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Advice for a Successful Sit-n-Go
SnGs are mini tournaments of 10, 6, or 2 players. In the space of an hour, one can experience all the major phases of a tournament as well as the stress of victory. Unlike other kinds of tournaments, however, SnGs only reward those who place first, second or third and the winner gets 50% of the profits.
SnGs can be a great way to guarantee regular growth of one’s bankroll by strictly limiting one’s risks. In fact, most players, especially where the lowest-value SnGs are concerned, play without any strategy and count on luck to help them win.
Ah, luck… how I would love to be able to count on luck. Instead, I always put my faith in strategy, reflection and knowledge. If the second option is of interest to you, read the following advice carefully.
In 95% of SnGs, there are three major phases that you’ll recognize easily:
The beginning of an SnG, the disappearance of gamblers: From the first hand to the elimination of half of the players. In the case of an SnG with 10 players, this is when the number of players drops to 5. The middle of an SnG, the triumph of courage over fear. From half the players to in the money. The en of an SnG, being a winning player. From in the money until the final victory. You’ll sometimes find variations in terms of when these phases begin. Simply learn to recognize them in order to be able to apply the following advice.
Description : the blinds are pretty small compared to the number of chips, the number of players is large and eliminations happen quickly. Certain hands seem very badly played. Paradoxically, this is the moment when bad players seem to dominate the game, taking part in many hands. This is also the moment when most of those players will disappear.
Put a high price on your premium hands (AA KK QQ AK etc.). Since many players are willing to pay for your good hands, why deprive yourself? Raise strongly before the flop, re-raise if someone preceded you, the goal being to put all the chips in the pot before the flop in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises post-flop.
Take advantage of the passivity (the lack of raises) that characterizes these SnGs, and take part in all hands with potential like small pairs and suited connectors. The goal here is to make a set with the little pairs and either two pair or a straight or flush with the suited connectors.
Be extremely selective with your starting hands and play within the strict minimum, especially in the case of raises. Work on your image and save your chips for later.
Bluff very little or not at all. You will often find someone to pay for your good hands, and you will find even more often someone who will pay for your bluff, even one that is perfectly prepared. Play the rule, which is that the cards are the surest way to stay well positioned in SnGs.
Identify your opponents’ styles: normally, you’ll play very few hands. Take advantage of this and study your opponents. Even more than in cash games, those who play the most hands will be likely to give you the most chips. Identify the pathological gamblers, the compulsive bluffers and those with their bankroll under lock and key.
Description : The blinds represent a growing percentage of the players’ stacks. The remaining players are tightening their games progressively and playing fewer and fewer hands. Most of the hands don’t see the flop and going to the showdown could mean the game. Bluffing is omnipresent among the players.
This is the moment where the mental notes that you’ve made on players will come in handy. Your image as a tight player should permit you to play against the prevailing rhythm.
Steal from the tight players. Certain players will be very frightened of being tricked at this stage in the game and will only play their good hands. You must therefore raise these players when they pay the blinds, even with mediocre hands.
Trap the aggressive players. Against them, wait for good hands and let them try to bluff you. On the other hand, don’t hesitate to defend you blinds against aggressive players by re-raising them. You will protect yourself not only this turn, but also in the following rounds where your opponents will hesitate to try and take your chips.
Relax your standards and play more hands. The fewer players there are, the more you should be ready to play your average hands.
Don’t be afraid of losing! Too many players trap themselves completely in a bubble when they see their stack shrink against the growing blinds. They generally finish 4th or 3rd with almost no chance of battling for a more profitable ranking, those that are awarded money. “You needn’t be afraid of dying in order to survive.”
Description : 3 players are left. The blinds are very high compared to the number of chips held by players. The goal is to place either first or second among the 10 SnG player, because these are the places that will reward your time and your investment. But be realistic. Once players are in the money, the blinds are so high that the end of the tournament becomes a “crapshoot” (to cite Harrington), which is to say a lottery.
If you’re not the short stack of the table, try to establish a silent coalition against the smallest stack in order to get him out of the way more quickly and get a bigger share in the money.
If you are the short stack, never hesitate to go all in as quickly as possible in order to avoid having too few chips to present a threat. Trap the aggressive players. Wait for your good hands when playing against them and let them try to bluff you. On the other hand, don’t hesitate to defend you blinds against aggressive players by re-raising them. You will protect yourself not only this turn, but also in the following rounds where your opponents will hesitate to try and take your chips.
