- No limit Texas Hold'em (not fixed limit)
- Normal speed (not turbo events)
- Single table (not multiple tables)
- 9 or 10 players (not 6 player tables)
Single table sit 'n go's are different than any other type of poker in that they are about survival. Single table sit 'n go's are short enough (usually you are in the money within an hour) that you can sometimes make it into the money without playing a single hand! However, to get a shot at winning the tournament, it helps if you build your chip stack.
Problem 1--Playing Too Many Hands
Pre-flop play is the easiest part of sit 'n go poker tournaments to master. However, most low-limit players get it wrong! In a nutshell, the #1 reason why players get poor results in sit 'n go's is because they play too many hands, causing them to get short-stacked early in the tournament, or giving back chips that they were able to accumulate.
Many players think that when the blinds are small (early in the tournament) they should play many hands in the hopes of doubling up early. That thinking is correct for multi-table tournaments where you must accumulate chips to last the longer duration of those types of tournaments. However, it is incorrect for single table tournaments. Again, single table tournaments are about survival... your goal is to last long enough to make it into the money.
Problem 2--Not Adjusting Play Based on Stack Size
In addition to playing too many hands, losing players make one additional pre-flop mistake. They do not adjust their play correctly according to their stack size.
When losing players have large chip stacks they play many more hands. In addition, when their stacks get small, they tighten up and only play premium hands. If you want to be a winning sit 'n go player you must do the opposite of those who are losing!
Again, it is about survival. When your stack is larger you want to play fewer hands. Your goal is to wait out the bad players while they knock themselves out so you can cruse into the money. However, if you take a couple of bad beats or if the flops do not work out for you and your chip stack is reduced, you must open up your game (play more hands) to accumulate the chips needed to get you to the money.
Hopefully this seems logical to you (it doesn't to the losing players!!). So the key questions now are... what hands do I play and what changes do I need to make to my hand selection in response to the changes in my stack size?
