Basic Sit 'n Go Questions Answered Here

[MikeBandy]

On the flop, you have pocket rockets, and a draw to the nut flush. It'd be hard to lay down.

I'm hoping that I could think it out as follows. Villain has better than a pair – probably a set or a flush (i.e., he's ahead). My backdoor straight's worthless. I don't want to get involved in a hand like this in the early stage of the SNG. Fold.

[jakkedup]

Collin, I am reluctant to go all in preflop. Is there an optimal way to play middle - high pairs?

[smbruin22]

hi colin... i'm not sure if my private message that i just sent got thru to you. it seemed to work but then my sent message box is empty.

anyhow, i was thinking it would be just as good to ask here where everyone can see your response.

the abridged version is this:

does your book go deeply into plays from the blinds? seems like it represents a pretty high % of hands played in early-mid. i understand basic SNG strategy, but should i just be giving up more or less on these hands?? end before flop??? all 3-4 players check flop, but i'm still OOP with weak 2nd pair??

somewhat similar but early to mid SNG, do you raise if it's folded to you in CO and you have Q9o, JTs etc. and you chip stack is down 15%....basically do you make small power, positional moves early? or do basically do nothing but TT+, AK??

i will be buying the book with my next order. basically waiting for tysen streib's book to be stocked in canada.
thanks in advance!!!

[MrHorace]

I agree that you have to fold. It is very hard to get away from though, and I can't say I would've been able to in the heat of battle. I think it really comes down to paying very close attention to what your opponent does, and what the board says.
When I have a monster hand, my eyes glaze over, and makes this objective thinking very difficult. But that's the beauty of poker...always something to work on!

[MikeBandy]

[ QUOTE ]
does your book go deeply into plays from the blinds?

[/ QUOTE ]
As someone who has no vested interest in the book, I assure you he does. He discusses those plays from the perspective of both the blind and the other player.

One of the things I like about the book is that he makes a point, and then illustrates it with several examples. In each example, he gives a situation followed by a question. You can cover the answer with a bookmark while you form your answer. Then read what he says.

[httassadar]

Hi, Collin,

I just finished your books and tried the advices in real play at $5 SNG.

The problem I now have is this. In low BB which is about 30-40 hands, usually I'll never get premium hands, and I'll invest some small amount for speculative hands and give them up against a pf raise or not-so-good flop.

So it's high probable that I'll be loosing 20% of my initial stack when the game comes to mid-BB when I have around 20BB. Then the game is all about stealing and all-in re-stealing. It's not normal poker any more.

Am I doing something wrong or this is just the way SnG goes?

[smbruin22]

httassaddar, i'm obviously not colin. but that's what i think the basic idea has been.... do nothing for the until mid-point, then get aggressive pushing when opening the pot somewhat in position. then wait out the bubble to a large degree unless you have a very large stack (avoid the other one)....

but i wonder if that is still the recommended line though. wondering if you should play more normal deep-stack poker early on now as more people seem to last more levels these days.

[richiematt]

Hi,

I'm a US player and want to start playing SnG's on-line. What are the best sites and bonuses? Some sites only give bonuses for the number of raked hands, how does this apply to SnG's?

How can I sign up to play? I only want to put in about $300 to start.

[MikeBandy]

If you want to open an account at Poker Stars, just go ahead and do it through Poker Stars. If you want to open an account anywhere else, first communicate with an affiliate. This is very important.

When I played poker on the Internet, my favorite sites were Party Poker, Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, and Ultimate Bet. Of course, Party no longer accepts U.S. players.

I'm sure some of the 2+2 experts will have more information for you.

[aziatic77]

Hello,

Just a quick question. When I get down to about 5 or 4 people sometimes early position players tend to limp when the blinds are really large(say im the bigg blind). I notice everyone folds pretty quickly, I usually tend to believe there are not holding much but I check anyways and I usually miss, I will then check and they bet the minimum and I fold. Any advice for these wierd situations?