[lork]

I’ve been studying the 200+15 single table NL SNG at party poker. I am surprised by the amount of non-premium hand play in the early rounds: e.g., playing 2nd tier hands like, AT and KQ from early-middle position, medium card draws, leading w/ 2nd pair, and all-ins w/ middle pocket pair. In short, it looks a lot like the 30+3$ games I’ve been playing. So, I’m wondering if maybe I’m mistaken about strategy: That is, maybe playing lesser hands is necessary b/c of the small number of starting chips and the short, 10 minute, levels? Any thoughts appreciated.

[razor]

It's a combination of two things from my perspective:

1) The way the blinds and chip amounts are set, and

2) The expertise of the player

Perhaps the sharks have adapted to the play you've observed and they become profitable on it.

Or maybe, just maybe, there exists rich idiots in high stakes poker as well

I'm a believer in the 2nd one

[ballen]

When I play a tournament, I'm looking for a game with a starting stack of at least 75XBB, and levels of no less than ten minutes. These are the games where I think I have the best chance of using my skill to get me to the finish line, and not simply praying to the poker gods for some hot cards.

[ThomasR]

It doesn't fit with how you would think things work, but with so many people from around the world with very different poker backgrounds you're bound to find a lot of funny play, especially going through with hands that aren't great.

I see a fair few all-ins in mid position, but most will back down because it's not worth the risk. Nice tactic, very risky, but you can quickly become chip leader.