» Playing SNG's to grow your bankroll
One of the best ways for a new poker player to grow their bankroll is to play Sit-and-Go’s (also known as SNG). For a newer player, playing cash games can be tricky to learn and your mistakes potentially quite costly. Tournaments take a long time and entail a significant amount of luck and variance. SNG’s, on the other hand, can be an excellent way for a newer poker player to regularly profit. They are essentially a one table tournament with the top three spots reaching the money, or top two if it’s a six person SNG. You have a set number of starting chips with no re-buys. The blinds begin low and move up steadily. The pace of blind increase is dependent on the type of SNG; regular (5-10 min.), turbo (3-5 min.), or super turbo (3 min. or less).
Due to the firmly established structure of each SNG, it is possible to establish a fairly formulaic and predictable style fairly quickly. When the blinds are low, most players play very tight, only tangling in big pots with big hands. Players typically don’t push their small edges now, preferring to preserve their chips for later higher blind levels. Some players will limp in these early stages trying to flop big and make a big move. Others will look to attack the weak players so they can acquire their chips before they are donated to other players. Focusing on positional advantage and playing your strongest hands characterize the early stage of a SNG. The well known axiom called gap theory dictates that it takes a stronger hand to call a raise than to make the original raise.
In the mid stages of a SNG, there have been typically a few eliminations, but not yet short-handed or at the money bubble. The blinds have moved up so that most players have 10-20 big blind stacks. Mostly players won’t open limp in, they would rather raise. If they are going to play a hand, they would rather play it strongly and with position. As the blinds increase it also makes more sense to steal the blinds. If you are under 10 big blinds it is often best to shove all in, rather than risk 30% of your chips because if you get pushed all in on then it’s usually mathematically compelling to call. It is usually better to make the bet yourself if you are going to call a bet anyways.
As the blinds increase and the relative to blinds chip stacks decrease, it often becomes a very mathematical exercise. In poker, this mathematical approach to making your moves is called Independent Chip Modeling (ICM). It is now mathematically correct to shove a larger range of your hands. It puts pressure on your opponent, increasing your fold equity. Often times you would prefer they fold, so you can steal the blinds. Most of the play at this stage is push or fold pre-flop, with little if any action post-flop.
The average stack will be around 12 BB’s and you lose 10% of your stack every rotation so stealing blinds is essential to keep afloat. Players rely on fold equity more so than hand value at this point. You don’t want to call off your stack hoping for a coin flip. Be the first in the pot, raising. Be the aggressor, as your aggression gives you two ways to win, while the caller only has one. Pay close attention to everyone’s chip stacks as you are at the money bubble. Don’t allow yourself to be blinded out. While you would prefer not to just call, if you are getting better than 2-1 on your money, you should seriously consider calling with most hands.
The money distribution for the top three is usually 50% for first, 30% for second and 20% for third. Everyone want to win at this stage. With fewer players, and the higher blinds circulating quickly, you need to open up the number of hands you play and to play them aggressively. Many players will only shove in or fold, so that when they do act they put the maximum pressure on their opponents. If you get to heads up play, you will need to play most of your hands. Usually one pair hands will be enough if you see a flop, so play aggressively.
Many players will build up a quick comfort with the different stages of a SNG. They last anywhere form 40-90 minutes depending on the format. Once you are comfortable with the structure and stages, many players will play multiple SNG’s, or in rapid succession to increase their win rate. SNG’s have a heavy math basis to them that once mastered can give you a nice edge when you play correctly against other newer players. Your bankroll can grow consistently with steady wise play in your SNG’s.
