SNG Strategy - Make money playing Sit & Go tournies

Part 2 of a 2 part series.

Making money in SNG's consists of 2 key components:

1. Adhering to a feasible and realistic bankroll management strategy - It's easy to go out of your means, or to move up too quickly when playing Single Table Sit and Go tournaments. Wins and even cashes are great, but use them to build a bankroll that can support advancement through the different levels of buy-ins. One of the worst things a player can do to their bankroll is to jump up to the highest level SNG they can possibly buy into buy spending their entire bankroll (or most of it) on a single game.

2. Finishing ITM and Winning - Realize that you can, with some good luck and the right tactics, move up through the ranks into some pretty big money rather quickly. However, this will depend primarily on your winning percentage in these games, followed by  your ability to stick to rule #1 as explained above.



Part 2 - Finishing ITM and Winning

So how do you make it into the money, and win SNG's? 1st come to this basic realization. When you finish ITM (In The Money), you will, and rightfully should, be finishing in either 1st or 3rd place the majority of the time.

Playing single-table sit & go tournaments are alot like playing the big multi-table tournaments. The basic strategies that win those tournaments can also be applied to SNG's, with a few adjustments of course.

In the opening stages of the game, no matter what level you are playing at, you will almost always encounter loose, even maniacal play. Right here in the early stages of the SNG is where you want to stick to a tight strategy of strong starting hands. If you catch a strong hand early, you'll want to play it aggressively preflop as well as after the flop. You're position at the table shouldn't matter so much in the early stages of the Sit & Go, as you should be playing (aggressively) only hands that are strong enough to play from anywhere. The blinds are too small and the play too loose to risk your chips and your tourney life on mediocre holdings.

If you do catch a small to medium pocket pair in the early stages, it is usually worth it to see the flop, especially if you can get in for cheap. If you happen to spike a set, play it very aggressively, as you are likely to get paid off in a very big way with a hand like this, especially if you are up against an overpair to the flop.

Another type of hand worth playing in the early stages is the suited connector. These are good hands to play, as they can lead to very big pots when you hit them. The downside is that they can often be troublesome hands that can lead to substantial losses when you hit a draw or a pair. If you play the suited connectors early, stick to suited connectors 6 7 or higher, and only play them from position. The last thing you want to do is to be drawing out of position.

Once the table has thinned to 5-7 players, you'll want to loosen up your starting hand selection just a touch. Stay selective, but begin to play your hands more aggressively, taking the lead throughout the betting. Your table image you have established in the opening stages as a very tight player will add respect and credibility to your bets and raises, since you have done basically nothing but fold or win pots with big hands.

As you get down to the last 4 or 5 players, just before the money, you'll need to shift to a far looser style of play in order to not have your stack sucked dry by the blinds. You'll need to play extra aggressive. Don't enter into a pot without a preflop raise. Your table image still represents that of a tight player, so your first few steals will be respected. By this point, the blinds are so large that those first few steals will add up to alot of chips, easily enough to carry you into the money. The rest of the field will have swithced to a hyper-tight style of play, most of them just hoping to squeeze into the money. Your loose style will exploit this weakness in your opponents, as their unwillingness to take risks with their chips will cause them to fold them all into your stack.

Once you get down to the final 3 players, you'll want to continuously switch your style back and forth between tight and loose. Confuse your remaining opponents. Use any opportunity to steal chips to your advantage, building a dominant lead over your opponents in preperation for heads-up play. Be willing to take some big chances to build up a huge chip lead. 2nd place is not an option here. Either accumulate so many chips that you can't be beat or go home now. Busting out now still nets you enough to buy into a couple more games, but keep your eyes on the prize: the big money and the glory of winning!