I ask because I think this is one part of my game I am possibly making mistakes? I usually find myself with a decent chip stack near the end before losing half of it right when it counts playing short handed. I'm a succesful 3/6 cash game player but always seem to finish 4th (literally most of the time) in SNG's. Heres the Q:

5 players left in a $200 10 man SNG, you have 2200(2nd in chips) w/ blinds at 100/200. Chip leader in 1st position folds and its your turn to act, player in BB (loose player) has right around 900 left and you look down at KQ suited. So what do y'all think is the correct play here??

What are the other stack sizes?

Post in strat

Heres the hand preflop:

GI_BOB: $975.00 (Big Blind)
Conundum11: $1630.00
Bvzz: $450.00
Card_Star: $2,220.00 (Me) (K Q)
cranestyle: $4,725.00 (1st To Act)

I made it 600 to go, right play?

$600 seems reasonable to me

Bet $450

I don't play 200's but I push here. It's past flop play in this SNG, you want to put people to a decision for their chips. If you are re-raised preflop now it's back to your decision.

If someone flats calls and you miss, how do you play it? A continuation bet basically pot commits you. Weak aces or small pairs have a tough choice to make and even if they do call you have 5 cards guaranteed. Sucks when you're up against AA, KK, AK and AQ but that's only 4 hands you're in really bad shape against.

Actually a small raise isn't bad either like Dane suggested (400 or 450), gives you a little more room to fold to a re-raise from a larger stack. But it does give a weak ace an opportunity for a re-steal that might fold to an all-in

^yea that may be the best way to play it, the BB moved all in with AK and gone was half my stack lol, to be honest I almost folded as I've been in that position more than once with negative consequences. The guys who said double the blind and make it 450 or so, if re raised all in by the BB in this case, would you really fold it for another 500 with KQ?

This hand is entirely about stack sizes. Since you're down to 11 BB, your choices are very very little. Here's my preferences in order.

1. Raise all-in
If you raise 2.5 or 3X BB and someone else pushes over the top of you, you're getting an incredibly good price to call, thus you're priced in. Hence, just move all-in. If your hand was TT+, I'd raise 3.5X BB and then move in whatever comes on the flop.

2. Fold
Folding is my 2nd option due to the presence of the short stack who will be getting very desperate.

3. Limp
Hope to hit your flop and then jam it. If shortstack moves in, you're more than happy to call.

no, you have to call in that situation getting 3:1. You're only going to be dominated a small percentage of the time. If you were the SB in this situation and it folded to you I push every time, KQ is going to be the best hand most of the time and a small dog in most other cases.

This must have been a fairly slow tourney for there to be 5 players left at the 100/200 level, or the big stack is very big.

the answer depends on what the other stacks are.


Edit: After seeing the stack sizes:

Push.

Any attempt to play poker here is nullified by the big blind only having an M of 3.

I do play 200s. As long as the big stack's already folded, it's an easy push. You're going to run into a big hand occasionally, but that's just a chance you have to take. If anything, I think you might be playing too risk-averse and putting yourself in spots where you're too vulnerable late in the tourney. Most of the equity that's out there to be gained in $200 SnGs is gained from the fact that your opponents will be playing too tight. In order to take advantage of this, you're going to have to loosen up and steal extra. You really want to be either the loosest or second loosest player at the table most of the time.

alrite everyone, thanks for your inputs, all very similiar to my original play.........and luckily since beginning this thread I've cashed for 600 after coming second.....finally, gona move up to 5/10 games, see if i can hold my own cheers all

5/10 games would seem to be a lot tougher than a $200 SnG, no?

^like i said earlier I play 3/6 to good success, and with a bankroll of around 2800 i think 5/10 is a suitable step up

Yes, and what I was thinking was that playing $200 SnGs would be easier to make $ than a 5/10 game. 5/10 has always seemed to me to be the first step up in competence of players, and if you are very good for that level maybe you can multitable your way to $50/hour? A $200 SnG even pessimistic estimates of ROI are about 15% and they take about an hour, and I think are easier to multitable than cash games, at least if they are timed well to not hit the bubble at the same time, since you are playing fewer hands until the tables get short. So the earn there should be well above $50/hour.

As far as bankroll requirements go, $8000 should be good for $200 SnGs. Isnt the cash recommendation well above $10000 for a 5/10 game?

Well, you make some interesting points. In regards to the likelihood to make more money in SNG's I disagree. I have by far made most of my coin from cash games, and although you may have a good point that mostly very competent players play 5/10, I'm pretty sure I can hold my own at this level of play (thanks for your concern of the wellbeing of my money tho lol)
I was very suprised that you seem to think you need 1 thousand times the blind to get started in a higher stakes game........I have close to 300 times the blind and that personally is a good amount to handle the fluctuations of the game when they come, of course if my stack dwindles there are always the lower games available in which I can build the BR to get going in the higher games again.

300 times the big blind is very thin capitilzation for 5/10, though my 10k does turn out to be too high. going back to Gambling Theory & Other Topics $7000 looks like about the right number. that assumes a win rate of $20/hr and a standard deviation of $250 for a 5% risk of ruin.

Thats still considerably higher than the standards generally accepted for STTs.

Im obviously biased because Im a much better tourney player than cash game player, but bubble and short stack play in SnGs (at least up to $100, I dont play $200s) is so bad that I think they are far easier to beat.