Part One: Start Winning Single Table
Tournaments
written by BeatTheFish.com
...Fishy says, "Can I call them
Swim and Gos?"
This is Part One of a three-part
strategy system on Sit and Go tournaments.
With the advent and explosion of online
poker, a new type of poker tournament was born: the Sit and Go.
While unpractical in a brick-and-mortar cardroom,
Sit and Go
tournaments can be
both fun a profitable online. A Sit and Go is a single table
tournament usually seating 9 players (some sites may seat 10, but
traditionally no-limit tables consist of 9 players). There are also
popular shorthanded versions with 2 or 6 players. At a full table
Sit and Go, the top 3 will pay out with the winner earning half of
the prize pool, 2nd place earning 30%, and 20% for 3rd.
As soon as the table fills up with registrations, the tournament
begins. Not only are Sit and Gos a lot of fun, they are great
practice for the structure of multi-table tournaments as well as
being extremely profitable for the consistent player. In this
article, I want to introduce a simple Sit and Go strategy system
that I’ve used to regularly finish in the money. My aim is to make
this strategy simple enough for new players but still contain a
useful tip or two for intermediate or advanced players.
At the beginning of a Sit and Go, all players are usually given
between 1,000-2,000 chips and the blinds begin anywhere between 5/10
and 20/40 with the exact amount depending on the site.
Bodog, for
example, gives players 1,000 chips and 5/10 blinds while
Poker Stars
gives players 1,500 chips and 10/20 blinds. At the beginning of the
tournament, you’ll have at least 50-100 big blinds and the blind
levels won’t increase for about 8-10 minutes. My strategy is based
heavily off of the current level of the tournament so keep that in
mind.
1. Play conservative and avoid trap hands. I call the “early
rounds” anything up to 50/100. Essentially, you have plenty of
chips compared to the blinds and aren’t under any pressure to win
pots. At this level, I will play extremely conservatively because of
the low blind level. With such small blinds there is very little
reward in bluffing and most pots remain small. I would caution even
experienced players about playing mediocre trap hands like K-Q,
A-10, or Q-J at these stages.
It is difficult to get away from mediocre hands when you hit top
pair, but facing aggressive betting from your opponents means that
you’re likely dominated. Even hitting top pair with A-K may not be
good on the flop facing a big check-raise or reraise. With plenty of
chips to spare early in the tournament, why take the risk so early
on? You’ll need those chips down the road for the increasing blinds
so stifle your desire to gamble for a few rounds. Neither blind
aggression nor mediocre hands will earn you long-term Sit and Go
success.
2. Hands with strong double-up value are a great play from early
Sit and Go levels. By “double-up value” I mean hands that are
likely to double you up for a small investment. Good examples of
these are pocket pairs and suited Aces. I will take a flop every
time from late position with 2-2 or 6-6 for only $50 or so. If I
make my set on the flop and there is also an Ace or King on the
board, I stand a great chance to double up against opponents
overplaying their top pair. With suited Aces, your best hope is to
hit the nut flush and trap an opponent with two pair, a set, or a
lower flush. The point of playing pocket pairs and suited cards over
mediocre face cards is that you have a greater potential to hit a
cinch hand and face an easy decision rather than make tough calls on
the turn and river with just one pair.
3. Remember that play is generally looser early on than later in
the tournament. As the blinds are so small, many players like to
limp into pots from any position, eager to jump out to an early
lead. Even a pot-sized raise in the first round might only be 40 or
50 chips, which looks miniscule to players looking to gamble.
Because of this, I recommend that you raise at least 5-7x the big
blind when you have a premium hand like pocket Aces, Kings, Queens,
or A-K early on in a Sit and Go. Doing so will decrease the
likelihood that you’ll be facing 5 or 6 opponents and getting drawn
out on. With that many players, even pocket Aces are rarely a
favorite. Check out our Texas Hold’em Hand Strength page for more
information on hand winning percentages in relation to the number of
players in the pot. With a premium hand, your goal should be to
isolate 1 or 2 opponents and built a sizeable pot.
To summarize, here are several steps to succeeding in the early
rounds of Sit and Go tournaments:
-Play conservative in the early rounds. The blinds are low
for the first 20-30 minutes of a Sit and Go and there is no pressure
to gamble. Worse yet, the reward for doing so is often very low.
-Avoid mediocre trap hands. Even though you may be able to
limp in cheaply, mediocre hands can knock your chip stack down in
the early rounds when you can’t get away from them.
-Play hands with good “double-up value”, meaning starting
cards that would give you a lock hand should you connect and your
opponent overplays his holdings. Specifics include suited Aces and
pocket pairs.
-Raise your premium starting hands to at least 5-7x the big blind
in the early rounds. Weak opponents will be looking to limp in and
see a lot of flops at this point so give yourself the best chance
thin the field and stay the favorite.
While these tips will not cover every situation you’ll face in a Sit
and Go, they’re useful guidelines to get you past the early rounds
of play. Again, the most important tip here is to restrict your play
at the onset to premium cards and those that can win you a big pot.
Many impatient players are playing Sit and Gos purely for
entertainment and will gamble it up early and often. As a result,
you can often find yourself close to the money simply by letting the
fish filet themselves.
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Poker Strategy
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