Planet Mark's Blog. Thoughts, News And Strategy For Poker Tournaments Of All Size

SNG Blueprint Course – Member Questions FAQ Part #2

Had a mixed bag of questions from members of the $16 Per Hour SNG Blueprint course since my last FAQ post.

Before I start, a quick plug for our Facebook group – which I use to highlight new articles as well as interesting links to articles on other sites, come over and join us!

Anyway, on with the FAQ….First up a question about the 2 versions:

I Did Not Click “US” When I Signed Up – Can You Switch Me Over? A little background, there are US and Non-US versions of the Blueprint course because of the UGIEA regulations restricted the number of sites I can work with for US readers. Having said that the only real difference is in the example sites, the principals behind the strategies can actually be transferred to any site you like. In other words there is no big deal – add to this the fact that I can not actually move you from one list to another without you needing to verify and start the course over again and my suggestion is to relax and enjoy the version of the course you have!

Too Many Callers Make The Games Hard To Beat, How Can I Overcome This? This is an interesting and challenging question. Bad players are what we all wish for in poker, though sometimes it can feel like a critical mass of ‘calling stations’ can really frustrate – especially in the middle stages. Calling often, especially out of position is the mark of a losing player. If your opponents are donating to the games then you want to play against them, however frustrating in the short-term. For more on this check out Part #4 of the Blueprint and read up on the effect of other winning players on your ROI… then reverse this logic for long-term losers. However our strategy of stealing blinds in the mid-stages can easily be thwarted by players who call, call and call again. There are several things you could do about this in my experience including being patient, raising more with good hands (when you know you will be called, why not build the pot early!), and emphasizing position in your play even more than you normally would (which I hope after completing the course would be a lot). For me the key adjustment is to re-steal more often, passive callers and limpers will usually alert you to their strongest hands (min-raise anyone!). This means you can be fairly certain that nobody is strong when you ship over 3 limpers, even working with a  loose calling range this can be a profitable move as long as you avoid hands which are easily dominated by potential callers ranges (ace-rag hands are out for a start!). These type of players can increase your variance, though they will increase your profits hugely over time… patience and perseverance are the keys!

I Am Missing Part #2, #3 or #4 – Could You Please Send It? Still seem to be some randomness going on with Aweber – the software I use to manage the mailings. Happy to send any missing parts, if you could let me know whether you are US based or not that would be useful. Please note that I deal with Blueprint e-mails twice a week only, on Tuesdays and Fridays (though sometimes I’ll spot one and quickly send while dealing with business mails!!)  Later Edit: One more in my mailbox that I missed...

What Hands Should I be Raising At 50 / 100 and 100 / 200 Blind Levels? The mid-stages - always tricky, and like all the best poker answers the real answer is 'it depends'. Key here is whether someone has already entered the pot ahead of you. If so then I recommend folding most of your hands without a second thought, particularly Ace-X or King-X hands. Pairs could flat a raise if the implied odds are there and there are no known 'squeezers' (or simply loose and aggressive players) still to act behind you. If you are one of the first players to act at a reasonably full table then tight is right - you really do not want to be called in several places when any continuation bet might commit you to the pot. Here is the converse, when folded to in late position you can actually open a wide range. You will get pre-flop folds often enough + take a lot of pots in position against a single opponent too - this means that showdown value is less important... pairs, suited connectors and high card unpaired hands are all great for position steals. One final note - you can make a lot of chips in the mid-stages by restealing.  

That’s all for this time – you can find the link and preview form on our homepage.  GL at the tables, Mark

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