Okay so I've been planning on taking a break from poker for school, so as a compromise Ive decided to stop playing cash(ring) games and just play some multi-table sngs(30-45 seats) on either stars or absolute to limit the amount of time Im playing(like 1 maybe 2 a week if that). I usually have no problem getting to the final table, but I would say more than half the time Im bubbling out of the sng. This is a brutal problem, because whether Im a big stack or small stack, Im not gonna play conservative on the bubble because I feel if I do im either gonna get blinded out or my stack will probably diminish enough where it will be an uphill battle to advance after I make it into the money.

So I would say my style of play on the bubble is about the same as I play the rest of the tournament from the 3rd or 4th level on. I'm usually stealing or trying to steal blinds between 1-2 times per rotation, maybe more depending on the players on the table, and Im always stabbing at pots if I think im even somewhat in the lead, sometimes even when Im not. I also am probably a little more LAG during the middle to the late stages of the tournament.

I searched the forum and never found any threads devoted to bubble play and its probably the weakest part of my tournament game besides heads up(im pretty poor in the area, but maybe if i stopped bubbling out I'd get more practice).Anyone have any insight about playing on the bubble?

It sounds like you have the right sort of idea. You should be playing pretty agressively on the bubble picking up alot of pots and building your stack so you are in a good position to run for first. The most helpfull thing you can do at this point would probably be to watch your opponant's styles more closely and ajust to their play. Don't bluff the loose players, and play for cheap showdowns with your marginal hands against the tighties (ie don't value bet as much against them). Remember then if the opposition is letting you push them around and control the size of the pot, there is never a reason to play for a big pot with less than a solid hand. If some weak tight player who rarely bets, bets the flop into you just fold and go onto the next hand unless you beat top pair.

your chip stack has to dictate your play on the bubble. if you have a large stack you should be more aggressive and put pressure on the smaller stacks. if you are a short stack, then you really have to wait for a hand and push it. if you are middle stack, get aggressive with the small stacks, but if one of the larger stacks is involved get out of the way unless you have a premium hand

I see some of the things you mentioned I really need to improve on, like getting involved with pots with non premium hands with big stacks and such. Im taking a little poker break now until exams are over, then I guess we will see how I fare. Thanks for the advice.

While raising pre-flop around the bubble, you can lower your opening raise a little bit. Raising 2xbb should be sufficient to get people to fold if they don't have premium hands, and if they do then you just saved yourself some money. The one time I would suggest not being aggressive around the bubble is if there is a huge stack at your table. While they might be cautious post-flop, they often make a lot of loose calls preflop. They can also afford to bluff you out of pots. If you've got someone like that at your table, don't open pots unless you have a great hand or they've already folded.

thats really good advice too, i got burned like this in the last tournament I played.

umm.. yes. Didn't feel like making a whole new thread for this so:
Anyone know a good site where i can get some in depth tips for sit and go's? Preticularly 1 table & low limit ($5-20). I'm confident that i can beat at least the 5->10 level but hey... you can never get too much edge :c

http://www.flopturnriver.com/Sit-n-Go-Stra...tegy-Guide.html

They have a couple SNG strat guides at that site. Remember that everyone will have their own style and that involves playing differently in similar situations, but I think those guides definitely give some solid advice, especially for beginner SNG players.

thanks for the link.. i'm sure i'll get something out of it