How to Play a Sit and Go Tournament in Hold 'em
How to Play a Sit and Go Tournament in Hold 'em
One of the most well known forms of poker in the world is playing Texas Hold 'em Tournaments. It is every poker players dream not only to get to the final table but also come out of it victorious. A good way of building up your experience as well as enjoying a final table game without being involved in the strains of a full-fledged tournament, is by playing in the sit-and-go tournaments.
Sit-and-go tournaments are basically single-table tournaments involving nine to ten players, beginning their play with an equal number of chips that correspond to thirty big blinds. Many of the Online Poker Rooms pay the top three players while live sit-and-go tournaments pay either two or three of the players.
In the early stages you can play tight as the blinds are low and all the players are still in the game. You also cannot risk stealing blinds, as the chances of a high stake are low in these stages. It is better to wait and play strong starting hands. Some of the loose players try to gamble big in order to gain chips, while there may be some others who move all in before the flop or on the flop when the pot is too low. It is best to play a poker only the strongest hands in the early stages whereas the weaker hands can be played from the blinds from an un-raised pot. The early stages of a sit-and-go tournament generally last for about the first four levels or until there are only six players left.
The middle stage which is referred to as the bubble period comes when there are four players left out of which only three get paid. This stage arrives at the 75-150 or 100-200 blind level and if you have had no luck so far, you have only about 7-10 big blinds. Here stealing blinds can be made operative. Players who are running short will attempt a vast range of hands at this point. You could even make use of a properly timed bluff on the solid-tight players. In case you have less than three blinds left in your stack then you need to find a hand to move in with. You could take a chance with some big cards or an ace or sometimes play with smaller cards that are live and you will find yourself facing a player with non-paired hands.
If you are a middle stack, you must avoid getting involved in too many pots with the chip leader as well as stay away from short stacks or you might in the process only be risking your own chip stack. If you wish to tackle a short stack then you must do so only if you have strong hands or if you are not losing too much while trying to double them up. If you are a chip leader, use your chips to attack by putting the short stacks at risk and pressurizing the middle stack to loosen up their chips. But do not use the technique too far or else you will be the one shelling out the chips instead of them.
When you are at the position when there are only three players left, try everything possible to win the game. If you are the short stack, try to get in chips and if you are the middle stack, challenge the chip leader or try to get the short stack out in order to get to heads-up. And if you are the chip leader, attack the short stack but be a little restrictive in your attacks to the middle stack because at this point everyone is playing for the money and hence ready to strike back.
At the heads-up level, your play must be based on your opponent's playing strategy and what they think about you. If your opponent is an aggressive player then you will have to tighten up and play strong to mediocre hands. But if you are thought of as the tight player, you must make a few moves at the pot to make them believe that you are really strong. You will also be able to see all kinds of hands from big cards, suited connectors, aces and many other suited hands. There will be a wide range of raises too from large cards, aces, all pairs and even deuces. You may have to arrange and rearrange your hands so as to stay ahead of your rival.
A distinguishing factor between a live and an online sit-and-go tournament is that in a live match, players often make deals to chop the prize pool. The best way to make a deal is by a chip count percentage, for instance if you have 60% chips and your opponent has 40%, you get 60% of the pool prize while your opponent gets the remaining 40%. However, you have no obligations to accept the deal if you think it is not fair enough for you and instead play for the full prize money.
Sit-and-go tournaments are a good way of honing your skills for an actual final table end game. You can acquire a great deal of knowledge and playing techniques by attempting these tournaments before you launch in to the full time Texas Holdem poker tournaments. They not only give you a lot of experience but also turn out to be quite profitable for you.
One of the most well known forms of poker in the world is playing Texas Hold 'em Tournaments. It is every poker players dream not only to get to the final table but also come out of it victorious. A good way of building up your experience as well as enjoying a final table game without being involved in the strains of a full-fledged tournament, is by playing in the sit-and-go tournaments.
Sit-and-go tournaments are basically single-table tournaments involving nine to ten players, beginning their play with an equal number of chips that correspond to thirty big blinds. Many of the Online Poker Rooms pay the top three players while live sit-and-go tournaments pay either two or three of the players.
In the early stages you can play tight as the blinds are low and all the players are still in the game. You also cannot risk stealing blinds, as the chances of a high stake are low in these stages. It is better to wait and play strong starting hands. Some of the loose players try to gamble big in order to gain chips, while there may be some others who move all in before the flop or on the flop when the pot is too low. It is best to play a poker only the strongest hands in the early stages whereas the weaker hands can be played from the blinds from an un-raised pot. The early stages of a sit-and-go tournament generally last for about the first four levels or until there are only six players left.
The middle stage which is referred to as the bubble period comes when there are four players left out of which only three get paid. This stage arrives at the 75-150 or 100-200 blind level and if you have had no luck so far, you have only about 7-10 big blinds. Here stealing blinds can be made operative. Players who are running short will attempt a vast range of hands at this point. You could even make use of a properly timed bluff on the solid-tight players. In case you have less than three blinds left in your stack then you need to find a hand to move in with. You could take a chance with some big cards or an ace or sometimes play with smaller cards that are live and you will find yourself facing a player with non-paired hands.
If you are a middle stack, you must avoid getting involved in too many pots with the chip leader as well as stay away from short stacks or you might in the process only be risking your own chip stack. If you wish to tackle a short stack then you must do so only if you have strong hands or if you are not losing too much while trying to double them up. If you are a chip leader, use your chips to attack by putting the short stacks at risk and pressurizing the middle stack to loosen up their chips. But do not use the technique too far or else you will be the one shelling out the chips instead of them.
When you are at the position when there are only three players left, try everything possible to win the game. If you are the short stack, try to get in chips and if you are the middle stack, challenge the chip leader or try to get the short stack out in order to get to heads-up. And if you are the chip leader, attack the short stack but be a little restrictive in your attacks to the middle stack because at this point everyone is playing for the money and hence ready to strike back.
At the heads-up level, your play must be based on your opponent's playing strategy and what they think about you. If your opponent is an aggressive player then you will have to tighten up and play strong to mediocre hands. But if you are thought of as the tight player, you must make a few moves at the pot to make them believe that you are really strong. You will also be able to see all kinds of hands from big cards, suited connectors, aces and many other suited hands. There will be a wide range of raises too from large cards, aces, all pairs and even deuces. You may have to arrange and rearrange your hands so as to stay ahead of your rival.
A distinguishing factor between a live and an online sit-and-go tournament is that in a live match, players often make deals to chop the prize pool. The best way to make a deal is by a chip count percentage, for instance if you have 60% chips and your opponent has 40%, you get 60% of the pool prize while your opponent gets the remaining 40%. However, you have no obligations to accept the deal if you think it is not fair enough for you and instead play for the full prize money.
Sit-and-go tournaments are a good way of honing your skills for an actual final table end game. You can acquire a great deal of knowledge and playing techniques by attempting these tournaments before you launch in to the full time Texas Holdem poker tournaments. They not only give you a lot of experience but also turn out to be quite profitable for you.
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