Here is a good article i came across recently written by Shawn Konig. It should give you a good understanding of why using poker tools, meaning odds calculators or strategy guides, will help you to dominate in sitngo's. If you are new to online poker , you will be amazed at how an odds calculator will improve your game. It doesnt make your decisions for you and you dont rely on it to play your game. All it does is do the odds calculating for you and tells you what kind of player your up against. It will keep you from making bad calls and to make good folds, which will save you valuable chips over the course of every sitngo you play in. Please click here for a Free Trial or click the banner to give tournament indicator a try for FREE for 48 hours, after reading the article below. I certainly realized how valuable it was after the first 48 hours, and again its free so why not. Please read on.
If you are new to the world of Sit N Go Poker, you may like to know what sorts of SNG tools are available to help improve your game. Poker is very much a game of decisions and knowing the best strategy to use for the hand you have is the way that you increase your chances of winning. SNG tools are what can help you to ascertain exactly what strategies you can use to improve your poker play.
There are two main types of Sit N Go tools, one that analyzes your playing style and teaches you the best moves to make for your particular hand, and one which analyzes the play of your opponent and provides you with data regarding their play so you can second guess their next move.
The key point to remember in Sit N Go poker is that whoever stays in the game the longest is the winner. It doesn't require big bets, but rather a carefully thought out tactic as to how to take the best advantage of every situation. SNG tools can teach you when you are best to fold to stay in the game for longer, and how you can read opponents moves so that you can make bigger gambles at appropriate points in the game.
Once you have used your SNG tools to refine your game and get a better understanding of the opponents that you will likely encounter, you can start playing a more aggressive game and taking home more wins for your efforts.
Shawn has been a SNG Poker Coach and mentor for several years now. Find out more about being a winning SNG Poker player by visiting his website and signing up for his FREE SNG Poker Training Course entitled "From Fish to SNG Poker Shark in only 17 Days"
Why to Sign Up For Both FullTilt and Pokerstars
Monday, February 22, 2010
I play on both Pokerstars and Fulltilt frequently. They both have their own benefits, but either one can fulfill all your online poker needs. I will write a review giving the pros and cons of each site. For now i am just going to give you a few reasons why you should be utilizing the benefits of both sites.
Everyone i know that plays poker online has a favorite for one reason or another. If you are planning to start playing , then of course you need to try out both to even form this opinion. Each site offers different promotions and free tournaments that you can turn into real money. Why not double your chances?
Everyone who plays online, has experienced a slump or a string of bad beats, whether it be on Fulltilt or Pokerstars. When this happens , what better to do than to try your luck at a whole new site and a whole new group of players and try your luck there, before depositing any more money into the same poker room. This is how i actually ended up trying out Pokerstars , after playing on Fulltilt starting out. Trust me, you will feel the same rush trying out the second site as you felt when you began with the other. Everyone has a different style of poker playing. You will find that your style may work better for you on one site compared to the other.
My suggestion to you is to sign up for both sites and give them both a try , so if you ever run into any issues with one or find yourself on a bad streak, go ahead and switch to the other site for a while and most often then not you will find better luck. For me i switch back and forth frequently, and i enjoy having the option to do so. I think you will feel the same way . Please feel free to leave any feedback or any questions you may have.
Everyone i know that plays poker online has a favorite for one reason or another. If you are planning to start playing , then of course you need to try out both to even form this opinion. Each site offers different promotions and free tournaments that you can turn into real money. Why not double your chances?
Everyone who plays online, has experienced a slump or a string of bad beats, whether it be on Fulltilt or Pokerstars. When this happens , what better to do than to try your luck at a whole new site and a whole new group of players and try your luck there, before depositing any more money into the same poker room. This is how i actually ended up trying out Pokerstars , after playing on Fulltilt starting out. Trust me, you will feel the same rush trying out the second site as you felt when you began with the other. Everyone has a different style of poker playing. You will find that your style may work better for you on one site compared to the other.
My suggestion to you is to sign up for both sites and give them both a try , so if you ever run into any issues with one or find yourself on a bad streak, go ahead and switch to the other site for a while and most often then not you will find better luck. For me i switch back and forth frequently, and i enjoy having the option to do so. I think you will feel the same way . Please feel free to leave any feedback or any questions you may have.
Double Or Nothing Sitngo Strategy
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Double or Nothing sitngos are fairly new to online poker. You will only find this sitngo format on Pokerstars. The rules are the same as any other sitngo. Here is the difference between a regular sitngo and a double or nothing game. First off there are 10 people instead of the usual 9. The game lasts until there are 5 players left. Then the game is over, and the 5 remaining players get double what they bought in for. These games range from a 5 dollar buy in to 100 dollars.
