Basic Sit-N-Go Strategy

Sit and Go tournaments (SNGs) are an exciting form of poker that provide an experience similar to large tournaments without taking up nearly as much time. Some professional SNG players can play well over 50 SNGs a day because of this.

SNG strategy isn't discussed as often as multi-table tournament and cash game poker strategy so there's great potential for dedicated players to make a killing at SNGs. All it requires is discipline and a willingness to learn.

There are three major parts to a SNG, each one requiring its own unique poker strategy:

Early Poker Strategy - 8 to 10 Players Remaining

Use the early stage of an SNG to take notes and let the maniacs knock each other out. You should play extra tight during the early stages so you can conserve your stack and put it to work later. For now, play super tight from early position and very tight from late position. Stick to the powerhouse hands during this stage; your bluffs usually won't work anyways. Resist the urge to play a lot of hands in the hopes of getting lucky. Most of the time you'll miss and have to fold - a costly waste of chips.

Middle Poker Strategy - 6 to 7 Players Remaining

During the middle stage you can start to loosen up a tad. Hopefully you've been able to take some good notes on the players at your table and know who you can steal from and who you should avoid. Find a tight player and take his blinds every chance you get. It's time to start building a stack.

Your mindset from here on out should be to win the pots with aggression rather than big hands. Don't get too aggressive yet though because there still might be some loose players out there. Pick your spots carefully and look for opportunities to steal the blinds.

The Bubble - 4 to 5 Players Remaining

When the bubble comes and everyone is only one or two spots away from the money, you'll notice the table tighten up considerably. Your opponents are hoping they can just sit back, stay out of trouble and coast into the money. Unfortunately, you have different plans for them!

The bubble is when you should come alive and put that stack to good use. There's no better time than the bubble to relentlessly attack the blinds. Nobody wants to bust out on the bubble after coming so far. The blinds are big enough that your raises will threaten the stack of anyone who dares stand up to you.

With this poker strategy and a little luck, you should enter the money with a healthy stack. Use this stack to punish your opponents and keep the pressure on full blast. Sometimes this will blow up in your face but there's not much you can do when the blinds get so big. The best way to win a SNG is to have a big stack going in to the final 3.

Don't be afraid to bust out using this poker strategy. You're going to bust out occasionally but it's better to go out fighting than it is to let your chip stack slowly drain away. In the long run you'll increase your first place finishes with this strategy and therefore increase your earnings.