Poker Strategy - Shorthanded No Limit Holdem Sit and Go Tips

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Short Handed No Limit Hold'em Poker Sit and Go Tips

Online poker sites provide the tournament player with a wide variety of options. One of the most frequently utilized of these options is the Sit and Go tournament, a tournament typically consisting of only one table of players, played until only one remains, with that player getting the bulk of the prize money. Depending on the format and size, the second, third, and even fourth or fifth players may also receive a portion of the prize fund. While Sit and Gos are usually one table and can be more, there are also short-handed Sit and Gos which are extremely popular. These Sit and Gos are usually six handed, although fewer players are possible. The six-handed Sit and Go typically pays only first and second place, with about 65 percent going to the winner and 35 percent to the runner up. They’re mostly played as Texas Holdem tournaments. When playing a short-handed Sit and Go, here’s what you’ll want to remember.

No Sitting Back
Short-handed Sit and Gos are fast paced, and you need to keep up. You’ll be involved in nearly every hand; if you’re not one of the blinds, you’ll still need to consider whether your hand is worth trying to steal those blinds with. With only five other players and rising

blinds, very few hands should not be given at least some consideration. Even if you’re not in the hand, you need to be following the action and learning how your opponents play, because your tournament life could be on the line at any moment.

Protect those Blinds
Because there are fewer other players to contend with, someone may take a shot at your blinds every time they come around, which will be often. If you don’t fire back at them occasionally, your opponents will feast on your chip stack.

Play to Win
Since the winner gets such a large percentage of the prize fund, and everyone else other than the runner up gets nothing, hanging around and trying to sneak into the money just doesn’t pay. You should be looking for opportunities to double up and taking advantage of weakness. Passive play won’t be rewarded in these poker games; be aggressive whenever you can. If you’re playing a full table Sit and Go that has become short-handed due to the elimination of players, the situation is a bit different. You still need to be aggressive, but now the structure of the prize pool may be such that it can be to your advantage to pick your spots and give opponents a chance to be eliminated first. By the same token, if you have a big stack, you can put pressure on opponents trying to slip into the money, whereas in a tournament that only pays one or two players, this tactic is much less likely to be effective.

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