Top Titan Sit n Go Tips

Sit-n-Go tournaments (SNGs) can be beaten over the long run for a consistent profit if you play with the right strategy. Entire books can be written on SNG strategy but these 10 tips will help you get off to a great start. Plus, I’ve always found it easier to remember things when they are presented in bit-sized pieces.

1. Play tight in the early stages

Many players like to splash around a lot during the early stages because the blinds are small and the stacks are deep. Don’t fall into that temptation. Play a tight, solid game in the early stages of SNGs. You’ll need those chips later on in the tournament. You’ll need a big stack so you can push people around and steal the blinds when they become large enough to be worth stealing.

It’s OK to play drawing hands in late position during the early stages of an SNG. As long as you play a solid post flop game, it’s perfectly fine to see a couple cheap flops as long as other players are already in the pot too.

2. Steal the blinds in the late stages

When the blinds go up to about 50/100 or so, you can start attacking the blinds to build your chip stack. The players will start to tighten up at around this point and that is the perfect time for you to aggressively attack the blinds. Pick and choose your targets wisely, though, because certain players will fight back.

During the bubble, you’ll notice the table tighten up even more. This is because the weak players are hoping to outlast each other and make it to the money. Use their fear to your advantage and steal the blinds as often as you can.

3. Play for first place

A lot of players just play SNGs to make it to the money. These are the players that tighten up right at the very end of the SNG and hope to crawl in to the money and receive a small payout. Don’t be like that. You’ll make more money in the long run if you continue an aggressive game into the late stages of the tournament. You’ll sacrifice a few 3rd place finishes in the process but will make up for it with a higher rate of 1st place finishes.

4. Learn to multi table

Once you’re able to consistently beat one SNG at a time, try playing two SNGs at the same time. Your win rate will suffer a little at first but you’ll eventually be able to play two SNGs at a time without a problem. Keep adding one SNG at a time until you reach your limit. You’ll make a lot more money per hour even if you don’t keep up the same winning percentage with all those tables.

5. Drawing hands are worth less in the late stages

In the late stages of an SNG, you have terrible implied odds because the stacks are so shallow. Drawing hands such as small pairs and suited connectors aren’t worth playing unless you use them to push all-in before the flop and steal the blinds. The best hands in the late stages are hands that have high card strength: big pairs and big card combinations.

6. Bankroll management is crucial

Bankroll management is crucial because even the best players in the world go through big swings in fortune. A healthy bankroll is necessary to keep you from going broke. A typical recommended bankroll for SNGs is to have at least 50-100 buyins for whatever level you play. Any time you fall below that minimum number of buyins, you should move down a level and rebuild.

7. Open your range as the table becomes shorthanded

As the tournament progresses and players are knocked out, you can play more hands. There are fewer possible hands out there so all your hands slowly increase in value as the number of players at the table decreases. In the beginning stages of the tournament, you should play very tight in comparison to the final heads-up stage. Just remember that this tip doesn’t mean you can start limping in with weak hands and hope to get lucky. Make sure you stay aggressive and keep pounding away at those blinds.

8. Position is everything

Your play in early position should look completely different than your play in late position. Early position is a difficult place to play from because you have to act first every street. In late position, you have a major information advantage. You can play more hands with aggression in late position because you get to see what everyone else does before you have to act.

9. Attack the medium stacks

The players with medium stacks are the easiest ones to steal from – especially during the bubble. These players know that if they just sit tight and wait it out, someone else will probably bust out before them. The big stacks are more willing to gamble and the short stacks will call you out of desperation. Attack the medium stacks for the best results.

10. Use bonuses to your advantage

There are hundreds of poker sites out there and they all want your business. Every poker site on the planet offers some sort of bonus for signing up and playing. If you want to build your bankroll as quickly as possible, go bonus hunting. Hit up every poker site you can think of and gets its bonus. Your bankroll will be massive in no time.