If you’re a newcomer to the world of poker gameplay, then it’s fair to say that any variation of poker would seem fairly confusing. Yet, if you at least know some of the basics, such as the types of poker hands you can create and such, there are certain types of poker that you can access to provide yourself with an easier time to start off with. Sit & Go poker is one of those.
This variation of poker exists as a variant of the Texas Hold’em offering, which is the same type of poker that is often seen on television. A prize pool is in play, which comes from all of the players paying an equal sum to gain entry into the game. The goal is, of course, to win all of the chips from the rest of the players at your table. It might be good to inform yourself on the basics behind Texas Hold’em and the general setup of a Sit & Go event prior to incorporating a strategy such as this one.
Once you’re in possession of the knowledge necessary, then you can start to utilise strategies when playing Sit & Go poker. This is just one of the strategies that you can put to use as a beginner.
What Does This Strategy Require?
It’s common knowledge amongst poker players, that a well thought out strategy can be the difference between winning and losing. Yet, as far as Sit & Go poker is concerned, it really depends upon how many chips you’re operating with in comparison to the size of the blinds (the forced bets that two players must make in every new round of the game).
Your main objective at the start of every round is to compare your own chip stack to the size of the big blind. You’re considered to have a lot of chips if you hold more than 12 big blinds, while the opposite is true if you have less than 12 big blinds.
The basic strategy requires you to play a few, very strong card hands when you hold more than 12 big blinds because money is only made when blinds become high. When the opposite is true of your chip stack, you should begin to play a lot more cards. Just utilise this strategy to attack your opponents and eliminate them from the game.
How to Play Before the Flop with Over 12 Big Blinds
It’s important to protect your chip stack in this scenario, rather than take risks. Not losing any chips is a lot more important to you here than winning any.
Check the cards that you hold and make a note of the position that you’re placed in at the table. Begin from the first two players who paid the blinds for the round and then follow them round to your own position. The two players to the right of the blinds are known as Late, the three players following these are Middle and the three players after these are the Early players. Of course, with less than 10 players, not all positions will be filled, so you start by deducting from the Early position.
You’ll then just need to figure out your next move judging by where your position at the table is and what cards you possess in your hand. The common idea is that if you hold AA, KK, QQ or AK, you should raise or go all-in regardless of your position at the table. With JJ, you should raise or fold if you’re an Early or Middle, or raise or go all-in if you’re a Late or Blind. All cards held below an 88 should always be folded.
In terms of a raise or fold situation, if nobody chose to raise before you, you should be the one to proceed with it. Otherwise, you should fold, and it’s also important to fold when someone else raises after you. If there’s a raise or all-in situation, you always raise. Should someone raise before or after you, you raise again. The only exception to a fold scenario is if you paid the big blind at the start. This leaves you with the check option.
How to Play Before the Flop with 12 or Less Big Blinds
Once the blinds increase and you realise that you chip stack is below 12, you should transform into a bit more of an aggressive player. In this instance, you should raise all your chips and always go all-in or fold.
Again, it’s important to look at the positions at the table, although don’t focus solely on your own. There’s quite the difference between scenarios where you’re the first to make a move and where someone else placed a bet, raised or called. If everyone before you folded, then utilise your position. On the other hand, use the position of the player who chose to bet, call or raise first.
It’s also necessary to know how many big blinds you do possess. If the big blind makes 100 chips for example, and you possess 1200, you have 12 big blinds in total.
There are three card hands that exist, with which you have the potential to go all-in with. These are offsuit cards, suited cards and pairs. If everyone prior to you has folded, then you should go all-in with offsuit cards from AK-AQ for example, or pairs of AA-66 as an Early or Middle player. Alternatively, if someone made a bet, raised or called before you, then you should only go all-in with pairs from AA-TT as an Early player.
You’re able to find several charts online that describe to you the different hands that you may be dealt and when to go all-in or fold depending upon your position, chip stack and big blind status. However, these are the basic rules behind the strategy, depending upon whether you have more or less chips than the big blind in your possession.
