Basic Sit 'n Go Questions Answered Here

[Collin Moshman]

youbobAA, your tight game should still work well in very loose games. Just make sure that when you do hit a hand you bet it very aggressively for value (since these guys who won't fold can be exploited by coming in with big bets when you do make a hand). Then just make sure you're making good lategame decisions, taking into account that you may be called fairly wide. If you have a specific hand/situation in mind, feel free to post.

timmay, 45-man games with 5 tables are just like multi-tables with a limited number of entrants, so they're good if you have decent MTT skills. I don't play a lot of these to be honest, so if anyone who specializes in multi-table SNGs wants to chime in I'd appreciate your feedback on these games.

SodaSurfer, to give one more example on low/mid/high, in a current Stars SNG 10-20 and 15-30 are low, 25-50 and 50-100 are mid, and 75-150 and higher are high. The distinction isn't black-and-white, just a helpful guideline to think about the different stages of SNG gameplay. If you have questions on another structure, let me know and we can analyze it.

dirty banana2007, statements like that are fairly qualitative as you point out, but if you want to quantify them just use your S-C rankings or the ones on PokerStove to get a good idea. Is there a particular hand you're thinking of?

OK guys, have a good one,
Collin

[youbobAA]

I just couldn't lay this one down even though I may have been against a flush. Turned out to be a set. It turned out to be about the same pot odds to call and to win. What do you think, Collin? Should I have laid this down? Anyone out there could have gotten away?

PokerStars Game Tournament $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2007/11/23 - 19:56:53 (ET)
Table 1' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: knottoworr (1350 in chips)
Seat 2: malibucheeks (2350 in chips)
Seat 3: imprezza911 (1400 in chips)
Seat 4: StoneCareMan (895 in chips)
Seat 5: 2 of 2 Cats (2365 in chips)
Seat 7: Joba Rulez (1590 in chips)
Seat 8: Hero(1630 in chips)
Seat 9: DCrollin (1920 in chips)
Joba Rulez: posts small blind 15
t2wowheeler: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero[Ad As]
DCrollin: folds
knottoworr: folds
malibucheeks: folds
imprezza911: folds
StoneCareMan: calls 30
2 of 2 Cats: calls 30
Joba Rulez: calls 15
t2wowheeler: raises 150 to 180
StoneCareMan: folds
2 of 2 Cats: calls 150
Joba Rulez: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kd Jd 5d]
t2wowheeler: bets 300
2 of 2 Cats: raises 1885 to 2185 and is all-in
t2wowheeler: calls 1150 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Kd Jd 5d] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [Kd Jd 5d Th] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
t2wowheeler: shows [Ad As] (a pair of Aces)
2 of 2 Cats: shows [5c 5s] (three of a kind, Fives)
Herosaid, "vn"
2 of 2 Cats collected 3320 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3320 | Rake 0
Board [Kd Jd 5d Th 7c]
Seat 1: knottoworr folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: malibucheeks folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: imprezza911 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: StoneCareMan folded before Flop
Seat 5: 2 of 2 Cats (button) showed [5c 5s] and won (3320) with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 7: Joba Rulez (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: Hero(big blind) showed [Ad As] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 9: DCrollin folded before Flop (didn't bet)

[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?

[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!