Singin’
the Sit-N-Go Blues
Last weekend I
had an unusual amount of free time on my hands, so
I decided to brush up on my Sit-N-Go (SNG) skills…
or lack thereof. The three times I had previously
played this particular tournament type at this particular
online poker room, I managed a 4th, 2nd, and 1st place
finish in that sequence. So not only did I have a
few extra bucks to throw around, but I also had a
little bit of confidence to work with. Well, it didn’t
take long for both of those to disappear down the
drain.
I was out in 4th
in my first bout when I pushed my short stack all-in
under the gun with K-Qs and had an unfortunate meeting
with both pocket Kings and Aces. After a five minute
cool down I was back at the computer for round two.
This time it was an even more unsatisfactory 5th place
finish thanks to a long string of cold cards and another
unsuccessful steal attempt. So all in all it wasn’t
that bad of a day.
Well… at
least it wasn’t that bad until I sat back down
for attempts number three and four, which ended up
even worse than the first two. If I can remember correctly,
those two finishes started with the number 7 or so
and ended with the sound of a keyboard being thrown
across the room. After reluctantly crawling back to
the computer I tried my luck for the fifth and final
time that day.
Obviously I didn’t
cash in this one either, but at least I didn’t
waste as much time when I got knocked out in last
place thanks to this remarkable hand: a few hands
in I’m under-the-gun with pocket Aces and got
a total maniac (who happens to be the chip leader
– how bout that) a few seats to my left. I put
in a mediocre raise of 3xBB, it folds to the maniac
who triples that, I push, and he calls, showing 10-8
of diamonds. Two diamonds on the flop, one more on
the river, and I’m about ready to probe at my
brain with de-fuzzed Q-tips until I can understand
the logic behind his play.
There was no logic
of course. The only explanation is the usual “hey,
that’s poker.” And as anyone who’s
played poker for more than a month can tell you, this
is what poker is all about. Poker is getting drawn
out on. Poker is receiving bad beat after bad beat.
Poker is getting your chips in with the best hand
and losing to one of the worst. This is how the game
of poker plays you, no matter how you choose to play
the game.
Winning poker,
on the other hand, is knowing how to react to the
downswings and losing streaks that inevitably hit
every player. This is especially true in SNG tournaments
where the essential skills of patience and timely
aggression aren’t always enough to make it into
the money. There are a lot of all-in or fold decisions
that must be made, as well as a lot of tough calls
that you may have to make with mediocre hands, particularly
as the blinds are eating away at more and more of
your stack. It is during these latter stages of a
tournament when, for lack of a better phrase, a lot
of crap happens. Being able to confidently move on
after all the 4th, 5th, or whatever place finishes
is the first step in winning the next poker tournament
you decide to play in.
After my miserable
day of SNG experiences, I took some time to listen
to my own advice. With a clear head and well-rested
mindset, I sat down the next day and decided to have
another go at the game of poker. This time around
I finished 1st, 3rd, and 1st again, finally deciding
to end on an up-note and enjoy the rest of the day.
It just goes to show that although poker can get the
best of you, if you consistently play you’re
best you will come out on top.
Best of luck at
the tables.
Mad Terp
Editor's
note: The Mad Terp, as we so fondly refer to him because
of the university he attends, also has his own website
where readers may rate their favorite poker site,
or join in the discussion forum of poker players.
http://www.imopoker.com/
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