Shorthanded Sit and Go Tournament Strategy

By using this strategy you will be able to consistently make the money in shorthanded sit and goes.  You won't need as much patience as you would in standard sit and goes.  To get a grasp on the standard sit and go strategy, you should check out our full series of articles on standard sit and go strategy.

Patience

In the beginning stages, you will still need to be disciplined.  This is a tactic that is useful in almost any tournament, including shorthanded sit and goes, standard sit and goes, and multi table tournaments.  By using discipline and waiting for hands you allow the following events to take place:

First, there will be less players present.  A tight aggressive player (the best kind of player) could be knocked out early on a bad beat, which will improve your chances of winning.  Of course, the less players that are in the tournament, the greater chance you have of making the money.

By choosing to wait, you are avoiding gambling.  Don't forget that even skilled players can lose to gut shots or other draws.  Online poker has many people who aren't scared to get in with just a long shot draw.  Now, you can't just sit around and wait for aces every hand.  You will be looking to limp in with certain hands and hit flops for little investment.

Differences From Regular SNG's

To start off the article, I'll detail the differences between playing a standard sit and go tournament and a shorthanded sit and go tournament.  The following qualities will make you a successful shorthanded sit and go player:

In the early round you should be patient, and in the later stages you should be aggressive.  This strategy will provide you with some consistency in your results.  Shorthanded sit and goes are very similar to standard sit and goes in the early rounds.  It is in the later rounds that you start to see a difference.

At the start, the blinds will be so low that we shouldn't be gambling.  Limp in to some hands with Ax suited, pocket pairs, and suited connectors.

When you hit the middle stages, its time to loosen up.  Premium hands like JJ or KQ now become monsters.  You should be coming in raising preflop with a wider variety of hands.  On the flop, you need to make continuation bets regardless if you hit the flop or not.

The main goal of shorthanded sit and go strategy is to conserve chips in the early rounds, then begin to gamble in the middle rounds.  Your goal is to have a nice stack by the time you reach 3 handed or make the money.

Ready to Play Shorthanded SNG's?

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