One of the most popular forms of poker action online today is the sit and go tournament. These games consist of a small number of entrants competing against each other for a small prize pool. They can consist of single table action or as many as 9 or 10 tables. Players start with the same number of chips, and blind levels will elevate after certain time periods. A lot of sit and go tournaments are satellites for bigger events with larger prize pools.
The tournaments are popular with most players because they offer a lot of advantages over multi-table tournaments. Sit and go tournaments don’t require four to seven hours of your time to play out. Most regular sit and go tournaments take between 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the number of entrants and the rate at which the blinds elevate. Finishing in the money won’t pay you as much as it will in a multi-table tournament, but your chances of making the money are that much better because of the low number of entrants.
They have become so popular that there is a wide variety to choose from. You can play sit and go tournaments at stakes from one dollar to hundreds of dollars. There are events that give you lots of starting chips and slow blind elevations, and turbo events that raise the blind levels every five minutes. There’s one for whatever schedule or bankroll you may have, and there is never a shortage of action. They are also the best way to practice valuable final table skill without having to go deep into a multi-table tournament.
Playing theory for sit and go tournaments starts with tight aggressive play early on. Blind levels are small, and it doesn’t make sense to risk your chips when the pots aren’t as important. Wait for premium hands and look to trap overly aggressive opponents in late positions. Blind stealing is not important at this stage, and your time will be best spent watching how the other players play.
As the tournament progresses, so will the level of the blinds. Players will start to play more aggressively once the blinds are big enough to help their chip stack. You should start to play more aggressively too, taking advantage when you have favorable positions on the rest of the players. When you get to the later stages of the tournament, you will want to be aggressive at every opportunity. The blinds keep getting bigger, and if you don’t get in there and gamble you will get blinded out and go down without even putting up a fight.
Stack sizes also play an important role in sit and go tournaments. It is far more dangerous to get into a hand against a player hat has a bigger stack than you, so forcing the action against players with smaller stacks can be a high percentage move. Players with the small stack are mainly looking to double through when they get dealt some good cards, so trapping the small stack player can be done easily if you flat call or check premium hands when the small stack players are in late positions. Many will try to steal the blinds or risk their remaining chips with medium strength hands like K-J or Q-10.
Usually the top three players make the money, but that number will vary depending on the structure of the tournament. First place usually gets 50% of the cash, with second getting 30% and third getting 20%. There are usually opportunities to force the action when it gets down to the bubble, especially if you’re on the big stack and the other players are just trying to survive to the money. None of them want to risk their chips so close to cashing, and you’ll be able to steal blind after blind as players shy away from getting into hands. If you have managed to get deep in the tournament and made it to the money, you can crank up the aggression even more. You have already cashed, so going for it in these late stages will give you a better chance to win than just sitting there waiting for others to bust out.
If you haven’t tried a sit and go tournament they are easy to play and there’s always action available at most online poker rooms. Remember that aggression is the key to success, and sitting around playing like a rock won’t get you very far once the tournament reaches the middle stages. The shorter the table, the more you should push the action. Don’t forget to always consider the stack size of the opponent you are about to get into a hand with. Good luck.
Our staff of online poker players recommend playing sit and go tournaments at the following online poker rooms listed below:
Full Tilt Poker – Lots of action and a 100% Bonus up to $600.
Poker Stars – Always a sit and go ready, get $50 free.
Ultimate Bet – Bounty tournaments and get up to $1,100 in bonuses.
PDCPoker.com – Unique software and a 100% Bonus up to $500.
Absolute Poker – 100% Bonus up to $500.
Doyle’s Room – Play in the world famous Bounty Tournament.
Tags: online, Poker, poker rooms, sit and gos, tournaments
