SNG #4

Feb 14 2006
$20 + $2
No Limit Sit-N-Go

Place: 1 out of 10
Comments:
Finally won one, and got extremely lucky. Down to heads-up, I had AJ with about T9000. My opponnent had AK with about T6000. We went all in, and I hit an gut shot for an inside straight.

I made a bunch of notes during this SNG. Stuff like:

- you are first to act (possibly in the blind) without an Ace or King against a late position raiser (when the number of players was still 7-10. Flop comes with an Ace or King. You check, he bets, but not large. You call with absolutely nothing. No pair, no draw. Turn, you check intending to fold if he bets. But if he checks, then you can safely bet on the River and steal the pot. Can't bet too much in case he is trapping you, and can't bet too little as you need him to fold. This strategy is not as useful in limit as you can only make one big bet, and not a half-pot size or full-pot sized bet.

- you are last to act with a weak Ace when a Flop of Axx. you check on the flop to see what happens on the Turn. Why? You are scared of a better Ace. You don't want to scare out a lone opponent who does not have an Ace. Can't do this all the time and not against all opponents.

- forming the SNG into a limit type of game. Whereby you raise only the big blind amount pre-Flop when it is down to 5 to 3 players. Why does this help? Because you can raise a lot without getting caught with your pants down. Try it. If the other players allow you to do it and get away with it (both blinds folding lots of hands), then you can build up a nice stack from many steals of blinds. Also, once you do it for a while, be worried that they will see what's going on, so slow down and don't do it as much...then when you get AA, KK, AKs, you can raise like in a limit game, and then hopefully they'll "catch on" and raise you back without much.

I'm sure I'll be forming these thoughts more concretely over time, consider these notes as just that - notes. Things to think about. Don't consider them as advice at this point.