NL HE

Low Limit Sit N Go Strategy - The Early Stages

I usually don’t do strategy posts, because I suck too much. But I’ve taken one portion of my game over the last couple of weeks and focused just on that. So here are my observations on the low buy-in sit n go tourneys.

I play these all the time. Right now my schedule is: work, rehearse, get home about 10-10:30, play one or two $5 SNGs, sleep. These little tourneys are perfect for my schedule right now, since I don’t have a ton of time in the evenings to play.

For those unfamiliar with the structure, a sit n’ go tournament is typically a single-table (although all the major sites now offer multi-table SNGs) tournament with an unscheduled start time. Once all seats are filled, the tourney starts. I play mostly at Pokerstars, which has a 9-person SNG format. Party Poker has 10-person tables, but the tourney fee at Stars is only $.50 rather than $1, so even with the extra $5 in the prize pool at Party, the fee is higher, so you have to win a greater frequency to make profit. At these levels, it really does matter.

Payout in a single-table SNG (and that’s all I’m talking about, so I won’t refer to them as single-table anymore) is top 3. #1 = $22.50, #2 = $13.50, #3 = 9. There is no difference between 4th and 9th, except to bust out 4th you’ve wasted a lot more time to get your big bag of nothing.

Here’s how I play them. This strategy doesn’t necessarily work at higher limits, but I don’t know, because I’m still building my online bankroll to be able to play the higher limits. It DOESN’T work on Friday or Saturday nights after 11PM, as that’s when the drunks are out, and they will draw out on you every time, because God protects drunks and fools. I’ve kinda laid this out by blind levels/# of players.

Level 1-3 (7-9 players) - Usually in the first level of blinds you’ll lose at least one player. If you have found a particularly lovely table, you’ll lose 2-3 folks in the first level of blinds. If you do, mark these people on a buddy list and chase them down, because they will either be (a) good players that got a bad beat or, usually (b) people that play the early stages too aggressively and you desperately want to play against them more often.

The key to these first levels is DON’T BE A DUMBASS. Don’t overvalue anything. Be willing to dump any hand. Limp never, unless you’re the button or a blind. Raise with AA,KK,QQ,AK and that’s IT. Dump anything else. Don’t play bad aces, even if they’re soooted. Especially if they’re soooted. Frankly, just apply that line to your game throughout. But anyway. Accumulating chips in these early stages makes you feared, yes, but it also makes you a target, and you don’t want to be a target. You want to be the quiet guy, watching everybody else play, watch their stacks flow up and down, then watch them fade away. Remember that #4-#9 get paid the exact same thing - NOTHING. So stay out of the way unless you have a great hand and a chance to send someone packing. Your goal here is survival.