i just played two SnGs... NLHE and NLO8... $1.50 18-player turbos.

i made it to 6th in the NLHE and 5th in the NLO8 -- four places paid. in both i lost to someone hitting their four-outer to make a boat out of their 2pr over my set/boat.

if there was actually any real money at stake here, i'd be steaming. if i had won either one of those hands, i would have been in good position for first or second, but geez... these beats are awful.

anyway, cheers to those who can endure this kind of crap on a regular basis. i haven't quite tuned myself into the ebbs and flows of SnGs, and i honestly don't expect i'll try any time soon.

are these types of beats typical of a "bad run", or is that how good players usually go out of an SnG on the bubble?

I am no expert, but so far I have played 94 $10+1 SNGs at Stars. I have found there seems to be a lot of variation in small sample sizes (less than 40 SNGS) I have gone through a number of winning and losing streaks of 5-8 SNGs at a time (winning several in a row and then losing several in a row). I would say its part of the normal ebb and flow of SNG's. To make matters worse I agree that opponents are getting better. Patience and mental hardness are important when you keep getting sucked out. You must take the long term view and realize your skill will win out over the long haul.
As far as Full Tilt $5.50 SNGS I have played 6 so far and so far they seem to be chalk full of donkies.

I loved the 10+1s and the 10 pound +1s at Crypto. I had a very good ROI there. The funky thing about the SNG's is that they are so streaky. I can place ITM 6x in a row with 4 firsts, then go dead for 4 or 5 before I squeak out a 2nd.

I switched to the Crypto 6max's. All of the great FR flavor, not so many bad beats after taste. Because you are in LP more often, you can also play positionally and have an added edge. Only top 2 pay, but aggression on the bubble vs 2 players rather than 3 seems to work well for me. You must be a good headsup player to reallly make the 6 max profitable. I estimate winning about 65-70% of the HU matches at 10+1