Sit and Go Strategy

Sit & Go Techniques

Sit & Go's strategy is best analysed by dividing the game into 3 sections, the beginning, middle and end, each section employing a different strategy.

At the beginning of a poker sit and go there is very litttle reason to gamble because the pots are invariably small, therefore the risk to reward ratio is poor. It is worthwhile only getting involved with the best of your starting hands, such as AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK and AQ. If you can safely double up then do so but favour protecting your stack over gambling in borderline situations. Let the other players knock each other out, be happy just to survive through to the middle part of the game.

In the middle part, your actions will be determined by the size of your stack. If you have less than average chips you will still be looking for safe opportunities to double up, but this time adding a few more hands such as suited aces and smaller pocket pairs into the equation. If you have more than average chips, you are looking to target and slowly chip away at the medium size stack players mostly becuase shortstacks will be more likely to want to gamble for all their chips and the biggest stacks can afford to put you in awkward positions after the flop; medium sized stacks don't have as much ability to pressure you after the flop but have sufficient chips in order not to be forced into making all in decisions, they still have something worth protecting and are more likely to fold because of this. It does'nt matter what type of opposition you choose to play when holding a premium hand, but tread with caution as survival is the key to success.

The end of a Sit & Go is where you really have to start playing more, the game has become shorthanded and the average stack size has increased significantly, the prize money is very close now and a change of tactics is necessary to maximise your chances of success. With 4 or 5 players left and the top 3 getting paid, many opponents will tighten up hoping to survive long enough to make the money; this is a counterintuitive way of thinking about the problem becuase the best way to get into the money at this point is to be the aggressor, especially if your opponents are showing a tendancy towards playing tight. Most of the time you play a hand at this stage, you will be risking most, if not all of your chips, your primary goal being to steal the blinds without resistance because they are now big enough to make stealing them a worthwhile play, your secondary being to get heads up against another opponent with a reasonable chance of doubling up. As with any form of poker, you will need to catch some cards and have them hold up, but with a little luck this strategy will result in more than your fair share of money finishes.