In an upcoming article, we’ll come back to the size of blinds compared to your pile of chips. For the moment, simply retain the importance of patience in the beginning of an SnG, and to wait for the right opportunity to attack your opponents by using your carefully constructed image.
SnGs can be a great way to guarantee regular growth of one’s bankroll by strictly limiting one’s risks. In fact, most players, especially where the lowest-value SnGs are concerned, play without any strategy and count on luck to help them win.
Ah, luck… how I would love to be able to count on luck. Instead, I always put my faith in strategy, reflection and knowledge. If the second option is of interest to you, read the following advice carefully.
Learning the Sit and Go rhythm.
In 95% of SnGs, there are three major phases that you’ll recognize easily:
The first phase: Gamblers’ glory and giving up
Description : the blinds are pretty small compared to the number of chips, the number of players is large and eliminations happen quickly. Certain hands seem very badly played. Paradoxically, this is the moment when bad players seem to dominate the game, taking part in many hands. This is also the moment when most of those players will disappear. How should one play?
Put a high price on your premium hands (AA KK QQ AK etc.). Since many players are willing to pay for your good hands, why deprive yourself? Raise strongly before the flop, re-raise if someone preceded you, the goal being to put all the chips in the pot before the flop in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises post-flop. Take advantage of the passivity (the lack of raises) that characterizes these SnGs, and take part in all hands with potential like small pairs and suited connectors. The goal here is to make a set with the little pairs and either two pair or a straight or flush with the suited connectors. Be extremely selective with your starting hands and play within the strict minimum, especially in the case of raises. Work on your image and save your chips for later. Bluff very little or not at all. You will often find someone to pay for your good hands, and you will find even more often someone who will pay for your bluff, even one that is perfectly prepared. Play the rule, which is that the cards are the surest way to stay well positioned in SnGs. Identify your opponents’ styles: normally, you’ll play very few hands. Take advantage of this and study your opponents. Even more than in cash games, those who play the most hands will be likely to give you the most chips. Identify the pathological gamblers, the compulsive bluffers and those with their bankroll under lock and key. 
Middle of the game: the triumph of courage over fear.
Description : The blinds represent a growing percentage of the players’ stacks. The remaining players are tightening their games progressively and playing fewer and fewer hands. Most of the hands don’t see the flop and going to the showdown could mean the game. Bluffing is omnipresent among the players. How should one play?
This is the moment where the mental notes that you’ve made on players will come in handy. Your image as a tight player should permit you to play against the prevailing rhythm. Steal from the tight players. Certain players will be very frightened of being tricked at this stage in the game and will only play their good hands. You must therefore raise these players when they pay the blinds, even with mediocre hands. Trap the aggressive players. Against them, wait for good hands and let them try to bluff you. On the other hand, don’t hesitate to defend you blinds against aggressive players by re-raising them. You will protect yourself not only this turn, but also in the following rounds where your opponents will hesitate to try and take your chips. Relax your standards and play more hands. The fewer players there are, the more you should be ready to play your average hands. Don’t be afraid of losing! Too many players trap themselves completely in a bubble when they see their stack shrink against the growing blinds. They generally finish 4th or 3rd with almost no chance of battling for a more profitable ranking, those that are awarded money. “You needn’t be afraid of dying in order to survive.” 
The end of an SnG, being a winning player.
Description : 3 players are left. The blinds are very high compared to the number of chips held by players. The goal is to place either first or second among the 10 SnG player, because these are the places that will reward your time and your investment. But be realistic. Once players are in the money, the blinds are so high that the end of the tournament becomes a “crapshoot” (to cite Harrington), which is to say a lottery. How should one play?
If you’re not the short stack of the table, try to establish a silent coalition against the smallest stack in order to get him out of the way more quickly and get a bigger share in the money. If you are the short stack, never hesitate to go all in as quickly as possible in order to avoid having too few chips to present a threat. Trap the aggressive players. Wait for your good hands when playing against them and let them try to bluff you. On the other hand, don’t hesitate to defend you blinds against aggressive players by re-raising them. You will protect yourself not only this turn, but also in the following rounds where your opponents will hesitate to try and take your chips. 
Patience, patience, patience… Aggression!!!