Sit and think

The world can take a collective deep breath now that I've completed the second leg of the Poker Jones SNG challenge -- 100 $6.50 turbos on Stars.

The results are decidedly mixed:
ROI -- 20%
ITM -- 42%
Profit -- $133.20
1st place -- 17
2nd place -- 10
3rd place -- 15
4th place -- 7
5th place -- 21
6th place -- 11
7th place -- 8
8th place -- 8
9th place -- 3

It's time for me to step back and figure what all these numbers mean (such as the glut of 5th-place finishes). My first instinct is that I'm not very good at this point. I'll do some lurking at 2+2 to see if there are any threads descriptive of my plight.

I realize that $6.50 is still a micro-limit, but the play has been decidedly better at this level than at the $3.40s. There are far more people playing what experts say is the optimum style: tight early and push/fold poker when the blind levels demand it.

I'm not discouraged despite the lackluster numbers. Progress has been made, such as my increased comfort level two-tabling and my willingness to push with any two cards when position and stack size demands it. I rarely try to just get ITM. And I believe I've refined my heads-up skills, staying patient with big leads (conceding blinds) while waiting for a hand or mistake. Only four times did I lose big leads HU, and in each instance my opponents got lucky.

Perhaps it was a fantasy to think I could run over this level after 100 games and then move directly to the $16 turbos. I'm afraid the grind at $6.50 will have to continue for at least another 50 games. Probably longer. Figuring out what I'm doing right is easy. Determining what I'm doing wrong will take further analysis.