Sit And Go Strategy For Internet Poker Players

Sit n go's are often the most efficient way to make money playing poker. To succeed however, you will want to remember these key ways of success at sit n go's. There are essentially three stages to sit n go's. If you can master these three stages of the sit n go's you could be well on your way to being a very successful, profitable poker player.

The Early Stage:

This stage is from when you initially start the sit n go to when you're at about the third blind level. There will be nine or ten players at the table. If you are playing at a table with a low buy-in, it is very likely that at least a couple players will be all in before the flop. It is best to stay out of that hand, even if you think you have a good hand. You never know what could happen and there is no need or reason to risk your entire stack before the whole thing even starts. If you are in a higher buy-in table, it is not as likely that many players will go all in on the first hand as they did in the lower buy-in sit n go's.

In these early stages, it will be tempting to call the blinds to see the flop in any sit n go because the blinds are usually very low compared to how many chips they give you. It is unlikely for you to catch a good hand if you are dealt poor cards. If you call the blinds with bad cards, they will eventually add up and most of the time there will be some raising pre flop, so you will either be putting more chips in or throwing your chips away.

It is best to sit back and take notes on how other players are playing and try to pick up anything that you can. Take note of things such as if a person continuously bets after the flop if they raised pre flop or if a person is easily pushed out of a hand, etc.

However if you do catch a good hand pre flop, such as a high pocket pair, defiantly play that hand. Because you have so many chips to start with, it's good to bet large to keep people who only have mediocre hands out. An ideal bet would be about six times the blinds if you have a hand such as AA, KK, or AK.

Once you have gotten past the first three blind levels, you're ready for the middle stage. If you haven't built up your stack, it's okay. Obviously a large stack is nice, but is not crucial. The best time to have a large stack is in the middle and late stages.

The Middle Stage:

At the middle stage, there should be about six to seven players left and you should be on the fourth to sixth blind level. Of course, this will all vary depending on how everyone is playing, but is the general rule of thumb as to how far you will be and how many players are left.

In this stage, you will not want to make as large of bets as you did in the early stages. The blinds will be bigger and there will be less people, so you won't have to worry about the people limping in with a poor hand. Also, if you haven't built up your stack, the blinds will already be taking a marginable chuck out of your stack. For instance if you have AA, and would have bet six times the blinds in the early stages, you will want to bet about three times the flop in this stage.

The notes you took in the early stages will also play a role in this stage. If you are in a hand with someone that you noted is pushed out easily, it will be a good idea to bluff against this person even if you don't hit the flop.

Slow playing will also play a part in this stage as there won't be as many people in the hand. If you are in the hand with only one other person and have AA pre flop, it is best to just call the other person's bet or check if he/she doesn't bet. If the person you're playing against is short stacked and hits on the flop he/she will likely go all in. That is where you take advantage.

This is the stage you will want to build up your stack and then you'll be ready for the late stages.

The Late Stages:

At this stage, there will be about five players left. The blinds will be significant to you unless you have a very large stack.

The key in this stage is to play aggressive. Many players with smaller stacks just want to make the money, so they will play very conservative and will fold to most bets if they don't have a great hand. Even if you don't have many chips, you don't want to be conservative because the blinds will just take you chips away and you won't even get to play.

However if you get raised by someone that is playing conservative, be careful because that person most likely has a strong hand. You need a better hand to call a bet than to make a bet.

If you get a very strong hand such as AA and are in a hand with another aggressive player, you should check and let the other person bet. Most likely that player will bet, and you can call or raise. The other player will want to win the pot since he/she has so much into it already, so you can let the other player bet again and call or raise, and eventually take the hand.