Some suggestions to add to what the Great NashVegas has written.

Early play. Starting blinds up to 50/100TC "Trapper Jack."

While you are playing only the top hands, be looking for ways to trap. Taking 30-90TC isn't going to make any difference in later rounds. 200-500TC is another matter. AK-AQ are beautiful hands, esp on Party sites, but they need improvement, so don't overplay them! AQ all in is a leak.

You get AQ in the SB or BB all the way to the button. Don't raise. Let them come in. If an A hits, you can play it modestly. You can build a pot with little risk. Somebody out there is playing Ax. If they play super-aggressive, let it go. There will be other opportunities. The trick is to pick up a nice pot without losing a lot of chips if you miss. This becomes really important sooner than you think. If you're middle of the pack you'll have an easier time getting to the money than being stressed at 8BB or less. If you get to 5BB, what have you been doing? Think ahead. The blinds are coming at you fast.

When there are 10 at the table, there will be two that are pretty nutty. You never know what they may be playing. Their range of hands could be huge. If you've got a solid hand, TPw/kicker, you're probably well ahead. Position is something few know, much less understand. Use it. (If you don't know, really know position, study everything you can on it. Harrington makes it the most important part of THE.) When the idiots are playing the bad guy, wait until you have a hammer and use it on them. Let them walk right into your big hand and smack 'em.

Aggressors are losers in early play, whether it's 800 starting chips or 1500. It's vitally important to conserve your chips. An experienced player can play a short stack, but he's always on the edge of going home. An inexperienced player with a short stack is a player looking for a place to go all in. It's just a matter of time. It's just not worth gambling early.

Middle rounds--when it's 7-8 left 30/60 to 100/200 blinds

This is when I look to change gears. Nash's 50/100 line is my median, sometimes earlier often later. I want to get aggressive just before the rest of the table wakes up and realizes the blinds are going to get them.

Let the blinds build. At some point, you'll suddenly start seeing players starting to drop like flies. Blind stealing is your lifeline, but it's not as easy as you would like. Push-botting is a popular strategy in some quarters and its judicious use is terrific. Overuse and you're starting another table. Your opponents WILL get tired of it and the more of them there are, the sooner they will.

Everybody thinks you're stealing from the button. Some of my all time great moments have been with AA and KK on the button. A great place to steal from is a push from UTG. I've probably gotten more clean steals from UTG and than from the button. Another place is from the SB. A push from the BB with two limpers can often get you another 2 orbits. Timing and good reads.

A major leak is pushing all in with more than 1 caller, a call and a raise, or when the blinds are loose. Do NOT try to steal against a loose player with a big stack. You are not likely to get away with it very often. Never call an all in unless you've got a monster.

Know thy opponent. If you pay even bare attention--in time, not when you're starting or struggling--it's not hard to know who can play and who can't. Put a note on the guy you think is the best. If someone appears better, put a note on him, too. Then, when the hands are being played, you don't have to think so hard, "Should I worry about him?" If you are up against someone with a note, be careful. If he's tight, push and he's most likely to fold. If there's no note, push and he probably will fold, at this point in the tourney. Push too often, either will play back at you. If he has a note, you're more likely to get away stealing with a wider range of hands. If he has no note, you need to go in with at least an A or K high card, cause the one's without the notes are more likely to call you.

Note: In the hands of an expert, middle cards suited are really good hands to play, but ONLY if you know HOW. Otherwise, stick to Broadway cards.

Note2: If you're desperate, you're better off going with JT than you are Ax or Kx, as you are more likely to be playing live cards versus dominated hands.

When it comes to stealing, you're more likely to steal against the middle stacks. The short stacks are dangerous, if you're on a pure steal because they see the blinds creeping up on them (or they should.) They may call you with anything, (and they should), if you're not careful. The middle stacks are trying to make the money, so they want to have a better hand to call you with. A big stack with no note on him can be your ATM, if you're betting 3 or 4BB. Pushes can get you spanked and sent home. (Watch the big stack. If he's not pushing around the small stacks, he's definitely a stealing candidate. He's weak. But be careful here.) Also, remember, it takes a bigger hand to call an all in than it does to go all in first. Calling an all in with a marginal hand is a major leak in your game.

When you get a big stack, don't play the Table Captain. Use the big stack to beat up the average stacks, not to put the small stacks out.

JTs or JTo, Kx, Ax, QJ or QT are very nice stealing hands. They can stand up to some calls. Against A6 or K8, JT is great because he has only 3 outs where you've got six if he hits his little kicker. (Most people won't call with these hands, but I will.) 99 is a limping hand with 8 players left and the blinds have gotten to 50/100. 99 is a pushing hand with 5 people and blinds of 100/200. Any pair is a good pushing hand when the table is short and the blinds are high. You have to have some gamble in you if you're going to have success in SNGs and you have to be aggressive as the bubble approaches.

Now, some players always push with these hands, but often when you have good cards like AK or AQ, you can also call a raise and draw them in. There's a lot of satisfaction in busting somebody out when they go all in with 84 and you've got KK. But, KK is also a very dangerous hand, because many (if not most) will call or go all in with any Ax. An A on the board and you're hurt or dead, so be careful with being too confident with big pairs other than AA.

