Poker Strategy: SNG Strategy
Sit N’ Go Tournament Strategy
These strategy’s are for No Limit Texas Hold em
A Sit N’ Go tournament (SNG) is a single table tournament. You pick the table you want to play, pay the buy-in, and then you wait for the table to fill up then you play.
At the beginning of these tournaments you should play extremely tight. Don’t take a lot of chances. Let the fish knock each other out. With each player that gets knocked out, you are just that much closer to the money.
Hands that you can play from any position in the early stages: JJ, QQ, KK, AA, and AK suited. Be prepared to let all those hands go, with exception to AA and KK, if someone goes all in.
If you are going to play a hand, make sure you do it from late position. In No-Limit tournaments, you don’t want to limp in with a marginal hand and then have to throw it away when somebody moves all-in on you. Playing your hands from late position can help prevent this from happening, since there are less people to act after you have acted. Also, after the flop you will be the last to act and this will give you more information on the strengths of your opponents hands.
Hands you can play for cheap in late position include two suited face cards, and suited aces down to an eight. You are looking here for the “nuts” or “near nuts” hand (nut flush, full house or straight) that you can afford to slow play and make a big gain for a small initial stake. I’ll also play any pocket pair, especially against multiple callers. This is because of the “disguise value” I can create if I hit something on the flop, opposing players hardly ever put someone on a low set. If you play Ax suited and catch a pair of aces, be prepared to let it go if somebody is betting back at you (raising you) because there is a good chance that you are out-kicked.
At the beginning of these tournaments always play the game straight up. You are going to be involved in a lot of multi-way pots, so you are going to need a good hand to win. Don’t try and bluff or steal the blinds. The money in the pot just isn’t worth it during the early part of these tournaments.
Pay close attention to the type of opponents you are up against. You might have to make a move at some point during the tournament and you want to make sure you make your move against the right opponent.
A player that can easily be scared off of a pot is the type of player you can usually bluff at and succeed.
Look for the player who calls way too much (Calling Station). When you catch a hand against one of these players, bet and let them pay you off. Don’t slow play against these players. Do not give them the chance to get lucky and outdraw you.
Then you have the players that try to bluff a lot. These are the players you are going to want to trap when you catch a good hand. Check to them, and let them do the betting. You could be holding the nuts, and this player can hold absolutely nothing, but he will go all-in against you!
During the middle stage of the game is your perfect opportunity to loosen your play. Now is the time to bluff and steal blinds. In late position you can semi-bluff hands that draw to the nuts.
When you’ve eliminated most of the field and you’re just outside of placing in the money, some players will get extremely tight for fear of not placing. Take advantage of these players by stealing their blinds. DO NOT let this period freeze your play so that others can take advantage of you. Do not become the victim at this point. This is the climax of the game where you must take the bull by the horns.
Once you are in the money, your only goal now is to get first place and win all the money. Do not become side-tracked. Do not become nervous. Do not lose your cool. If you are short-stacked, then you must play aggressive and take chances. You don’t want to sit back and hope that the other players will knock each other out. You’ll never get first place if you do this. More than likely that is the strategy that your opponent will be using, so take advantage of their weakness. Be aggressive! You will be surprised how often they will fold to you when you move all-in with a decent hand. At this point, you want to be the pushing the chips to the middle, not the one calling.
If you are ahead once you’ve made the money, ALWAYS keep pressure on the other players. Respect raises but attack calls. Put pressure on the other two...especially when they both already have money in the pot.
Once you are Heads Up, be aggressive. The winner in heads up play is the one who often wins the most bad hands, not the player who was dealt the best hands. At this point you have to really play your opponent and not the cards.
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