A Sit and Go Poker Dynasty.......

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I've decided to start a dynasty to log my work at the poker table. I started my bankroll by winning a freeroll tournament and have used the NL micro tables over at Ultimate Bet to build my bankroll up to around $1150.00. My best game is SNG games with long, blind levels (12 minutes), so that's what I'll be playing to start this dynasty. It allows me to wait for cards while mixing in occasional agression.

I usually play at least 4 SNG's at night before I go to bed. My wife works 4-5 nights a week, so I have time to play after 8:00 PM when the baby goes to sleep. I usually multi-table SNG's to keep me occupied and avoid playing bad hands out of boredom. I've found that I can get a SNG started every 3-5 minutes at the $5+.50 level. It's also a good profit margin for a relatively low risk. For every 4 tables, I'm investing $22. Even just one win makes a profit. A win paired with anything else results in an even better return. I rarely go 0-4, which would be the worst case scenario.

I'm going to log my results here on the nights that I play. I just want to see what kind of profit I can land over a period of time. Also, I'm going to record my final place in each SNG to judge how well I'm playing. If I'm doing well, I should see some 4th-5th place finishes due to my agression around the bubble, but also some wins due to big double-ups near the bubble.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'll be using the basic game strategy that Scott Fischman suggests in his 'Online Ace' book. It has worked well for me in the past. Here's a summary of the general play model.

Early on, be super tight. Unless you have a big hand (AA-JJ and AK), release the hand. You can occasionally raise with A-Q, A-J or K-Q in late position if first to come in, but otherwise steer clear of trouble as the pots aren't big enough to risk your stack. Also, don't hesitate to release the hands if something doesn't feel right. Just survive.

In the middle game, as you close in on the bubble (4-5 players left in a 3 person payout), look to agressively attack the middle sized stacks. The small stack will likely move over the top and the big stack will have enough to call your raises, but the middle stacks are just looking to make the money and don't want to risk becoming the small stack.

Anytime you get below 8X the BB, become extremely aggressive. Often, you'll be no less than a 2-1 dog when you push (not including fold equity when you are the raiser), which is a decent double-up opportunity given your small stack. Don't hesistate to push in with suited connectors either.

Standard heads-up play applies after that. Play most of the hands and look to be the aggressor.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

First night complete. Certainly an interesting one.

Profit/Loss: -$34
Games played: 8
Finishes: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th (4), 7th

Truly, this is a summary that doesn't do justice to how well I played. I lost 4 all-in hands where I got in with the best of it and also lost one race. Lost one all-in where I was a huge dog, but that happens when you have QQ and run into the big stack holding AA. Here's the hands I lost late in the games (mine is the first hand):

AJs vs KQs - lost
JJ vs A3 - lost
A9s vs QJ - lost
AKs vs AQ - lost
99 vs AK - lost
QQ vs AA - lost

The first 4 hands I got all my chips in the pot late in the game with the advantage. Sometimes, things just fall that way. My lone money finish was actually my best work of the night. I came back from being the 3xBB short stack with 5 remaining to land a 3rd place finish against some conservative players.

Certainly not the start I had hoped for, but that's poker. Thank God for adequate bankrolls.

[ArlingtonColt]

I've had many... many nights like that.. the percentages will even out in the end.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by ArlingtonColt

I've had many... many nights like that.. the percentages will even out in the end.

If anything, putting those results down and noting how I was knocked out only reinforced further that I made the right decisions and it just didn't work out. Over the long haul, if I remain patient and continue to get in with the best of it, it'll work out in the end.

[primelord]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

If anything, putting those results down and noting how I was knocked out only reinforced further that I made the right decisions and it just didn't work out. Over the long haul, if I remain patient and continue to get in with the best of it, it'll work out in the end.

This is of course not completely true in SnGs. I am with you in cash games, but I would be interested to see hands such as the A9s vs QJ. Just because you got it in as a 58% favorite does not mean it was winning SnG play. *shurg*

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by primelord

This is of course not completely true in SnGs. I am with you in cash games, but I would be interested to see hands such as the A9s vs QJ. Just because you got it in as a 58% favorite does not mean it was winning SnG play. *shurg*

Agreed. I'm starting to see some trends already that may alter how I play the SNG strategy overall. One of the main trends I'm seeing is that I'm pushing the action a bit too hard rather than allowing myself some wiggle room to get out of a hand without losing all my chips. Need to watch for calling opportunities over outright agression.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Results from last night:

Profit/Loss: -$7
Games played: 9
Finishes: 2nd, 3rd (2), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th (2), 10th

Mixed bag from last night, though I was generally more disappointed with my results when compared to the first night despite finishing 3 times in the money. The 10th finish was an unfortunate BB special gone bad where I flopped two pair against a player who slow-played KK pre-flop. I got the chips all in after the flop, but the board paired on the river, giving the other player a better two pair.

I was also pretty disappointed with two of my three money finishes. I probably should have won the heads-up battle, but failed to remain patient and slowly chip away on the more passive opponent. I also finished 3rd where I was a solid 2nd and failed to attack the small stack when I had the chance. Those 2 results left $15 on the table alone.

I've also noted from some early results that I need to be a bit more careful and preserve my stack when I have starting hands like JJ-99 and AJ-A9 and not be quite so aggressive in pushing the chips in over the top when someone reraises my initial raise, especially with the JJ-99 pocket pairs. Probably best to take a flop and then decide what to do from that point on. It offers a way to save chips when overcards come on the flop. I've also found that people that reraise an initial raise are VERY RARELY bluffing, which is different from some cash game play on the site. Got to concentrate on conservation of chips to avoid the big losses and let the opponents be the one to make the mistakes.