Raise Based on M-Zone
Now that you know which hands to play pre-flop, we must determine how much to raise. Online poker is different than live poker in that players call larger raises. With your premium starting hands you do not want many callers to see the flop with you. So you want to raise enough to reduce the field while still protecting your chip stack. Therefore, your raise amount should be based on the size of your stack compared to the starting pot--your M-Zone. Here's the guidelines:
- Green Zone = Raise 5x the big blind.
- Yellow Zone = Raise 4x the big blind.
- Orange Zone = If M is greater than 7, raise 3x the big blind. If M is lower than 7, push all-in.
- Red Zone = Push all-in.
- Dead Zone = Well, not much you can do here!
This preflop raising strategy is intended for those who have less experience with sit 'n go's or poker in general. In the advanced lessons I will teach you how to read your opponents and then modify your play based on the additional information that is available at the table. Until then, this preflop strategy is intended to keep you out of trouble by simplifying your post-flop decisions. In addition, these guidelines assume you are the first to enter the pot. We will cover other scenarios in a bit. In a nutshell, the larger your M, the more you want to raise. The smaller your M, the more conservative you want to be with your raises.
Now, pay close attention to the Orange and Red zones. When you get down to an M of 7 or less, your only option is to push all your chips into the middle. Do not try to limp in or put in a small raise. Dan Harrington teaches in his book Harrington on Hold'em, Volume II that when you push all-in you have two ways to win the pot:
- Everyone folds and you win the blinds and antes.
- You get a caller and your hand holds up.
When your M is 7 or less, you do not have enough chips to play after the flop. You can not bluff or steal the pot because the amount of chips you have left after you enter the pot will not be large enough to push anyone out after the flop. So you must get all your chips in before the flop and hope that everyone folds. Do not break this rule. If you are the first to act and your (EV x 100) is greater than your M score, PUSH ALL IN!
Now, we still need to address the situation when someone limps (just calls the big blind amount) or raises in front of you. If someone limps, apply the same guidelines. If someone raises in front of you, you need more information to determine the correct move. For now, if you have AA or KK, raise the size of the pot. Other starting hands require more information for correct strategy. We will cover this in the lesson on Player Profiling.
Following this pre-flop strategy alone can improve your sit 'n go results. However, proper post-flop play is also critical to consistently getting into the money. We will cover that next.
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