The Bubble--make or break

The bubble is half math/half feel. You need both to be successful, and a little luck wouldn't hurt. The math you need to study. The feel you get from playing a LOT of tournaments. If you're getting a lot of 5ths and 4ths, you need to dig in there and find out why this is happening. It's getting harder now to slide into the money than it ever has been, and likely to get harder still as time goes on. The bums are getting a little better, a little smarter, a little more experienced. There's still a lot of fish. They're just harder to catch because they're not so quick to bite.

By now, the donkeys have been eliminated or they have a big stack. You know. You've been watching, haven't you? If not, you better be now, because you need to know your opponents tendencies, their range of hands, their style of play, if you are going to consistently beat them. It becomes the number one thing from this point onward.

ITM--We're in the money. We're in the money. Ha-cha-cha-cha!

Now is NOT the time to relax. Take a deep breath and fold a couple of hands if your heart is beating fast. You've done well, but now is the time the game should go up a notch or three. You're going to win, or die trying.

Do NOT play for 2nd. I guarantee you if you play for second, you'll not only be stuck with second a lot, but you'll struggle as you move up to higher buyins. You must be aggressive, but controlled. Work your position. You can play weaker hands more strongly from the button. Don't be afraid to push in your chips. More often than we'd like, you have to get lucky to win. Play small edges and you'll do very well.

Your opponents at the lower buy ins are happy to get here. They most likely are still playing a tight range of hands. As you have gotten closer to the money, your range of hands has widened considerably. You should be playing more face cards, even with a garbage kicker. Hands that are disgusting and should be tossed in the muck in the first three rounds now become as valuable as the gold in the purse. Be very aggressive, but also be very smart.

Heads up--My favorite

I love playing heads up. I am always confident I'm going to win it. I figure in most cases, I've got more experience than my opponent. He's probably happy to get here. I'm looking to win. Confidence is paramount.

Be patient. If it takes time to beat him, then take your time. Mix up your play. Call some with good hands, raise some with cheese. Play it carefully from the BB and strongly from the button. You're the last to play when you have the button, so you control the action. Use it. Mix up your play. Push all in, occasionally, but also rarely. You want to keep him off balance, but limit your chances of losing. You're the better player. The longer it takes, the more likely he is to make a mistake. The one who makes the first mistake, usually goes out second.

Heads up is more feel than any time before this. Over time, you'll develop a sense of when you can hammer and when you can net them. There's no way anyone can tell you how to play it. Forget waiting for good hands, you don't have time. He'll have all your chips if you're folding folding folding. The only time I fold is if I've been hammering him and I give him a breather, to relax a bit, to think the pressure's off and I've been getting great hands and now I'm not,, before I start hammering him again. I don't want him to panic and start pushing bad hands. I want him to think he's going to have to have a good one to beat me. If I fold one or two, he's ripe for the kill. You do this with raises and position, not cards. You only need one good hand, really, the last one.

My last SNG before writing this, I had been playing this guy like a musical instrument throughout the entire tourney. When we got to heads up, he had a 6 to 1 chip lead on me. I raised him off a few hands, checked and folded a couple. I got AA on the button. hehe I called. That's right, sports fans, I did NOT raise. And no way I push. If he catches something, well, you have to be lucky to win and you had yours getting AA.

Nothing flop. He bet, as I hoped. I waited a long time, then "bravely" called. An Ace on the turn. He bet again, and I waited until the time started blinking, then called. The river was a blank. He went all in and I insta-called. Game, set, match. I had exactly one showdown, and probably only one hand which was better than his. After a long time playing him, I had him cold. I knew what he'd call with and what he'd fold...which was most hands.

Finally, a note on two things I've been watching for and seem to appear correct. One, a big chip lead in the early stages is no guarantee for the money. Two, cards ebb and flow over the course of an SNG. I think the two are related.

You get some great hands in the first few rounds, double up off a fish, pick up a couple of nice pots. You have a huge chip lead. But, somehow, you start to bleed chips off until you're back to the pack in the later stages. You're not getting any hands. The hands you do get don't make. You're losing ground. You're just picking up trash. It happens, every tournament. You'll go through times when everything wins and everything loses. Be patient. If the card bus comes back when you're on the bubble, you'll get ITM. If he drives by when you're in the money, you may take first. If he comes too early, you may bust out 5th. The skill comes when you can keep playing when the card bus is at the far end of its route.

Comments, corrections and flames are all welcome.

CJ


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Good thoughts.

There's a lot I wanted to include, but it was getting kinda long. One of the things I probably didn't hit very well is the luck factor. I don't believe you can win without getting lucky at least once if not twice. The trick is making the most of when you get lucky. Late in the tournament, you have to win a race or two. It's all small edges. When you got 'em, push 'em.

Yeah, Q9 is an excellent hand heads up. The lower card often is the deciding card.

Raising from the BB is a good idea, but so is checking, too, esp if you have a good hand. Good cards he expects you to raise. If you don't raise, you must not have much. He might easily get the wrong read and you can whack him for a lot of chips. The key is to mix it up.

I also would have added what I consider a most important point that many don't know: when you get to heads up--slow down! It's easy to get excited and try to play quickly and try to take it down very fast. That's a mistake. Take your time, be patient, and spend a few extra moments thinking about what you're doing. It's good for you and bad for your opponent. Slowing down improves your play and puts more pressure on him.

CJ

Great post guys. Really helpful and thought provoking.

Cool topic, very intresting!

Glad you enjoyed it.

Welcome to BTP.

CJ

Some very nice tips in there. Well written!