8. Februar 2010

Strategy for Sit 'n' Go Tournaments

While many sit 'n' go (SNG) tournaments are offered at various websites these days and can be exciting gambling opportunities for many people of all different skill ranges bear in mind at the same time that it is the weaker and experienced players joining into these games that generally are the ones padding the purses of the more experienced poker sharks. To help ensure that you're one of the top players in the paying bubble at such a tournament make sure that you're properly prepared before sitting down, otherwise you may simply be whittling away at your bankroll without making any real profit in the short OR long run.

One of the first things to bear in mind when getting involved in a SNG tournament is to mind yourself in the early game and not knock yourself out for no reason. While it's true that you're only playing for small cash generally and any chips you use aren't your real funds this can be incredibly deceptive. Most experienced players rely upon weaker poker players to make bold – but generally stupid – moves early on that costs them all of their chips and knocks themselves out on even moderately strong hands because they simply move too much too soon under the premise that they can simply re-join another game by paying an entry fee once more. All this does it put the remaining players at the table into an even stronger position by ensuring that fewer people will be contending for the coveted paying slots. Be sure to play it tight in the early rounds and let the less experienced players feed your stack.

Once you get into the middle rounds start playing a bit more aggressively, targeting mid-range stacks at first that are large enough to make the player feel comfortable but small enough that they'll feel threatened by betting too much and thus losing their chance at the paying bubble. Try using moderate to strong hands at this point to steal blinds and work your way up bit by bit, always keeping an eye on your opponents with mid-level chip stacks to keep yourself from over-stretching yourself.

Finally, in the late game, start using power plays to try to seat yourself in the top position. If possible, corner players with larger chip stacks into making bets they feel over-confident with in order to try to take the lead. Don't worry about biding your time either if you're already in the bubble – wait for a strong hand and make a killer move in order to seal the deal and take home the top prize. If you fail and you're in the paying range don't worry – you're guaranteed to come out with at least more than you entered with, and second and third place generally don't have much of a pay difference between them. The more confidence you show in your plays as well the more this will be projected out to your opponents to make them feel more and more under pressure, so use this to your advantage as best as possible to leverage yourself into the #1 seat when the time is right.