Not that anyone cares, but I’m up to eight straight cashes. I popped my head into the blogger $25NL game just long enough to say “Howdy” and debate whether to join amidst all of the suspiciously cheerful invitations. I saw enough wild play to convince me that my money was better spent in the O8 SnGs. I believe my departing quote to the collected rabble was “I’m off to fall short in a $10 O8 SnG.”

So I went. And promptly cashed. Same old, same old. I rarely played during the first few circuits, except on blinds. In fact, I only raised three times during the entire SnG, probably a personal record for passive play.

69 hands saw 63 flops led to 54 turns finished by 49 rivers. Out of those 49 rivers, I showed down nine times (4-4-1). I actually took down nine pots without ever showing, winning many of them by semi-bluffing into scare boards (flopped pair, three high cards, three flushes) while shorthanded. Most people have some insight as to the opening hands to play, but that’s as far as their analysis takes them. Once it gets shorthanded, they might loosen their preflop hand requirements, but don’t understand how to bet later rounds with fewer players and higher BBs.

I think my strongest part of the game is when it’s around 4-7 players. In early play, the fish are schooling and you gotta wait for the nuts to hit-and-run. Suckouts are the rule, not the exception, with nine or ten players. Remember, 36-40 cards have been dealt and most combinations of the nuts will be out there somewhere. If you don’t have them, someone else does. And by the time you get to the final two or three, the blinds are usually 10% of your stack, and post-turn betting is almost a forced all-in. This means you gotta either hit some nice draws or hope your opponent gets horrible starting cards and gets blinded down.

So, Todd’s quick and probably WRONG theory of O8 SnG play:
Early (8-10 players) – (a) Fold until you get a premium hand, and (b) Wait for the nuts, then bet the hell out of them. Straights are NO good with three of a suit or a pair on the board.
Middle (4-7 players) – (a) Add in some hands that have scoop potential with decent draws to the nuts (maybe A3xx double sooted), and (b) Wait for the nuts, then bet the hell out of them, and (c) If the turn is checked with a low board and you have A3 or A4 (with a 2 or a 3 on board), bet the hell out of it.
Late (2-3 players) – Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I ain’t winning these, so stop reading right here. My expertise lies in getting you to the money, not the mountaintop.