I love playing in these games I cash in at least 80 percent of the time i play in them. The strategy is very simple. Because you are only playing until half the field is gone, there are really only 2 stages, the beginning and end stage. The 1st stage is played using the normal Sitngo Strategy.
Stage 1: Only play premium hands (aces, kings, queens, AK). Sit back and watch everyone else get taken out or lose half their chip stack. Do not call any raises , Unless you have a premium hand. If you find yourself with a premium hand, DONT slow play it . Reraise all in ! More often then not , the person will fold, because stack preservation is the most important thing in this format. With that being said , the risk of busting out , outweighs the reward of doubling up. Hopefully , you will have won a large pot or even double up by the time stage 2 begins.
Stage 2: Stage 2 begins when there are 6 to 7 players left. Stage 2 strategy must also be used if the big blind reaches over 150 chips, no matter how many people are left , because you dont want to be blinded out. Every now and then you find yourself in a game and the blinds are getting high and only 1 or 2 players have gone out. Position is the key in stage 2. You still dont want to call any raise unless you have a premium hand. Anytime you have a good hand or a pair with only 2 or 3 people left to act. Raise! If you get reraised, FOLD. If you get a caller, and the flop hits you , or you think the other player didnt hit anything , make a continuation bet, and 8 out of 10 times will take down the pot. You need these chips to pad your stack and help you to outlast the field. At this stage there will be probably one person with a huge chip stack, and at least 2 very short stacks. Pay attention to the short stack players. they are likely to go all in at anytime , with anything, in the hopes to take down the blinds , or to be double up. Hopefully you arent one of these guys. Pay attention to everyone's stack in relation to the blinds and try not to get into too many confrontations. Lets say , you have more than double the amount of chips as 2 players left. Keep folding and try to let these guys get taken out.
All you need to do is stay ahead of the shortstacks , and make sure that you dont become one of them , by taking down the blinds while, in postion. You will notice that YOUR blinds will be getting stolen as well. This is ok. Only push back , if you have a big hand , and more often then not , the guy trying to steal the blinds will fold , unless he has a monster (or a huge chip advantage). If you stick to this strategy, you should DOUBLE YOUR MONEY at least 75 percent of the time.
Additional tips: If you happen to find yourself with a very large chip lead over the field, dont start playing super aggressive or loose. You dont want to be doubling people up and prolonging the game. What you do want to be doing , is using timed aggression to steal the blinds in position. Everyone at the table will be scared of you and try to avoid you, unless they have a monster hand and then they are looking for you to call and double them up. Dont waste the chips , just because you have them. use them at the right time to start chipping away at the other players stacks, making them more desparate , and likely to go on tilt.
If you find yourself extremely shortstacked, dont panic. Pay attention to your position. go all in with any medium ace or pair when there are only a couple players left to act and there has been no raise. Anyone with an average stack and even a decent hand will fold, for fear of losing any chips and becoming a shortstack themselves. If you can , try to avoid going all in when the player with the big stack has yet to act, because they are liable to call you with anything, because they can afford to call you in hopes of getting you out of the game. Be patient, and pick the right spot. One double up or a few times taking down the blinds in position, can get you into the money. Ive come back to make the money numerous times with less than 200 chips left.
I love playing in these games I cash in at least 80 percent of the time i play in them. The strategy is very simple. Because you are only playing until half the field is gone, there are really only 2 stages, the beginning and end stage. The 1st stage is played using the normal Sitngo Strategy.
Stage 1: Only play premium hands (aces, kings, queens, AK). Sit back and watch everyone else get taken out or lose half their chip stack. Do not call any raises , Unless you have a premium hand. If you find yourself with a premium hand, DONT slow play it . Reraise all in ! More often then not , the person will fold, because stack preservation is the most important thing in this format. With that being said , the risk of busting out , outweighs the reward of doubling up. Hopefully , you will have won a large pot or even double up by the time stage 2 begins.
