Sit and go poker tournaments aretournaments ranging from 100 to 1000 participants. Sit and go tournaments are ideal for beginners, hobbyists as well as professionals.
Sit and go tournaments are simple to large tournaments. Players start with the same amount of chips and play until they lose all of their chips and are eventually eliminated. Most online poker rooms provide Sit and go tournaments that last anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. There are drastically fewer variables in these chip-based tournaments than in cash games and ring games.
Sit and go tournaments are ideal for players looking to build their bankroll, as there are no blinds or antes in these games. Unlike cash games, where you must build up your bankroll in order to play, in a sit and go poker tournament you can lose as much or as little chips as you want. When you are eliminated from a tournament, you can buy back into the tournament with the same chips you lost at any time during the tournament.
The blinds are always low in sit and go tournaments, which allows you and your opponents nearly no time to think about making a move. Opponents are not holding these chips very long, and because the blinds move relatively fast, there is little time to think about making a move. In these “umbing” rounds, a player can simply buy chips from the house, and they will be immediately moved to another table and begin the game again.
Because of the limited time allowed to make a move in a sit and go kartupoker tournament, the “umbing” period can be used to study your opponents. This is particularly valuable when playing with a sit and go bankroll. With a low blind, the ability to accumulate chips will allow a player to quickly become a leader in the tournament. As the blinds increase, players must move back into the tournament in search of better opportunities to accumulate chips.
When you are first to act, you should generally try to steal the blinds unless a situation where you feel strongly that you will win the blinds if you act first, such as being on the button or short stack. If you notice that another player is taking a very aggressive approach to the blinds (standard raise of 3x the big blind or 5x the button), you should probably wait until you have a premium hand before you try to steal the blinds. Several professionals will go to the test of stealing the blinds, even though their stacks are clearly crippled by the blinds. Typically, when you notice that a player is raising slightly too frequently, you can see that they are taking a risk, because their hands are simply not as strong as their stacks.
Since you expect to move slowly in sit and go tournaments, you might want to wait for a premium hand before trying to steal the blinds. Many players try to steal the blinds too early in the tournament, and instead of waiting for the perfect hand, they start taking unnecessary risks. As the blinds begin to increase, you will want to become more selective on the hands you play. Wait for a premium hand and try to steal the blinds in a steady manner. Most often, you will end up just breaking even or winning less chips, but the end result is a slightly larger chip stack.
- While you are waiting for a premium hand to try to steal the blinds, you also need to analyze the game at hand. How is the big blind playing his hand? Is he tight or loose? Has he played a lot of hands, or very few hands? Has he played a lot of tight games, or very few tight games? Maybe he is just taking a little risk in this situation. But, if you know your opponent is capable of playing some hands, you can redeekt more confident in your own hand when you are behind.
- If you know your opponent is capable of playing a drawing hand, you should probably avoid putting him all-in. For example, if your opponent is a tight player and he regularly keeps his range limited to Ace-King, it makes sense to appear aggressive and attempt to steal the blinds with Ace-King. However, if your opponent calls the all-in, you should probably fold this hand. If you are confident your Ace-King is better than your opponents Ace-King, you will likely win the small pots (where you were not the favorite) and win the big pots (where you were the favorite).
- Pay attention to your opponents chip stacks when trying to steal the blinds. If you have a short stack, and several opponents who are well above your wottest chip stack, you can expect to be an underdog.