Late Stage Sit And Go Strategy
Single table tournaments, or Sit-N-Go’s are some of the most popular and fastest filling games online. They are great to play because of there short duration, and are usually fairly simple to formulate a strategy for.
The late stages of a SNG are considered to be around the same time as the bubble. In a single table tournament that pays the top three players, you will see the bubble begin when there are 5 players left. This is the stage in the game when players are going to be most likely to fold to your raises before the flop, and your check-raises after the flop.
People are scared to lose, and will not put themselves at any kind of risk, and you can take big time advantage of that. All of your opponents and tables will be different, but you want to be at least picking up the blinds once per round so that you are essentially playing the round for free. If you have a good holding in position, do not be afraid to lose if you are called. Scared money might as well be dead money, so do not be afraid to play.
Generally, it is a good idea to approach the beginning of a Sit-And-Go with a tight style of play, however this may also lead you to having a smaller stack by the time you get to the late stages. Opening up your range a bit when it’s getting late is a good idea for a variety of reasons.
One is that your opponents have only seen you play strong with big hands, so when you raise, you are going to get a lot of respect. Late in a SNG, the blinds will play a factor in what your stack is looking like. If you continually fold your hand in the blinds, you are not going to have any ammo when you do pick up a hand. You don’t want to double up, only to be right back where you started a few hands earlier. You can not play with fear in these situations.
If you have a big stack at the table, and got there by hitting your draws, and playing well, then folding when you are in the small blind is a bad idea, even late in the tournament. You do not need to play overly loose and aggressive, but you are in a good position to be defending your blinds with almost any hand. You can pick your spots and try and bully people off of their hand when you hold a hand like middle pair, or a big draw.
Your opponents are to going to be able to play back at you without a premium holding, as they will be intimidated by your stack, and scared to have to get it all in the middle. Yes, there will be times when you give your opponent a double up, however the times that it works out well will definitely out number the times you double them up. Use other player’s weakness and fear against them, and you will find yourself winning a lot of poker tournaments.
