SNG Guide part 3

Beating the 6.50 Turbos on Stars

Part Three : The Mid Game

The mid-game is quite possibly the hardest part of the game to play, just because so many people miss chip steals. While in the early game you’re mostly playing your cards, you’re mostly playing your position in the mid-game. Your most frequent pushes will be from the button and small blind. We’ll see later on that your SB vs BB range will be huge.

I define the mid-game as 50/100 – 75/150.

Here are my preflop raises for 6.50s:

50/100 – t300
75/150 – t450
100/200 – t550

A lot of the hands I play depend on my chip stack. If I have a large stack, I might raise 88 in EP, but I’ve gotta feel I can outplay a lot of the table. If I have a smaller stack, I’ll often just push. I never want to put myself in a position where I’ll have less than 10BB when the hand is over if I had more than 10BB at the beginning of the hand.

The real ICM stuff with push/call ranges starts at 100/200, but some funny stuff happens at 75/150.

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50/100

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The main thing about this level is that you open up some new hands. You’ll usually be down to 7-handed if not less, and therefore you can start raising stuff like AJ from early position.

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Hypothetically:

50/100, 7-handed
UTG 2200
UTG+1 1600
Hero 1700
LP 2000
BT 1500
SB 3000
BB 1500

Hero raises to t300.

Here is a nice place to open-raise ace-jack suited, for example. I would fold to a push from any of the players, because even though this is a 6.50, you’re rarely ahead. I would call with AK, for example, though.

You can also raise pairs like 99-TT UTG with a bigstack.

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Hypothetically:

50/100, 6-handed
Hero 3500
MP 1100
CO 2000
BT 4000
SB 900
BB 1000

Hero raises to t300.
I would call a push from the SB or BB if no one else were in the hand. Also, it’s important to continuation-bet often, even if an ace comes on the flop. C-bets are sooooo good at the lower stakes. It’s only later on that players start making moves on you. I think until the 114s you’re fairly safe.


It’s important to still remain fairly tight, though. Don’t go around raising KJ in middle position. Also, if I want to steal from the BT, I’m rarely going to raise if I don’t have a 14BB+ stack.

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Hypothetically:

50/100, 6-handed
Folded around to Hero
Hero 1150
SB 1200
BB 1350

Hero is BT with ATs, Hero pushes.

That’s more or less how I’d play this kind of hand. I’d raise to about 300 if I had something like 1500 chips, but here you can’t really call a re-push and if you raise to 300 it’s hard to c-bet anything on the flop.

This level is fairly straightforward. It’s somewhat like the 25/50 level where you’re raising AQ UTG for example. You want to remain fairly tight, but still like picking up the blinds since they now represent over 5% of your stack usually.

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Here’s a situation that was asked on the LP.net forums. I’m pretty sure I like my new answer.

50/100, 9-handed

UTG (Hero) – 1490
UTG+1 – 1415
MP1 – 2175
MP2 – 1750
LP – 1640
CO – 1520
BT – 805
SB – 1240
BB – 1465

Hero is UTG with AQo. Hero limps. MP limps. SB raises to t400. Hero?

Situation #1
At this point, I fold. Nothing is raising you that you’re really ahead of. Donks will usually check hands like KJ, KQ, AT, pairs and whatnot. I’d say AK-AJ, JJ-AA. You’re ahead of AJ, tied with JJ and AQ, and behind to everything else. This makes it a fold. Donks will usually check hands like KJ, KQ, AT, pairs and whatnot.

Situations #2
However, had Hero raised, MP probably wouldn’t have called. Let’s say SB pushes. Now there’s money for him to steal, so pushing might be worth it for him if you’re tight. I think he’s got a bigger range there, because he knows it’s pretty much push/fold, and he’ll be folding a lot larger range. Pairs, most kings, queens, sometimes JT and shit like that, which makes this a fair call at a 6.50.

I think Villain (SB) shows a lot more strength by raising in situation 1 than by pushing over in situation 2, that’s why I advocate calling in situation #2 and folding in situation #1.

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75/150

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This is where the fun begins. I’m rarely raising at this level without a 2k++ stack.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 7-handed
UTG 1500
MP 2000
LP 1000
Hero 2000
BT 2000
SB 3000
BB 3000

Hero is CO with JJ.

UTG calls, MP calls, LP raises to t600. Hero pushes faster than he ever thought possible.

In this hand, you’ve got a solid starting hand and tons of money in the pot. t1125 with 400 left behind for LP. You’ve basically gotta call 1000 into a 1525 pot, which is 3:2 odds. You’re 2:1 over most aces and even if he has AK or AQ, it’s a great call. Besides, even if you lose, you still have 1k, which is a ton. Also, if no one had raised, I’d probably just open-push. At a 25+2 or 55+5, I’ll raise for value, but at a 6.50 you’ll get called by A9o frequently which makes this a solid +EV push, especially if you get some limpers in front of you.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 5-handed
Hero 1400
CO 4000
BT 3600
SB 2500
BB 2000

Hero is UTG with A9o

You’re first to act and have less than ten big blinds, and the blinds are hitting you next hand. Many beginners think to themselves – shit, I’ve gotta get in there and gambol. Wrong. You can steal on the SB/BB. This is a very marginal holding and a very bad push. There are virtually no calling ranges for all these players that would make this a valuable push. Unless they’re all folding AQ offsuit, or they just don’t feel their pocket nines are good, this is a losing play. I would want something like ATs if not AJo. I’m definitely pushing 88.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 6-handed
UTG 900
MP 7000
LP 1000
CO 500
SB 1000
Hero 3100

MP has donked his way into a huge stack, doubling up with flop trips when he cold-called a 10BB raise and reraise preflop at 15/30 with JTs, hitting trip jacks on the flop and getting it all-in versus the other two guys in the pot, both of whom had high pocket pairs (Queens and Aces). He has been pushing a ton of hands and he has taken down five hands in a row uncontested, just pushing all-in.

