It's
so simple...
And
so obvious...
Yet
no one seems to get it!
What's
this easy-to-use secret for beating Sit and Go tournaments
online?
The
answer is this:
PATIENCE
I
know... I know... you were expecting something more,
um... "secretive".
But
the truth is, winning at Sit and Go's is pretty damn
easy. I find them easier than "real" poker
games, actually.
And
that's why every time I turn on the computer these
days I feel like a kid in a candy store... ready to
clean out the amateurs at the poker room of my choosing.
But
I'm getting ahead of myself.
What
I want to discuss here is why PATIENCE is so critical
for Sit and Go success.
First,
let's get back to some basics. There are four types
of poker playing styles:
1.
Tight-Passive
2. Tight-Aggressive
3. Loose-Passive
4. Loose-Aggressive
Your
style should be tight-aggressive.
Don't
confuse "styles" with "preferences".
If you want to be a good card player, you DON'T get
to DECIDE to be tight-aggressive.
You
MUST be tight-aggressive in order to be good.
Period.
Of
course there are DEGREES of each playing style, and
that's what accounts for the differences between one
pro and another... the DIFFERENT DEGREES of tight-aggressive.
OK,
now let me ask you:
What
does "tight-aggressive" really MEAN?
Here's
the answer:
It
means that you play TIGHT in terms of hand selection,
but AGGRESSIVE when you enter a pot.
Be
careful... "tight" and "aggressive"
are not opposites. "Tight" and "loose"
are opposites. And so are "aggressive" and
"passive".
TIGHT
refers to hand selection. AGGRESSIVE refers to betting.
OK...
so this is how playing styles relate to Sit and Go's...
The
NATURE of Sit and Go's makes them OVERRUN by LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE
style players.
The
reasons are simple:
1.
You can play a Sit and Go virtually anytime, anywhere,
and with anyone.
This
means there's very low risk in LOSING, since you can
easily just move on to the next game. It's not like
in "offline" poker when once you get knocked
out you're DONE.
2.
The money seems less "real".
Let's
be honest... We all know the feeling of making a deposit
into an online poker account and thinking to ourselves
how it doesn't quite feel like REAL MONEY. Am I right?
3.
There's no "embarrassment".
Online
poker is virtually 100% anonymous. If you make a stupid
move, you're not worried about what the other players
THINK of you. Who cares?
After
all, the other "players" are really just
silly little avatars on an animated screen.
OK,
so those are three (there are many more) of the reasons
why Sit and Go's (and pretty much all of online poker)
are dominated by the playing style LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE.
Loose-aggressive
is also known as the "manic" playing style.
And what's the FASTEST way to beat a manic?
Yep,
you guessed it...
PATIENCE.
The
reason is because MANICS are constantly playing many
hands (loose) and doing so aggressively.
What
happens is that it's difficult to get a READ on them
because you never know whether they're bluffing or
not... unless you call their bets... which you can't
do because you don't have that great a hand.
Has
this ever happened to you?
Have
you ever been up against a player who seemed to be
playing VERY aggressively and you just couldn't figure
out if they were bluffing or holding great cards?
And
then when you got FED UP with it and DID make a call,
he had you beat?
My
guess is that it HAS happened to you... just as it's
happened for me.
The
key thing to know is that THERE ARE certain steps
you can take to defend this. (I even wrote an entire
chapter about this topic in my book.)
But
fortunately in Sit and Go's, this isn't really much
of a problem. Because you're usually not up against
just one or two manics. You're up against an ENTIRE
TABLE of them.
That
means you shouldn't be CALLING anyone's bets.
Instead,
YOU should push the action when you have a monster
hand... and ONLY when you have a monster hand. And
that, of course, requires...
PATIENCE!
It's
actually much easier this way. Because with a table
full of manics, you can rely on getting action with
all your great hands.
(I
should point out here that I'm generally referring
to Sit and Go's where the entry fee is less than $50.
When the stakes are higher the quality of play is
usually more intelligent.)
OK,
so what I'm about to tell you might take some of the
"fun" out of Sit and Go's. But it will increase
your profits dramatically...
Here's
what your Sit and Go "experience" should
look like when the field is from 8 or 10 players down
to 4 or 5 players.
**************************************************
If
your hole cards are...
A-A,
K-K - Go all in pre-flop if you're in early position.
If in late position and there was a raise, go all-in.
If people were just trying to limp in, make a raise...
and then bet very aggressively after the flop.
Q-Q,
A-K - If you're in an early position, bet big (but
not all-in). If you're in a late position, use your
read on the other players to determine whether or
not you think you have the best hand. If so, bet huge
or go all-in.
All
other pocket pairs - Limp-in. If you spike trips,
go all-in. If not, fold.
Suited
connectors - Limp-in if the blinds are reasonably
low. Fold suited connectors under 7-6.
Ace-X
suited - Limp-in if possible. Only bet if you hit
the flush.
All
other hands - Fold.
**************************************************
What
you've just seen will be completely different than
most "starting hand strategies" out there.
And
that chart is NOT for all types of no limit Texas
Holdem. We're ONLY talking about games that match
these three criteria:
1.
