This article follows on from the previous to Sit and Go articles; Overview of Sit and Go Tournaments and Sit And Go Early Play This is the 3rd part of a 4 part series.

In any poker tournament, no one wants to be the one to burst the bubble, in other words no one ever wants to be the last person to be eliminated before a prize is awarded. Experienced successful tournament players will tell you one of the most important stages in tournament play is the period that the bubble approaches. This is when players start to tighten up, and those players who came to win all of a sudden just came to try and cash. Small stacks are holding on for dear life, and a lot of the times big stack players will just try and ride it out till the bubble has burst.

No where is this more evident than in Sit n Go tournaments. Players at this point have invested a fair amount of time into the tournament, and they do not want to exit without getting at least a little bit of money back. This can work to your advantage, allowing you to take down pots by playing aggressively and not having to showdown your cards. Even though you may play more liberally in this period, you must always be aware of how your opponents are playing, this is probably the single most important factor in winning or losing. It becomes quite apparent which players at the table are fearful of busting out of the tournament before being in the money. Be cautious about just firing bets aimlessly, because there are some good players who will play back at you, and regardless of the period of the tournament your in, there is no need to waste your chips. Your range in this part of the tournament will open up greatly, you need to decide what you can play most comfortably, but generally you can play your standard poker game. If and when your raises get called, be aware, as you are now going to be short handed and the likelihood of facing a strong hand is much higher.

If you can get into this stage with a comfortable chip stack, you can begin to play more against the short stacks, but beware, as you will be faced with the short stacks wanting to get there money in against you and double up with any two cards. You will have to eliminate someone at some point, and making good hand selection and playing in position gives you a much better chance to do so. If you lose an all in to a short stack, keep up with the aggression, and give yourself a chance to get those lost chips back quickly. With the blinds rising higher now, don’t be afraid to play aggressive before the flop so that you do not have to show your hand down at the end. This is a terrible spot in the tournament to be limping in, do not waste your chips seeing flops.

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 This is the second part of a four part series looking at Sit And Go play. The first part (Sit And Go Overview) can be read here.

There are certain proven ways one can play to help improve there chances of winning a sit n go. One of the most important times to exercise these techniques is in the early stage of the tournament, where everyone has the same size stack, and everyone’s goal is the same, get in the money. At the smaller stakes Sit n Go’s, the play is generally pretty bad, and not making any mistakes is far more important than accumulating chips early on. There is no reason to gamble early, blinds are low and you have an ample chipstack, allow everyone else who thinks they are a shark to throw there chips around the table. If you do happen to pick up a premium hand (AA, AK, KK, QQ), play them very aggressively before the flop, especially if you have good position at the table.

If you hit the flop, continue to play the hand aggressively, if you miss (an ace hits and you have KK, or an A or K hits and you have QQ) just muck your hand to any bet, there is no need to try and catch up. Obviously this is situational, and will have a lot to do with reading the other players at the table, nothing in poker is set in stone. If you play tight early, there is always going to be a case where your big over pair will lose to an under-set or a funky draw, but when the board sits right, you need to be willing to get all you money in, because you will know you have the best hand. Obviously, other hands can be played as well, but in the early stages of a SnG, it is crucial to know when to throw the cards in the muck. Don’t try and outplay people to often, as even though you may be a much better player, you need to hang around in these to cash, and making crazy plays becomes far less profitable over time.

Remember, let everyone else who thinks they are a shark to toss there money around. Position and player image are both very important as well in SnG’s so pay close attention. When the table thins out and you approach the bubble, your play should also change, but you must get to the bubble before you can try and bust it inside the money.

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One of the most popular forms of poker games today is the single table tournament, or Sit n Go. These small tournaments can be great for a player at any skill level, and on most sites, they are generally offered at a large variety of stakes. There are a few different variations of the Sit N Go, which can be a full ring, or six handed, as well as either normal pace, or on a turbo schedule where the blinds rise much quicker.

Sit n Go’s offer the chance for any player to work on some tournament strategy and concepts without having to wade through a field of thousands of players, which is usually the case in dealing with small buy in multi table tournaments. The speed at which you can play these and realize your earning potential makes them a favorite among pro’s. Another one of the nice things about playing in these single table tournaments is the flat payout structure that they provide, usually paying the top three players in a full ring tournament, and the top two in the six handed matches. Even if you are not a great heads up player, you can still make these profitable due to the payout structure that they provide. This structure can also provide a long “bubble” period, in which a good aggressive player can abuse the tighter players at the table who are playing just to make the money and are scared to make any sort of move or take a gamble.

In a Sit n Go, there are three segments that make up the tournament. The three pieces are the early stages of play, on the bubble, and in the money. It is extremely important that you have a clear understanding of what each of these means not only to you, but to the game as a whole, if you want to be a winning Sit n Go player. Sit n Go’s can be an extremely effective way to build a bank roll, and this has been shown time and time again by the online poker pros. If you play with the proper patience and strategy, these tournaments can provide a very nice return on your investment. Also, since you can play Sit n Go’s with a very definitive style, they are very easy to multi table while still being able to make the proper moves, since after time they will require little thinking.

Players looking to take their sit and go strategy to the next level should invest in a copy of Sit And Go Pro.

Tomorrow an article on Sit and Go Early Stage play will be posted.

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Just a quick update on what is happening with PokerMunch. As you have noticed i haven’t really been regularly updating this blog in a while. I have been concentrating on my online business and as a result this blog has been updated much less frequently then I’d like.  As a result i am going to step the posts up in coming weeks with posts on the latest poker news and some general poker strategy advice. Check back daily as i’ll try to post at least 2-3 times a week and each month will update my challenge, if i get enough spare time to play.

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