NLHE Turbo Sit N Go Strategy Part One
No limit hold’em turbo sit n go’s have become a very popular tournament format over the past year or two. The reasons behind this are the fast tournament times, the quick action and the chance to go on some real runs. There are some other advantages too. Many people play turbo tournaments because they don’t have the time or patience for regular tournaments and sit n go’s. This is definitely something you can use to your advantage. Because hold’em has become such a popular game, many players are just looking for the quick win. They aren’t willing to invest the time into becoming a solid, profitable player, so they look for the easy way out. A turbo sit n go offers players a nice payout with very little commitment in terms of time and energy. Although because of the nature of these tournaments the variance is higher, a player with good hold’em skills can become very profitable at turbo sit n go’s. There are some adjustments and other considerations you will have to make however. This two-part article will give you the basics for adapting to the no limit hold’em turbo environment through out all rounds of the tournament. Read section two for late game strategies and tips.
Play a Sit N Go today at PlayersOnly.com
Starting hands and aggression early on
For starters, if you have a problem playing aggressively or you just really like to sit around and wait for the best possible hands, then we highly recommend you just stick to the normal tournament format. There is just too much action and variance taking place in a turbo game to sit around and wait. You’ll either need to make a change to your playing style or just stay away from the games. With that in mind you’ll need to be selective and aggressive in the initial rounds of the tournament. Lowering your starting hand requirements is not only a must, but in some cases your cards may not even matter. Make sure you are aggressive in middle or late positions with hands like 55,66,77,88,99, KQ suited or not, KJ, suited or not, AT suited or not and even consider aggressively playing the suited connectors. Like all things in poker though, you need to do this with tact and care. You obviously shouldn’t be playing suited connectors from early position against a player who is likely to raise. Similarly, don’t commit your whole stack to some of the more speculative hands mentioned above. Make smart, pot or near pot sized bets to ward off opposition and steal some pots early.
Get ahead, but its okay if you don’t.
If would be best if in every no limit hold’em turbo sit n go that you played, you kept winning throughout the blind increases and kept your stack proportionate to the blind. It would also be best if you won the lottery. Okay now that we realize that’s not going to happen every time, you need to understand that sometimes you are going to have to play from behind, it is simply the nature of the game and especially true for a turbo format game. If you find yourself behind early on in a turbo event, keep the following things in mind:
• Its okay to tighten up and wait for a hand to come if the tournament is early enough and the blinds are still low. Remember, the blinds go up, but play the game for what it is now, not what its going to be in five or ten minutes.
• Look for other players on a short stack; they are vulnerable, especially to aggressive play and raises. If you see a timid mark low on checks, make a move and take him down. If anything, a move from someone with a low stack is more likely to make him think about it then a big stack who the player will think is simply trying to push them around.
NichePoker.net recommends playing poker at Players Only.