Online poker Sit and Go tournaments 2. Low stakes
(under $50 entry) 3. While there are more than 4 or
5 players at the table (in an 8-man or 10-man Sit
and Go)
DO
NOT use that starting hand advice for any other poker
games... because that's NOT how you should play your
starting hands in general.
So
why would Sit and Go's be so much different than "normal"
poker play?
Like
I said before, the reason is because Sit and Go's
are heavily dominated by loose-aggressive players...
and THIS is how you beat those guys.
Why
exactly does this strategy work?
It
works because you're only playing monsters.
Now...
if the players at Sit and Go's were SMART, they'd
OBSERVE that you're only playing monster hands...
and they'd FOLD as soon as you went all-in.
I
mean... it only makes logical sense, right?
Indeed,
this is how it works in live games. But not online.
Because for online poker there's another important
factor working to your advantage...
NO
ONE'S PAYING ATTENTION!
The
truth is, many players are either drunk, hungover,
stupid, or playing multiple tables at once. Or all
of the above!
They're
not paying attention to your betting patterns. They're
just playing the CARDS, not the PLAYERS.
I
call my strategy for patiently waiting for monster
hands and then going all-in:
"Tight-Aggressive
Squared"
The
reason is because my strategy is like the playing
style tight-aggressive... but on STEROIDS.
Why
go all-in so much?
It's
like I said... you WILL get action. Maybe not every
single time, but enough times to make it well worth
your while.
For
Sit and Go's, all you need to do is double-up ONCE
before the field gets to 4 or 5 players.
THEN
you can start playing aggressively. What will happen
is that the 4 or 5 players LEFT IN THE GAME will usually
be the smarter ones. And some of them WILL notice
by now that you're playing tight.
SO
THEN what you do is steal blinds. It's easy.
Everyone
tightens up when there are four or five players in
a hand because they want to make the money... and
they want to be VERY CAREFUL to make it into the top
three.
That
is when you steal some blinds and add to your chip
stack.
Then,
after that point you'll be in third place and will
be in the money.
I
have a ton of strategies for getting you into FIRST
place too (after you get down to three players), but
I'll have to save those for a different newsletter.
You
know, when I first came up with this strategy of "Tight-Aggressive
Squared" I wasn't COMPLETELY convinced it was
the best way to win at Sit and Go's.
At
the time, I had been trying a lot of things. The idea
of just being EXTREMELY PATIENT and then going all-in
with monster hands seemed a little TOO SIMPLE.
Right?
Then
one night, I was at a 10-man Sit and Go. I went all-in
with a big hand early and doubled up. It was the only
hand I got really involved with.
Then...
with 9 players still at the table... my Internet shut
off. I didn't know what happened. All I know is that
the Internet just plain STOPPED WORKING.
I
would have called someone... but it was past two in
the morning.
I
messed with it for like fifteen minutes and then just
gave up. Oh well... it's just one Sit and Go.
Anyway...
I started working on something else on my computer
for awhile until all of the sudden the Internet came
BACK on.
I
logged into my poker room to see what had happened
with the game. Immediately the screen POPPED-UP and
the action was to me...
I
was still in the game, it wasn't over yet!
Not
only that...
But
there were only three players left!
I
was in third, but still had some remaining chips to
play around with.
I
immediately went all-in and everyone folded. Then
I did it again and everyone folded. And a few hands
later I did it AGAIN.
I
picked up three enormous sets of blinds and was right
back in the game. The reason everyone was folding
was because I hadn't played a hand in 25 minutes.
They were probably wondering what the hell was going
on!
Anyway,
as it turned out, I actually WON 1ST for this Sit
and Go. First place baby... and my Internet only worked
for about 1/5 of the game!
After
I was done I started thinking about what had just
happened. I realized that by PLAYING in a Sit and
Go you can often do MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD when there
are lots of players at the table.
And
of course, I became 100% convinced that the "magic
equation" for success is:
PATIENCE
+ AGGRESSION
Your
goal for these games should be to place in the money
as much as possible. Period. So why risk chips on
silly hands early on?
They're
just not worth it...
The
other thing about this strategy is that it's a HUGE
time-saver. Because it doesn't require hardly any
work until there are 4-5 players left. It makes it
MUCH easier to play multiple tables at once... or
do other things while the Sit and Go plays in the
background.
OK,
so here's your "Tight-Aggressive Squared"
Sit and Go strategy:
1.
Be patient, be patient, be patient!
Only
play the hands I showed you earlier. Only bet before
the flop with Aces, Kings, Big Slick, and Queens.
2.
When you catch a monster, go all-in. Don't do this
if you think someone has you beat (i.e. there's an
obvious straight or flush draw on the board).
I'm
talking about only playing hands when you know you
have the best odds of winning.
3.
When the field gets down to four or five players (depending
on how high the blinds are and how many all-in showdowns
you've won), shift gears completely and STOP using
this "Tight-Aggressive Squared" strategy.
That,
my friend, is the "secret" to Sit and Go's.
It's
obvious... but not-so-obvious.
But
it is DEFINITELY simple.
And
you can start implementing it IMMEDIATELY...
To
get step-by-step advice as you play Sit and Go tournaments
online, make sure to download "Sit And Go Shark".
This amazing software tool will "take you by
the hand" and give you coaching as you play online
Sit and Go's.
Free
for a limited time. Click this link:
