Tip #19: Early Stage SNG Strategy

SNGs (Sit’n Gos) are among the most popular poker game variants, especially among the short-stacked online crowd. The reason for their popularity is simple: SNGs offer one of the best ways to build up a fledgling bankroll in order to hit the higher buy-in MTTs or higher limit cash game tables later. A SNG, also called a STT (Single Table tournament – even though not all SNGs are single table ones), offers excellent individual odds to finish in the money (and thus to win some money) compared to MTTs. The initial investment/potential revenue ratio is nowhere near that offered by a MTT, but the better individual odds and the relatively short time SNGs take, make them excellent choices for short stacked players.

Since most beginners are short stacked, chances are, you’ll run into loads of fish at the SNG tables. Studying SNGs a little will offer you a nice edge over these guys and thus you’ll be able to increase your bankroll while literally having fun at the green felt.

The differences between cash games and SNG play are quite enormous. SNG play is more closely related to MTT play, but there are a few differences between these two too. Let’s start at the beginning though, at the low-blind play. The early stages of SNGs are called low-blind stages because the starting blinds are very small compared to the average player stack.

Early stage SNG strategy is simple and it can be summed up in two words: extreme tightness. There are absolutely no reasons for you to get jittery at the beginning of a SNG: your stack is large enough to allow you to wait for the absolute best hands (and I’m talking about K,K and A,A here) to do anything. Even so, decisive confrontations should be avoided. I remember I once picked up pocket rockets and 4 people shoved all-in in front of me. Now I do not suggest you do this, because I knew at that point I had the best hand at the table, but I folded. I figured my rockets didn’t stand a good enough chance against 4 drawing hands, and I didn’t want to be eliminated that early on so I got out of there. Sure enough, the guy who won that pot would’ve cracked my rockets. I went on to win that SNG afterwards.

I do not suggest this is the correct way to play, I just brought this up as an example to why possibly decisive confrontations should be avoided at all cost in the early stages of a SNG. Normally, strong hands should be played aggressively, but in that particular instance there was no room left for aggression and there was no fold equity left either. At this point, your objective is to stay in the game and to make it to later stages and possibly to add to your stack, if you can do it by “civilized” means. Make sure that while you’re tight all around, in early position you tighten up even more. Be on the lookout for trap hands there. A,T and K,Q may look like decent hands, but when they come coupled with a seat under the gun, you want no part of them. Top hands should be played aggressively from early position too though.

To sum it all up: early stage SNG play should be about good old tight aggressive poker. Even Dan Harrington points to this fact in his Harrington System for MTTs. He says something to the extent of: when your stack size is large enough compared to the blinds, you can afford to play optimal poker (read: be tight aggressive).

Don’t forget to sign up for rakeback either before you sign up to a site to play SNGs. Most rakeback deals (like the ones featured by Rakemeback) offer you rebate on the SNG tournament fees too. It’d be a shame to just give up on this excellent edge.