10 person sit and go's

[Penguinfan]

I think they are beatable, but I have to work on my strategy, currently I play super-super tight in the early rounds where you can't win much by stealing the blinds, whats the point in raising 100 with 10-10, if you get everyone to fold you pick up 25 chips which will not help you much, if at all in the long run, if you get called what do you do when an ovecard falls and you get bet into? Folding at that point really hurts you as you have given up 100 of a beginning stack of 800 (party), and that puts you behind from the go. So like I said I think ultra tight is the way to go since you can't really win much early, but you can lose way too much, the risk/reward factor just isn't there. Having said that I know I am having trouble knowing when to change modes as I am rarely in a position to have alot of chips when it get to 5-6 people left and find that 1 mistake usually ends my chances of cashing. I think the super tight strategy works simply because I have seen people on disconnect finsh 4th alot and in 2 occasions they finished 2nd and 3rd, now obviously that won't work as a strategy in every game, but it's worth noting.

I would like to hear how you guys who are sucessful at theses games so it.

Penguinfan

[bdubbers]

I've had a bit of success in them, but not consistant. i try to play really tight at the beginning, but the only time i finish in the money is if i catch a good hand in the early going(first 2 or 3 people going out) and i win big. otherwise my tight play seems to get me behind when there are 5 or 6 people left and i usually end up finishing 4th or 5th. i do better at ring games multi tournaments.

[2Tone]

These make up a good portion of my play. I play everything from the $5+1 to $30+3 at Party. My favorite is $10+1, where you aren’t paying a 20% rake, but the play is still relatively soft. At the lower dollar levels, if you sit tight for the first round, you'll often find at least a couple of maniacs have wiped each other out with early all-in bets.

I find the key is being able to adjust aggression levels based on how many players are left, which is a part of my game that I know needs fine-tuning.

[bdubbers]

at what point do you stop playing tight and start being more aggressive. just when you think the "maniacs" have killed eachother off? whenever i lose in these it seems i start tight then when its time to make a move i start getting cold cards and by the time i get something to play the blinds have passed me a few times and im looking at a 1 to 3 chip disadvantage. maybe i'm making my move too late?

[2Tone]

At risk of making myself out to be far more on an expert than I actually am ...

For me, it is less a matter of "Oh, now there are five players left and blinds have gone up, time to throw the aggressive switch" and more of a gradual progression from very-tight at the beginning to (hopefully) stealing blinds left and right in heads up play. Perhaps think of it of increasing in 10% increments for each player that is knocked out.

One other observations. I find play changes noticeably as you get to within one/two/three players of the money, depending on size of the field. No one wants to have played for that long, and end up with nothing so close to the promised land. This can be a prime time to make some moves -- with the obvious caveat that if these go wrong, it can be you who ends up finishing so close but yet so far!

[bdubbers]

i think i'll just stick to ring games. i fair much better in them. im better when i can play and win a big pot, or even sit through a cold run of cards without feeling like i HAVE to win a big hand.

[humpty99]

Patience is key. You can finish in the money in these things by winning 4 or 5 medium pots. Wait for solid starting hands, and always come in raising. There will be people that call you down with terrible hands, but raising still gets rid of most of the junk hands. This allows you to go heads up or three way on most pots which works to your advantage. If you have good instincts, you'll realize when someone caught their hand based on their betting. I'm not saying I always catch it, but I'd say 80% I know when I'm beat. I don't have any stats for you, but I finish in the money most of the time.

On an added note, if you are playing Party Poker that is one big reason why you feel luck is involved so much. The blind structure for the SNGs at Party are the worst of any big name site. I used to play there, and did well there also, but now I've found that Paradise and Poker Stars give good solid players a much better chance to win. Take a look at Paradise Poker's SNG structure, then look at Party and you'll see what I mean. The one draw back of this structure is that it takes longer. A SNG on Paradise will take close to 90 minutes as opposed to 60 or less on Party. Party is a good site with a large player base, but Paradise is the best I've played on and I have no affiliation what so ever with any site.

[2Tone]

Do you find the better blind structure outweighs the number of “I’ll call with anything” players at Party?

[Aequitas58]

Exactly. Tight in the beginning and loose/aggressive at the end.

[Charlie Frank]

Tight/aggressive at the start - getting looser but staying aggresive as it progresses. I usually go hyper-aggressive around level 5 on Party.

CF

[bothecorgi]

I have found that the early rounds are a matter of playing tight-aggressive and letting the loose players knock themselves out. When you get down to about 4 players, it does seem like kind of a crapshoot since the blinds may be forcing people nearly all in every hand.

[Aequitas58]

If you are playing tight-agressive the whole tournament, you are missing out on some opportunites, my friend. You can [when the blinds get (relatively) high and the first few people go] steal blinds and build your stack.

I'm an advocate of playing ultra tight when it's 4 handed for just the simple reason that you're on the bubble. Conversely, it's g00t to throw in some moves, steal some blinds and trap people.

[bothecorgi]

I agree when the blinds get higher. I was referring more to the first 2 rounds when the blinds are relatively low. It seems like people are willing to just throw all their chips on on junk hands during the first 2 rounds of these SnGs.