NLHE Turbo SNG Strategy Part Two
Middle rounds, big blinds and the bubble
The most important thing you can do as you leave the early rounds and start to get into big blind territory is to recognize the different player types that are at your table. It should become clear who is tight, who is loose and who is a wild animal if there are any of them left! Keeping notes early on in the tournament will help you when crucial situations arise in the later rounds. Keep these points in mind regarding the different playing styles:
• Tight is right but in turbo games, especially no limit hold’em ones, it can be a drawback. You should look for players who are overly tight or ones that consistently show down with only premium hands. These are the kinds of players that you are going to be able to steal blinds and antes from. They are also the players that you will be able to steal a pot away from when they miss with a hand like AK or KQ.
• Crazy maniacs who have made it far into the turbo tournament can be a problem. They generally don’t play that well, but they are going to use their chips to try and punish you and force poor decisions. The strategy then is to be equally aggressive back at them when you have a decent hand. A lot of the time they won’t have a decent hand so the trick is to expose them when they have erred in judgment by trying to push you around.
Betting strategy
Although you need to be aggressive and play strong with your chips in the late rounds, it’s very important that you don’t throw all your chips in on a silly hand. There is nothing worse than putting in all your money with a hand that is easily dominated. Being successful at aggression in no limit hold’em is all about doing it at the right time. Late in the tournament you don’t want to get committed to the pot with a hand like T8 suited. Although from late position it could be playable, and with the right flop it definitely could be, it is very likely that if you are challenged with a raise that you will be behind. If you can make the following statement when you raise late in a turbo no limit hold’em tournament, then you are making the right play:
• If my opponent were to raise me after I make this play, or if they were to shove in all their chips, I would welcome that move.
Just remember that speculative hands in Texas hold’em are just that and even though the name of the game in a turbo environment is aggression, you can’t be committing yourself with hands that are easily dominated. It is at this point in the tournament where you really need to put together all the information you have gather on your opponents and put it to work. This means chipping away at the tight players and punishing the crazies when they make mistakes. If you find yourself up against other excellent opponents much like yourself, then the best way to outplay them is through superior hand selection and selective aggression. You should be able to key in on a style or move they like to make. In poker you have to turn this against your opponent and build your stack. The veracious nature of the blinds in a turbo format will afford you the opportunity to strike when your opponents are least expecting it. Your ability to constantly switch up your play and confuse opponents is paramount when trying to take first place in a no limit hold’em turbo sit n go.
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