[wiggs73]

ettorek,

I have to lock this... because all your post is actually saying is "Some players are better than others; how do I get better?"

Kamel already gave you the only answer there is to this, which is "Read, Observe, Work with all tools availabe, THINK." That's actually a great answer.

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how many games must be played on a daily basis to make own game improve?

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Think about this. Do you really expect someone to say "If you play 5 games a day, you will not improve. But once you are playing 15 games a day, well, then your game will take off." That doesn't make sense. You can play 100 games a day, but if you aren't doing anything to improve as far as studying or thinking, your game will stagnate.

There are a few obviously important concepts to master if you want to play SNGs. The first, and most important, is ICM. SNGs are a short stacked game, so most of the biggest pots you play are going to be late-game push/fold/call an allin decisions. So get good at making these decisions.

I think the toughest part of a SNG to play is the mid stages where blinds are 25/50 or 50/100. Your stack size often makes this part of the SNG awkward to play because blinds are small enough so that pushing preflop often isn't reasonable, but at the same time they're large enough so that a) they're worth stealing but b) you can't maneuver postflop much. So if you want an area to start studying after ICM, I'd look at middle blinds. Find hands that seemed awkward and post them.

Aside from that, consciously think about every move you make. Think about why you are making it and why it's better than any other move you could have made. This is a good habit to get into regardless of what kind of game you are playing, SNG, MTTs, cash, whatever. Don't do a play just because it's standard. The standard play is often the best play, but there are also spots where a non-standard play would be better. The only way to find these spots is to always be thinking about various plays. But really, every move you make in poker, every fold, call, raise, should have a purpose so always be thinking about WHY you're doing what you're doing.

Ok, aside from all that, figure out who the good posters are and read everything they post. I made the most progress in SNGs back in the day by reading everything from Irieguy, Curtains, ZeeJustin, Aleo, etc. that I could get my hands on. There are a different group of good posters now, but there's definitely some quality stuff floating around the forum. Read every strategy thread. Doesn't matter if you haven't been in a "44 in the BB vs. a minraise late" spot before. You might be soon. Learn how to play in that spot. Learn why you should play that way in that spot.

Find guys who are playing similar stakes and send them a PM of "want to exchange IM names?" I've got like 60 people or something from 2+2 on my buddy list. Some are there because they like to IM me questions. Some are there because I like to IM them questions. The thing about that is that I get about the same benefit out of both groups because they both make me think about poker.

If you see a good player get to showdown while you're playing, see what they had. Try to figure out why they played the hand the way they did. I've actually said "PM me" before to a player, while playing, just so I could be like 'why would you ever play K9 like that on that particular board?'


Really, this post got long, but I didn't say anything ground breaking so that's why I'm still locking it - there isn't really anything ground breaking to say on the subject. If you want to get better, then try to improve. There are ICM tools in the sticky, and a ton of folks who post in strategy discussions every day. Use these things that are at your disposal.