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An introduction and basic strategy for poker Sit&Go
tournaments (aka single-table tournaments) by poker expert Bill Burton
by Bill
Burton
A Sit & Go is a single table tournament where you are competing against
8 or 9 other players. Some sites have 9 player tables and other have 10 player
tables so it depends on where you play. A Sit & Go is like being at the
final table of a regular tournament. The best part is that you only have to
beat 6 or 7 players to get into the money.
Getting Started on a Sit & Go
Most of these Sit & Go tournaments pay the top three players and these are
the ones I am going to discuss here. The payout for the top three is:
50% for First place.
30% for Second place
20% for Third place.
The buy in for the tournament goes into the prize pool. There is also an entry
fee that is collected by the online site. For a low limit S&G, this may
be a dollar or 50 cents. On Party
Poker where I play a majority of the time, they charge one-dollar entry
for both the $5 and $10 tournaments. Because of this, you are better off playing
the $10 tournament on this site. The entry fee will cost you 10% for the $10
tournament but 20% for the $5 tournament. Since the skill level of players is
about the same, it will be better to play the $10 one. Some of the other sites
charge 50 cents entry for the $5 tournament.
Sit & Go Play
The Sit & Go tournaments are fast. They are called Sit & Go's
because when you sign up you are taken to the table. As soon as all the seats
are filled, the tournament begins. On a busy online poker site it usually only
takes a few minutes for the seats to fill up. The tournaments are run continually
and there are several going on at the same time.
Sit & Go Strategy
The secret to winning money in a Sit & Go tournament can be put into a single
word:
PATIENCE!!
Many of the players in the low stakes S&G tournaments are very loose and
play too many hands. If you play this way, you WILL LOSE. You
do not want to play many hands in the early stages of the tournament. You want
to sit back and let all the loose players knock themselves out. Before you know
it, the table will be down to 4 or 5 players and you will only have to beat
two or three of them to get in the money.
When you are not involved in a hand make sure you are still paying attention
to the action. You want to know who is playing tight and who is playing loose.
This knowledge will aid you later in the tournament. If you are patient and
play only the best starting hands it won't be long until you find that
the tournament is down to four of five players.
4-5 Players
When the tournament gets down to 4 or 5 players, the action gets really tight.
Players are hoping to coast into the money. This is where you can steal the
blinds and pick up money from the short stacks who will fold in hopes of making
it into the money. If you have a big stack, you should make sure that the players
with the small stacks don't get to see a cheap flop. Enter the pot with
a raise or fold. One word of caution is that if the blinds are too short stacked
they will be pot committed and will usually call in desperation. You don't
want to double them up by playing garbage.
3 Players
Now you are in the money. Play for first place or go broke trying. If you are
the chip leader, you should be raising with every hand you play. Don't
let the other two players see the flop cheaply. If you are on the button and
have nothing let the blinds fight it you with each other.
2 Players
When you do make it down to two players you have to be aggressive. When you
are playing heads up you can't afford to wait. Many times it comes down
to who can steal the most blinds. Therefore, you must loosen up and call more
or you will go broke. Queen - Seven is called the computer hand because
computer simulations show this hand is will win 51.77 percent heads up against
a random hand. So with this hand or any hand higher than this one you are almost
forced to play. A small pair or even a single Ace or King can be a big favorite
in heads up play. With a big hand, you can often trap from the small blind by
limping in with it.
Just remember to BE PATIENT!!
Bill
Burton
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