around the level 3 or 4 blinds the cards just seem to go dead. Before that I'm usually in the top 3 in stack size. These are very low level games so a lot of the tricks are pretty much worthless here. For instance, today the guy 2 seats to my left raised me about 90% of the time no matter what my bet was so blind stealing was out of the question. And forget about coninuation bets! All that did was throw good money after bad. So it's hunker down and wait for a decent starter. And wait and wait and wait until, by the time we're on the bubble I'm short stacked and forced in when I don't want to be.

I'm just not sure where to go next with this. Maybe I'd do better at the MTT's.

Dean

[lovemachine]

4 sngs is a very small sample size to make conclusions. when the guy raises you no matter what you bet, just put him all-in, he cant continue to bluff you if all your chips are in the middle. this is the way to steal from a maniac player. if he calls, hopefully your hand will hold up and beat him.

[aokrongly]

This doesn't explain how you're getting knocked out. If you're going from a big stack to out 4th repeatedly then you're making bad decisions on the bubble, for sure. The example you gave was of a super-agressive player who you were paying off. The only way to stop him is to come back over the top, or call him and then outplay him post flop - be either catching something and beating him or outbetting him.

The "tricks" do work if used in moderation in the right situations.

But, back to the basic question. Are you blinding out - because the cards are "cold"? Regarding cold cards, I think you're seeing things alittle askew. You can expect good starting cards once or twice per hour. Most SNG's go 45 to 75 minutes. So, you're going to have to play for maximum effect. That means playing smart with good cards to get the maximum payoff early in the game and being bold late. Bold doesn't necessarily mean AI bets with Ax, it may mean making a call with position and then trying to steal the pot post flop.

There's more than one way to steal a blind. You have to be able to see what's happening and take advantage. Alternately, you can literally "hunker down" and risk getting blinded out. If you're going to do that, then commit to doing just THAT. Don't get involved in any hand without true quality cards and then play them for all they're worth.

Don't let the fear of losing affect your play. I would say, at the low level, try stealing post flop if you're going to steal. Most of those players know how to be bold preflop and can take a stab at the pot, but a good check-raise for all their chips (based on position and solid observation of the kinds of cards they play) may help you break through. You only need one or two more pots to get from 4th to 3rd. And showing some teeth once or twice during the game will keep the stealing to a minimum.

[Shady]

I agree with aok here, when playing in the lower limit SNG's especially if your a big stack early just sit on it. You can't push a lot of these people off pots because they'll call you with just about anything expecting a coin flip. Play just as you would without the stack and use your ammunition later on when the blinds are bigger.

Also, pot stealing is more important then blind stealing in the bubble and around the bubble in the smaller stakes. Everyone in these stakes thinks your blind stealing when you raise on the button or in the blinds. That in mind your usually succumbing to a coin flip with your Ax against their A some other x. Once your invovled in that flop tho, people get scared. Regarding the guy that kept raising you, push back at him, and not a min raise that doesn't scare anyone. If you bet 50 and he raises 100 raise 250 see what he does. Most of the time he'll fold. I had an opponent like this in a recent SNG he thought he was suave with his min bet steal attempts. Everytime I was in a hand with him he pull this and I would just push at him. He folded everytime. After a few hands like this he just stopped trying and I was stealing every pot and people were folding blinds to me cause they never knew what I was going to do.

You'll see this posted alot all over this forums, the table's play should center around you. When everyones waiting to see what your going to do, your doing something right.