($5) Busted out first hand with 99

[Didelo]

Thanks for your thoughts. I think where I come unstuck is in the transition from limit to NL - I play both every day. In low limit, I'd bet/raise an overpair and a gutshot pretty much every time on the flop. Then, when I pick up the OESD on the turn, it's probably bet/call and check/call a scary card on the river.

But it's also right that at these low buy-in SNGs there are usually 1 or 2 maniacs in the first couple of hands who go all-in with any half-decent hand and bust out (me, LOL). Should you therefore just avoid any kind of trouble in the first couple of hands?

[zomicon]

I usually play very tight in the beginning, only calling or raising the usual premium hands until the maniacs knock themselves out. You will almost never see one of those guys win, even if they build up a really big chip stack. Of course the blinds move up so fast that you need to stay ahead of them, so you have to play some.

I pretty much play the Sit and Go's now only to better my skills. I think the games reward luck too much because of the blind structure, but they are great for getting a lot of experience with odds and bet analysis.