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Sit N Go Strategy

Sit N Go Tournaments or games are becoming increasingly popular on the net and a big favorite of mine. If you don't know what a SnG tournament is I will briefly explain. In a SnG game you purchase a set amount of chips for a set amount of money, say 1000 chips for '30 (plus '3 for the house). The game is played until one player has won everyone else's chips, players are knocked out along the way as they lose their chips.

A table usually consist of 10 players, although can be less, and the game begins when the table is full.

The game is played using an increasing blinds structure to ensure the game moves along. When the blinds increase it means if you are short stacked you are forced to make a play rather than just let the blinds bleed you of all your chips. Some sites increase the blinds after a set amount of hands while others increase them after a set amount of time.

SnG games are great for two main reasons, one is to gain tournament experience style play and another is you know when you sit down how much you are risking in terms of money.

The prize money is distributed usually 50% to the winner, 30% for second and 20% for third place if it is a 9 or 10 player table. If it is a 6 player table then the winnings are distributed as 75% to winner and 25% to second place.

Obviously your initial aim is to make it to the money which requires tight play, once you are in the money you can afford to gamble and go for first place.

The standard guidelines with regard to bankroll when playing SnG tournaments is to have 20 to 30 times the buy in of the level of game you play. So if you like to play '20 + '2 tables then you require somewhere between '440 and '660.

STRATEGY FOR EARLY ROUNDS

Pre- Flop

In the early rounds the blinds are fairly small, say rounds 1 to 4, and it is best to play tight. It is tempting to play more hands than you should in the early rounds because the blinds are small but you will get dragged into to many hands and lose too much money.

In the early rounds you should only be looking to play premium hands such as QQ and better. In the early rounds though you have to bet bigger than the standard 3 or 4 times the blind or risk being called. If the blinds are only 15 you will get lots of callers for 60 and will have to lay down your QQ when the flop brings an Ace.

You should limp in with 77 to JJ if you can so long as it does not cost you much more than about 5% or 6% of your stack and see what the flop brings. If you are holding a pair, you will flop trips(three of a kind), about 1 in 8 times. If you hit trips on the flop then obviously you now have a great hand which will usually be good enough to win the pot. Of course you must be prepared to lay it down if the community cards give someone the chance of a straight or flush and there are some big bets going in. But played right, these types of hand can be used to great effectiveness.

You may also want to consider limping in with suited connecters of 10 and higher from late positions if a few players have folded and no one has risen and see if you can hit a flush or straight, flush draw, straight draw or both.

On the Flop

After the flop you have to decide whether to play or fold. If the flop has been kind to you then play it aggressively, if not then fold. The hands to play aggressively are top pairs, over pairs, trips, flush or straight draws if hole cards are big. If you have the nuts then you want to trap players and not play aggressively to get maximum chips from the rest of the table.

When you raise you want to at least raise the size of the pot, you don't want to give people the chance to stay in the pot cheap and end up out drawing you on the turn or river. If they want to stay in make it cost them.

You will not play many hands early on but when you do you should be winning and hopefully increased your stack by a decent amount for the middle rounds, 4 or 5 onwards.

STRATEGY FOR MIDDLE ROUNDS

If you have played tight so far then you should have a decent amount in your stack and one or two players will have either been busted out or not far from it. The blinds will be starting to increase substantially and come round more often as players bust out. You cannot afford to only play premium hands as the blinds will bleed you dry while you wait for them. You need to start to play a little looser and more aggressively at this point. Look for tight or timid players to steal the blinds from or players with a small stack who will not want to risk busting out.

If you find yourself in a late position and no one has raised and you have a half way decent hand such as an ace, two face cards or a pocket pair then raise 3 or 4 times the blind. If you get called then see what the flop brings and then decide accordingly what to do depending on if you make or improve your hand. If you get re-raised consider whether the re-raiser is a tight or loose player, if loose consider calling if it wont hurt your stack much. If a tight player re-raises you then be very cautious and only call with a great hand as it is likely they have one. Don't be afraid to fold, you have only raised it 3 or 4 blinds after all and it wont hurt much to let it go.

If you get Short Stacked in Middle rounds

If you find yourself short stacked in the middle rounds you want to look at getting all your chips in pre-flop with any half decent hand such as any pair, any two face cards or an ace and hope for the best. It is risky to call other peoples raises with a short stack unless you have a strong hand so it's always best to be the first one to push in all your chips. Everyone might fold and you win the blinds, which is good in itself as the blinds are getting bigger now. You might get called and win and of course you might get called and lose but that's poker.

Don't panic though if you get short stacked as it only takes a couple of double through's to get back in the game. I have come back from only having 4.5 chips out of the 1000 chips I started with and got back up to 960 after 4 all in's on the trot. I then went on to win the game and take 1st place prize money. Of course there was a lot of luck involved in winning those four all in's but it just proves the point it's not hopeless if you get short stacked.

STRATEGY FOR ON THE BUBBLE OR LATER ROUNDS

The 'Bubble' in a SNG tournament is the point where you are almost in the money. If prize money is paid for first, second and third, then it would be when there are four players left. As soon as that forth player busts then the other three players are guaranteed money.

There are a couple of ways to play at this point. You can play really tight and hope to make it to the final three and the money. Once you make it to the money then you can gamble and hope to get first spot and win the most money.

Or you can play aggressively and hope the other players are playing tight because they want to make it to the money and you can steal the blinds. This works well against players in second or third position stack wise because they will not want to get into a scrap with you and maybe bust out. It does not work well with anyone who has a short stack as they very well might decide they have to have a go. Don't forget the blinds are getting much bigger by now and they really will not have any choice but to go all in soon.

How you play it will depend on how you think the other players are going to play. You should have a good idea by this point what their style of play is and it really just comes down to trying to guess how they are going to play.

STRATEGY FOR HEADS UP

If you have made it to this stage then you are in the money which is great and exactly where you want to be. However it is not over yet, first place prize money is substantially better than second place prize money. That said how do you get first?

The small blind gets to make the first move so if you have any kind of a hand at all you want to be raising and try to steal the big blind. Don't forget the blinds will be getting very big by this point and your opponent may be frightened of getting involved unless they have a hand. If your opponent is weak then raise them often, if aggressive then be a bit more cautious.

If you have any pair, a king, an ace or suited connecters of 10 or higher, then do not be afraid to go all in. In a heads up situation these hands are often good enough to win, so if you are called you stand a good chance and if not called you have picked up the blinds. If you get called and beat then you have still won money for 2nd place.

BIG HANDS IN HEADS UP

If you have a premium hand such as AA, KK, QQ, AK then it is worth limping in with it and hope your opponent takes it as a sign of weakness and raises you. If it is a big raise from them then go all in or at least make a big re-raise. If they only raise you a small amount then call them and hope for another raise from them after the flop and then go all in.

CONCLUSION

If you follow the above strategy and advice you will not go far wrong in Sit n Go tournaments.

Remember to play tight early on and as you reach the middle stages start to play more hands from late positions and steal the blinds. In a heads up situation be aggressive and don't be afraid to go all in.

Sit n Go's are becoming more and more popular all the time and a healthy profit can be made from playing them. You minimise risk playing these games as if you go all in and get beat you have only lost your entry fee. They are good for gaining experience for multi table tournaments and generally a good alternative to cash games.