Stagemusic
12-17-2003, 08:13 AM
Satellite (Sit N’ Go) Tournaments
As a regular player of Sit N’ Go (SNG) tournaments on a few online poker sites, I decided to give the newer online player some basic understanding of how they work and how you can profit from them.
SNG’s are quick, one table, tournaments played in a “freeze out” or “last man standing” format. Entry fees, depending on the site, range from $2.50 to $100 + rake per person and the payout structure usually runs 50% of the prize money for first, 30% for second, and 20% for third. There is one online site (Poker Stars) that provides a 2 table format that gives slightly reduced payouts for the top 3 spots but provides additional money for a fourth place finish.
NO LIMIT TOURNAMENTS
Most players of SNG tournaments play the No Limit variety. The popularity of this form of HE is mostly attributed to the debut last year of the World Poker Tour and the style of the professionals that inhabit those shows. In the No Limit tourneys it is possible to wager all of your chips at any point in the tournament. And believe me, people do!!!
STARTING CHIPS AND BLINDS
Most SNG tournaments start you off with an amount of chips that will allow, with careful play, at least 50-75 hands or somewhere between 6 and 8 rounds of betting before desperation time. At 100 or so hands per hour, that means you will get around 45 minutes of play before you must make a move. This concentration of play adds to the enjoyment and popularity of these tournaments. You will generally start off with around 1000 chips (or 800 or 1500 depending upon where you play) and blinds will generally start in the 10/20 range and move up from there.
LEVELS
Depending upon where you play, the levels will increase gradually until you are forced to commit a large percentage of your stack on each blind. The sites have a choice of either a certain number of hands between increases, usually 10 or so or a certain amount of time, usually 10 or 15 minutes. Your strategy should depend upon which system is used. To maximize your results, you must remember that in a tournament requiring a certain number of hands between levels, a tight table will turn hands over much more quickly making the blinds increase faster. However, in a timed tournament, that same table will allow more hands at each level giving you the opportunity to hold better cards more often. Of course, a loose table is just the opposite as the hands will go further toward completion. One thing to note about the loose table however is that people will be eliminated faster as well, making the blinds get around to you quicker.
JOINING A GAME
Joining a game at most sites is as simple as going to the room provided for the tournament, clicking on a seat, pay the buy in and…there you go. Poker Stars is a little different as you go to a tournament page and buy in and then you are assigned your seat when the tournament is about to begin. The position of the button is different as well on Poker Stars. On most sites the button is determined by dealing out one card to each person and the high card “wins” the button. This is not true on Poker Stars where seat 1 (Position to the immediate left of the dealer) is always the first button.
EARLY PLAY
There are actually two points of view on how to play early hands in a SNG. One is that you should try to accumulate as many chips as possible by playing slightly looser in the early rounds when blinds are low and you might not be as hurt by missing a hand. The other is to play as tight as possible early until there are 3 or 4 people gone and then start making a move. Both have their good points and I won’t recommend either one as you will no doubt find your own style. My own is the tight point of view and it has been successful for me. One thing to keep in mind however, the lower the buy in, the crazier the betting will probably be. No matter which choice you make, hand selection and position will both be critical early on in the tournament.
CONCLUSION
I am planning on writing another quick essay on the middle and later stages of these fast, fun, tournaments, and some pointers on where and at what level to choose. I will be writing to you soon and I hope to see you at the tables.
As a regular player of Sit N’ Go (SNG) tournaments on a few online poker sites, I decided to give the newer online player some basic understanding of how they work and how you can profit from them.
SNG’s are quick, one table, tournaments played in a “freeze out” or “last man standing” format. Entry fees, depending on the site, range from $2.50 to $100 + rake per person and the payout structure usually runs 50% of the prize money for first, 30% for second, and 20% for third. There is one online site (Poker Stars) that provides a 2 table format that gives slightly reduced payouts for the top 3 spots but provides additional money for a fourth place finish.
NO LIMIT TOURNAMENTS
Most players of SNG tournaments play the No Limit variety. The popularity of this form of HE is mostly attributed to the debut last year of the World Poker Tour and the style of the professionals that inhabit those shows. In the No Limit tourneys it is possible to wager all of your chips at any point in the tournament. And believe me, people do!!!
STARTING CHIPS AND BLINDS
Most SNG tournaments start you off with an amount of chips that will allow, with careful play, at least 50-75 hands or somewhere between 6 and 8 rounds of betting before desperation time. At 100 or so hands per hour, that means you will get around 45 minutes of play before you must make a move. This concentration of play adds to the enjoyment and popularity of these tournaments. You will generally start off with around 1000 chips (or 800 or 1500 depending upon where you play) and blinds will generally start in the 10/20 range and move up from there.
LEVELS
Depending upon where you play, the levels will increase gradually until you are forced to commit a large percentage of your stack on each blind. The sites have a choice of either a certain number of hands between increases, usually 10 or so or a certain amount of time, usually 10 or 15 minutes. Your strategy should depend upon which system is used. To maximize your results, you must remember that in a tournament requiring a certain number of hands between levels, a tight table will turn hands over much more quickly making the blinds increase faster. However, in a timed tournament, that same table will allow more hands at each level giving you the opportunity to hold better cards more often. Of course, a loose table is just the opposite as the hands will go further toward completion. One thing to note about the loose table however is that people will be eliminated faster as well, making the blinds get around to you quicker.
JOINING A GAME
Joining a game at most sites is as simple as going to the room provided for the tournament, clicking on a seat, pay the buy in and…there you go. Poker Stars is a little different as you go to a tournament page and buy in and then you are assigned your seat when the tournament is about to begin. The position of the button is different as well on Poker Stars. On most sites the button is determined by dealing out one card to each person and the high card “wins” the button. This is not true on Poker Stars where seat 1 (Position to the immediate left of the dealer) is always the first button.
EARLY PLAY
There are actually two points of view on how to play early hands in a SNG. One is that you should try to accumulate as many chips as possible by playing slightly looser in the early rounds when blinds are low and you might not be as hurt by missing a hand. The other is to play as tight as possible early until there are 3 or 4 people gone and then start making a move. Both have their good points and I won’t recommend either one as you will no doubt find your own style. My own is the tight point of view and it has been successful for me. One thing to keep in mind however, the lower the buy in, the crazier the betting will probably be. No matter which choice you make, hand selection and position will both be critical early on in the tournament.
CONCLUSION
I am planning on writing another quick essay on the middle and later stages of these fast, fun, tournaments, and some pointers on where and at what level to choose. I will be writing to you soon and I hope to see you at the tables.