Sit n Go Strategy

The best strategy for a sit n go tournament is definitely a tight aggressive strategy.

Before I talk about the strategy itself, it is important to make a point about bankroll management. To avoid going broke through variance, it is ESSENTIAL to have AT LEAST 30 BUY-INS for the level you are playing at. If you do not follow this, it is very likely that you will lose money, even if you play correct strategy. For example, if you are playing the $5 + .50 sit n gos, you should have at least a bankroll of $5.50 x 30 = $165.

I'll break the tourney down into 4 stages and provide a detailed strategy for each stage.

EARLY STAGE

PREFLOP

If the pot is unraised:

Early position - Raise with pocket Aces, Kings, Queens and AK.

Mid position - Raise with above, plus pocket Jacks and Tens.

Late position - Raise with above, plus AQ, AJ and KQ.

Call with smaller pocket pairs with the hope of hitting a set.

When raising raise 4 x the big blind + 1 big blind per limper.

If the pot is raised:

If there has been one raise, reraise only with Aces and Kings Queens. Raise 4 x the original raise + 1 x the original raise per caller. (For example, if you have pocket Kings and someone raised to 60 and 1 person called, you reraise to 4 x 60 + 1 x 60 = 300) . Call with AK and pocket tens and jacks if the raise is less than 10% of your stack. Fold all other hands.

If there has been more than one raise, go all in with Aces and Kings. Fold all other hands.

NB
If you are reraised, go all in with Aces Kings and AK. Fold all other hands.

NB1
If a raise would be more than half your stack, just go all in.

POST-FLOP

If you have two pair or better, bet hard and be prepared to go all in.

If you have a top pair with a Jack or higher kicker or an overpair, bet but be prepared to lay it down if you encounter heavy resistance.

If you have an open ended straight draw or a flush draw - raise if you raised pre flop. If you didnt raise preflop, check and call if the pot odds are right.

MIDDLE STAGE (THERE ARE ONLY 5 PEOPLE LEFT OR THE BLINDS ARE AT LEAST 10% OF YOUR STACK)

People are starting to tighten up now so it's time to get more aggressive.

If no one has raised, raise 3 big blinds with any Ace, suited King, pocket pair, or any two cards 10 or higher. Fire off a continuation bet if you get called but don't go crazy.

If you get reraised preflop only continue with pocket Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, AK and AQ and go immediately all in.

If the pot has been raised, only continue with Jacks + and AK and go all-in.

NB
If you are in the blinds and there has been one raise, go all in with pocket 10s + and AJ+

NB1
If you have less than 14 big blinds at this stage, go all in with all the aforementioned hands if the pot has not been raised.

THE BUBBLE (4 PLAYERS REMAIN)

Unlike in an MTT, the goal in a sit n go is simplt to cash. Therefore, it is essential to play as tight as possible on the bubble.

If you are a big stack:

Apply pressure to the smaller stacks with raises in position. Be careful of raising a short-stacked player with marginal cards, as they are likely to go all-in.

If you are a small stack:

Go all-in with good hands like pocket pairs and A10 +.
If another player is going to blind out before you, be especially tight and avoid making a stand with a less than premium hand.

IN THE MONEY

If you have followed the above strategy, you should have made the money. Congratulations! Now there are 3 players left, you should play quite aggressively to put pressure on the smaller stacks. Be prepared to take coin-fliup situations as finishing 1st is now the goal. You should have some good reads on players by now, so use these to your advantage.

I hope that these tips can help you to improve your game and to become a more profitable sit n go player. Any questions please email me at antiprodigy@live.co.uk

Good Luck at the tables!