Freezeouts vs. Rebuys

[jae686]

The Background
I've been a consistent winner for just over a year in all forms of NL Hold'em games. Rebuy tournaments from $10-$100 (cash and satellite) have provided me with virtually all of my net poker income; I have found the rest is pretty much a wash, earning some steady bankroll in cash games and SNG's, then losing it in freezeouts and longshot satellites.

I have played the Sunday Million about a dozen times without cashing yet. I've cashed once in the second chance out of about 8 tries (33/739).

For the purpose of comparison, I typically don't pushbot rebuys...I usually just play pure EV poker and rebuy/addon whenever possible.

The Goal
I am on a quest to figure out why I am a dominant rebuy player and a winner overall, but have struggled to make a splash in freezeouts. Some of it may simply be variance, because I haven't had a huge freezeout win yet; I think there is some more behind it.

Potential Problems
The only glaring problem I've noticed in freezeouts that I don't have in satellites occurs when I lose one to two thirds of my stack very early on. This is often due to the abundance of calling stations. In tournaments that start with only about 60 BB's, a couple of raises and continuation bets, or any flop raise will get me into this spot. I am constantly unsure whether I should be patient and make sure the first pots I enter are high probability wins, or rather take some stabs to try to get the early chip lead and then play EV poker.

Whenever I get down to this trouble spot, particularly when I have 10-20 BBs early on at pretty loose tables, it ALWAYS seems like a struggle. I am missing several useful elements that I see in other situations, such as:
-Implied odds
-Ability to take players off hands
-Antes to steal
-High fold equity from the abundant loose-early tight-late players.

I can't tell you how many times at 25/50 when I have 1000 and the average stack is 3000, I open from middle position with AQ for 200, the button and BB call, I miss the flop, BB bets, I usually fold; even if the BB checks in this spot, I put my stack on the line with a continuation bet. Perhaps I'll raise with 77 from third position and I won't know what to do when I'm first to act and miss my set.

The Solution
My instinct tells me I need to be a little more patient when I get short (Q-wise, not so much M-wise) in the early stages. Is this correct? Also, do you have a certain gameplan when you go in to a freezeout that's not too deep in terms of tangling early?

Thanks in advance for advice.

[jae686]

Any thoughts on how to avoid the slippery slope?

[geestyle]

Back to basics - tight and get your money in when you hit.

[AceLuby]

I never play in rebuys (too long IMO), but for me I always think in BB's w/ 10-12 being my pushbot limit, 12-17 std raise PF, push flop, 18+ real pokah. Try your luck in the 20 table sng's on stars for some freezeout practice.

[JoseGonzlez]

i would assume the simple reason is cause the stacks are deeper and their is more skill.

Im thrilled when i have 5000 chips and 100 200 blinds in a freezout and this is a really small stack in a rebuy event (at least in the 3s 5s and 10s)