Hero is BB with AKs. Once again, MP pushes allin, and it is folded to you. What do you do?

Answer: you fold. And, friggin’ happily. Take a look at it this way : you have a huge stack compared to the other players. The MP is showing no signs of backing down, and therefore sooner or later he’s gonna knock someone out. You’re not on the bubble, but UTG has 900 chips and CO has only 500. Get rid of these two guys and you’re on the bubble with two shortstacks. You much prefer to be pushing than calling here, and if you do the math, calling is bad. Hell, if a genie showed you that MP has 72o or 32o here, you’d fold.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 6-handed

UTG-BT between 1k and 3k.
SB – 1600
BB (Hero) – 1300

Hero is BB with X X. SB limps, Hero pushes.

I’ll do this fairly often, especially if I have two likely live cards.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 7-handed
UTG (Hero) – 1400
MP – 1600
LP – 1500
CO – 3500
BT – 2000
SB – 2000
BB – 1500

Hero is UTG with 99. Hero pushes.

This is standard. I probably push 88 as well and muck the rest of the lower pairs.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 7-handed
UTG (Hero) – 1100
MP – 1900
LP – 1500
CO – 3500
BT – 2000
SB – 2000
BB – 1500

Here I’ll definitely push 88, possibly 77 if I feel the table is tight enough. AJo of course is an auto-push.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 6-handed
UTG – 1100
MP (Hero) – 2000
CO – 3000
BT – 2000
SB – 1400
BB – 4000

Here, I’m rarely raising… maybe if I have kings or aces, but generally, I’ll just push. I fold AJo. AQ is an instant push, as are TT+. 99 is generally not. This is mostly because of nearly behind you covering you.

Let’s take a look at how this changes simply by switching BB with UTG, and Hero with CO.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 6-handed
UTG – 4000
MP – 3000
CO (Hero) – 2000
BT – 2000
SB – 1400
BB – 1100

Now I’m usually pushing 88, AJo+, and probably ATs. After checking SNGPT, that’s actually one of the exact ranges I got. Heh, no, I didn’t cheat.

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Hypothetically:

75/150, 6-handed
UTG – 3000
MP – 3000
CO – 2600
BT (Hero) – 900
SB – 2000
BB – 2000


Hero is BT with X, Y. Hero pushes nearly any two. If Hero were in SB, it’d easily be any two pretty much regardless of the calling ranges.

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100/200

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I kind of dislike this level. You get the bigger blinds, but no antes, and pushing without antes seems kinda weak. Dunno, maybe it’s just me.

Here, I’m pretty much always pushing. You have to be pretty tight UTG though.

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Hypothetically:

100/200, 6-handed
UTG (Hero) – 2200
MP – 3000
CO – 2600
BT – 1100
SB – 2100
BB – 2500

Hero is UTG with AJo. Hero folds.

Pushing here is pretty bad regardless of calling ranges. Under extreme circumstances, it can be really +EV, but that doesn’t happen all that often. I fold this.

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Hypothetically:

100/200, 6-handed
UTG – 2200
MP – 3000
CO – 2600
BT – 1100
SB (Hero) – 2100
BB – 2500

Here, Hero has switched places and is now in the SB. Unless the BB is calling a very wide range (any pair, any ace, and then some), I’m pushing any two here. If there were an ante, it’d be a no-brainer.

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Hypothetically:

100/200, 6-handed
UTG – 2200
MP – 3000
CO – 2600
BT (Hero) – 1100
SB– 2100
BB – 2500

Again, we use the same stack situation, except with Hero on the button. Here also, Hero should push pretty much any two cards. His stack is shrinking rapidly, and even though the small blind and the big blind might be calling a very wide range, this is the last chance Hero will have to steal the blinds with any fold equity. Once the blinds pass again, he’s screwed. If you think Hero will have fold equity against the blinds with a t800 chip stack, then that means the blinds are fairly tight, making this a +EV push. Either way, it works out. You gotta take this push, even if sometimes it may be marginal.

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Hypothetically:

100/200, 6-handed
UTG – 2200
MP – 3000
CO – 2600
BT – 1100
SB– 2100
BB (Hero) – 2500

UTG & MP fold. CO limps. BT folds. SB completes. Hero is BB with AJo.

Same stack situation, different position. We’re on the big blind here, and there’s now a substantial amount in the pot. Personally, I push here, unless I have some amazing read on the CO that he only limps aces and kings in that situation. You can pick up a nice 600-chip pot, and you have a fairly strong hand. I would also do this with 88 and 99.

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Hypothetically:

100/200, 5-handed
UTG – 3065
CO – 3320
BT – 3130
SB – 2440
BB (Hero) – 1545

Hero is BB with 54o. UTG folds, CO calls t200, Button folds, SB folds, Hero checks

Flop: A, A, 7, rainbow.
Hero checks, CO checks.

Turn: A, A, 7, T, rainbow.
Hero checks, CO minbets (t200), Hero folds.

This is from the 2+2 forums. I fold this hand because you’re not so desperate for chips. You still have fold equity, and antes should be coming soon so you’ll have plenty of spots to push. If the SB had limped, though, I would’ve pushed preflop.


In general, I just play 100/200 similarly to 75/150, except there are more pushing opportunities. I’d like to get this posted and forget about this because it’s taking up too much time :] 10 pages long so far, that’s enough for me. If there are any questions, feel free to ask.

Donk the turn!