Sit n Go Poker Strategy

People can be extremely wild and aggressive when playing online.  The fact that they have nothing tangible in front of them makes them forget they’re playing for real money.  This is a great thing when you’re playing in a tournament or sit n go.  The faster players get knocked out, the closer you get to the final table.

Playing Ace Rag Off-Suit

Just because you have an ace doesn’t mean you should be in the hand. Ace 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, off-suit really aren’t good starting hands.  You should try not to play these cards unless you’re in late position, and it’s cheap to limp in.  If players fold in front of you and you are in late position, you can go ahead and raise with ace rag and hope to pick up the blinds.  Single aces become much more valuable later in the tournament, because you’re more likely to be heads up against someone.

Playing Suited Connectors in Sit n Go's

You should try and play these cards.  These cards consist of 5-6 suited, 6-7 suited, 7-8 suited etc.  It’s preferred to limp in with these cards.  Sometimes it’s a good idea to raise with these cards when you feel you’re playing against experienced people.  This will throw off an experienced player if you actually flop something good.  He’ll never see it coming when you raise pre-flop, and then flop a straight or trips.

These cards are only good when it’s early in the tournament, and the blinds are low.  If you feel the players you are up against are weak, you shouldn’t raise with this type of hand.  Most players online are amateurs, and have no clue what is going on.  For this reason it would not be beneficial for you to raise.  The poor player does not try to figure out what you are raising with anyways.  It would be better just to limp in for cheap, and hope you flop something good.

Playing Small Pairs in Sit n Go's

Small pairs are another great hand to limp in with.  Small pairs are in the same category as suited connectors.  The best strategy with small pairs is to limp in.  On average, you shouldn’t call any more than 5% of your stack with a small pair.  After that point it becomes too expensive to try and catch two cards to make a hand. 

If you flop a set with more than three or four people in the hand, and there is an ace on board, you should definitely bet.  There is no need to slow play, because you will most likely get called no matter how much you decide to bet.  The chance of flopping a set is very low, but the payoff is huge.  

Playing Flush Draws in Sit n Gos 

Flush draws can be very tricky sometimes.  Unless you have very high suited cards, or suited connectors, you shouldn’t play every time you are suited.  The chances of flopping a flush are very low, but when they are suited or face cards, your chances are much higher of winning the hand. 

Generally, you shouldn’t draw into a hand where a lot of people have limped before the flop, and the board has a pair on it.  Many amateurs aren’t paying attention to that pair on board, and even if they have a flush draw, it can still be busted.  With so many people playing before the flop, it’s very likely that someone made trips.

There’s also a good chance the player who flopped trips could possibly make a full house to beat your flush.  You might get rocked, and you will be forced into losing most of your chips.  For this reason you shouldn’t chase a flush when the board has paired, and there are a lot of people in the hand.

When to Raise in Sit n Go’s

Good raising hands are pairs of tens and better. Remember this is pre-flop with no raises in front of you. The purpose of this raise is to keep the “fish” away from catching their cards.  The only time you should limp in with a high pair is when you predict a player acting after you is going to raise, and this is where you plan on re-raising.

You should also raise with suited face cards such as AK, KQ, AQ, and AJ.  These are very strong hands, and are worthy of a raise equal to 7-8 percent of your stack.  At this point, if you raise pre-flop and you only get one or two callers, you should bet after the flop as well.  With a high pair or over-cards, you are probably still in a good position, and you will usually force players out with a raise after the flop.  If you get re-raised, you will then have to rethink the situation, and possibly fold.

In these tournaments you want to pick up average sized pots with your raises, and don’t want a lot of callers no matter what you are holding.  The only time you are going to slow play is when you flop a monster hand, and you don’t think your opponents have much.

Making Final Tables

If you’ve played in sit and go tournaments before, you know what happens at this time.  Everyone tightens up because they don’t want to be the next person to lose. All the effort to get there will go down the tube.  It sure feels bad to finish just out of the money.  That is the reason everyone quits betting all of the sudden.  When players are playing tight, what should you do? You need to play aggressive!

Sometimes it helps to type in the chat box that there is only one more player left until we make it in the money. This will get them to tighten up even more.  Knowing this little bit of information can help you win peoples blinds by bluffing.

In the Money

Once players are in the money, we all know what happens next; it becomes an all-in fest.  There’s a lot of luck involved when the blinds are really high, and there’s only a few players left.  The best thing you can do is bet very big with moderate hands.  The only thing you are trying to do is take the blinds in front of you.  A lot of amateurs will move all in.  This isn’t necessarily the best move.

Sometimes just a raise equal to double the blind or slightly more will be effective.  If you’re used to going all-in no matter what at this point, try just raising enough to get them to fold.  You will still be left with plenty of chips, and you can see a flop if they should call.  If you are forced all-in you still have an option to fold, which is fine.

Once you make it to heads up play, you don’t have to go all-in every time.  See some flops, and play some poker. Going all-in is effective in taking blinds, but you don’t have to go all-in every hand.  This is a classic mistake of amateurs.  If you have a big stack of chips there’s a pretty good chance you might hit a hand in the next few, so sit out a couple of hands, and let your opponents make the moves for you.  This is a good time to slow play a good hand.