Playing too tight?

[MugenDC5]

I have been playing ultra tight in my MTTs and it has been getting me to the final table more often and almost always gets me in the money. But I find in an SNG, playing that tight always gets me in a struggle on the bubble.

What's a good approach for me?

[ManChild]

you should be playing between 3 and 6 hands per round in order to accumulate as many chips in the first 15 minutes of the SNG as possible

[SlackerMcFly]

My sarcasm detector indicates a certain percentage of Manchild's reply may not be entirely accurate.

[MugenDC5]

3 to 6 hands per round with what starting hand requirements?

[MugenDC5]

so can someone give me some accurate advice?

[ManChild]

[ QUOTE ]
3 to 6 hands per round with what starting hand requirements?

[/ QUOTE ]

i was [censored] around,
seriously though, it is understood that the correct SNG strategy is to play tight early, and then loosen up and push a lot around the bubble

[MugenDC5]

If bubble play is a struggle does it mean I'm not playing right? Or is it just a part of it, if you're not in a struggle it's cus you're lucky and got some good hands to pad the stack?

[ManChild]

[ QUOTE ]
If bubble play is a struggle does it mean I'm not playing right? Or is it just a part of it, if you're not in a struggle it's cus you're lucky and got some good hands to pad the stack?

[/ QUOTE ]

well your sample may not be very big (good sample sizes for SNGs are ATLEAST 1000 SNGs)

if you arent doing well on the bubble, then there is a good chance you arent playing it correctly.

Post some hands that you are curious about on the bubble, and see if people think you acted correctly

[dboy23]

[ QUOTE ]
If bubble play is a struggle does it mean I'm not playing right? Or is it just a part of it, if you're not in a struggle it's cus you're lucky and got some good hands to pad the stack?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you answered your own question. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Collin Moshman]

Hi MugenDC5,

You note:

[ QUOTE ]
I have been playing ultra tight in my MTTs and it has been getting me to the final table more often and almost always gets me in the money. But I find in an SNG, playing that tight always gets me in a struggle on the bubble.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will have to agree with ManChild here -- well, not his first playful post, but please realize he was just kidding around and not seriously advocating recklessly loose play during low-blind SNG play -- and postulate that your sample size for this observation is too low.

Due to the unique 3-place payout structure of an SNG, it is very difficult to play a winning style that is not very cautious early. This is because 3 of 9 or 10 players getting paid means you must avoid early bust-outs via tighter early play and then become increasingly aggressive as the number of players decreases and the blinds increase.
This is a very abbreviated version of good SNG strategy ... try an STT-specific search for more details.

Meanwhile, in an MTT, a conservative early style can still work, but now you can also play much looser early if you have a good post-flop game. This is because other players' elimination benefits you much less early in an MTT relative to an SNG, and so you can afford to be correspondingly looser, particularly if that is your natural style.

Best Regards,
Collin