Jul 20 2008
A Quick Overview Of Online Poker SNG Tournaments
Online poker offers some very diverse tournaments. The Sit N Go is one type that should not be overlooked. Early on, you don’t want to give away too many chips on speculative hands. An example would be a medium pocket pair like 88. If you miss the flop, you have to be prepare to fold. Betting this type of hand from early positions can be a recipe for disaster.
In a multi table tournament, it is often a good play to raise with mid to small pairs. This helps disguise your hand and allows you to go for big pots. In an SNG, you are better off limping these hands and only calling small, affordable raises. This ebnables you to get away cheap if you miss your set.
With the blinds are getting big you need to get your share of steals. Taking down the blinds is essential. It becomes a battle of nerves as you play weaker hands to keep winning the blinds. If you just keep folding, your stack will dwindle down to a few useless chips.
At some point, the blinds get so big in relation to your stack size, that an all in bet is your only option. You can do this in part for variation, but once you bet, you shouldn’t be folding. This is when you need to risk losing so you can have a chance to win.
If you know your opponent is tight, you can push more often, because you will get enough folds. Your opponents stack size is a factor here also. If he has a big stack and can afford it, he will make more calls. The middle stacks want to protect their chips more and can be “trusted” to fold often.
With four players left and three cashing, a lot of play is controlled by stack size. A case in point; You might go all in with 55 versus a player without too many chips, and fold this hand to a big chip leader.
In this situation, you’re usually looking to push all in, but you cards aren’t the only factor. Often you will want to go all in with any hand, if your stack threatens everyone enough. If someone your betting at has a lot of chips, he will call you more often, so you need better cards.
When you have the chip lead, people will fear you and you should take their blinds often. The players with mid sized stacks are easy prey. They fear getting eliminated before the short stack goes out.
The toughest spot, especially on the bubble, is being the middle man. Chip leaders threaten to eliminate you, and the small guys are ready to risk it all to get back into the game. You have to have higher quality hands in this spot. Very hard decisions in this situation arise.
This involves learning which move is better in different situations. Do you go all in or forld? One part of the formula is predicting what your opponents will call you with. When that decision is made, it’s push or wait.
These ideas cover the basic thinking that goes into SNG play. All of these ideas can be analyzed in great detail. Creating an approach to the SNG games using these ideas can lead you to becoming a winning player. Good luck.