Stage 2: Stage 2 begins when there are 6 to 7 players left. Stage 2 strategy must also be used if the big blind reaches over 150 chips, no matter how many people are left , because you dont want to be blinded out. Every now and then you find yourself in a game and the blinds are getting high and only 1 or 2 players have gone out. Position is the key in stage 2. You still dont want to call any raise unless you have a premium hand. Anytime you have a good hand or a pair with only 2 or 3 people left to act. Raise! If you get reraised, FOLD. If you get a caller, and the flop hits you , or you think the other player didnt hit anything , make a continuation bet, and 8 out of 10 times will take down the pot. You need these chips to pad your stack and help you to outlast the field. At this stage there will be probably one person with a huge chip stack, and at least 2 very short stacks. Pay attention to the short stack players. they are likely to go all in at anytime , with anything, in the hopes to take down the blinds , or to be double up. Hopefully you arent one of these guys. Pay attention to everyone's stack in relation to the blinds and try not to get into too many confrontations. Lets say , you have more than double the amount of chips as 2 players left. Keep folding and try to let these guys get taken out.
All you need to do is stay ahead of the shortstacks , and make sure that you dont become one of them , by taking down the blinds while, in postion. You will notice that YOUR blinds will be getting stolen as well. This is ok. Only push back , if you have a big hand , and more often then not , the guy trying to steal the blinds will fold , unless he has a monster (or a huge chip advantage). If you stick to this strategy, you should DOUBLE YOUR MONEY at least 75 percent of the time.
Additional tips: If you happen to find yourself with a very large chip lead over the field, dont start playing super aggressive or loose. You dont want to be doubling people up and prolonging the game. What you do want to be doing , is using timed aggression to steal the blinds in position. Everyone at the table will be scared of you and try to avoid you, unless they have a monster hand and then they are looking for you to call and double them up. Dont waste the chips , just because you have them. use them at the right time to start chipping away at the other players stacks, making them more desparate , and likely to go on tilt.
If you find yourself extremely shortstacked, dont panic. Pay attention to your position. go all in with any medium ace or pair when there are only a couple players left to act and there has been no raise. Anyone with an average stack and even a decent hand will fold, for fear of losing any chips and becoming a shortstack themselves. If you can , try to avoid going all in when the player with the big stack has yet to act, because they are liable to call you with anything, because they can afford to call you in hopes of getting you out of the game. Be patient, and pick the right spot. One double up or a few times taking down the blinds in position, can get you into the money. Ive come back to make the money numerous times with less than 200 chips left.
Basic Sitngo Strategy.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Here is the Basic Sitngo Strategy that i have learned over many hours of playing and doing a lot of research online, and purchasing a few different strategy guides. The game starts with 9 players , all starting with 1500 chips. The top 3 finishers win a portion of the prize pool. These 3 players are also known as being In The Money. First place will take down 50 percent of the prize pool, 2nd place takes 30%, and 3rd place 20%. Sitngo's are the cash cow of online poker. There is virtually no wait to get into a sitngo , regardless of the buyin level. A game will be starting at the level you want to play approximately every 2 minutes, and they average about an hour in duration. There are three stages to a sitngo, which i will explain to you as we go on.
Stage one of the sitngo is the Early Stage. During this stage , you want to sit back and watch the action and play nothing but level one , or premium hands. These hands are basically, aces, kings , queens, or ace king, and jacks*(be careful with jacks). With hands jack queen , 10s, 9s, ace queen, king queen, or ace jack, you only want to call if you are almost last to act and there has not been a considerable raise. I know its hard to fold if you have one of these good non-premium hands, but trust me , for the most part you will only get yourself in trouble. Here is one example you will often see in the early stages of a sitngo. Someone makes a large raise, and one player calls. The flop brings out a Queen as the high card. The original raiser makes a pot sized bet , and the other player reraises. The next thing you know there are 2 players all in. Then you see that the original raiser has ace queen , up against king queen. Needless to say , the guy who thought his king queen was way ahead , finds himself trying to find the next sitngo to register into. It has happened to me countless times, and probably you too. When you do find yourself with a premium hand , make sure you raise at least 5 times the big blind. You may think that you want to get a lot of action with kings or aces. But the reality is you dont. You would rather be heads up against one caller, and take all that players chips. You may have learned this lesson already by having your aces or kings cracked by something like 9,10 suited. You want to bet that person out of the hand and hope the guy with Ace queen calls and you can get all their chips, and when stage 2 of the sitngo starts, you have more chips to make moves with. Remember to play tight and watch players knock themselves out, and hopefully you can get a premium hand and knock someone out yourself, but if not its ok. Most often then not , stage 2 will start and you will have less chips then you started with.
This brings us to the Middle Stage of the sitngo. This stage begins when there are either 3 players out , or the big blind has reached 100 chips. Ideally, there will be 3 players gone once the blinds reach 100 , but that is not always the case. During the middle stage, it is ok to call a raise or raise with hands like ace queen or ace jack or a pair like 9s, or 10s. One thing that ive learned from my personal experience, after making a raise preflop, getting a caller , and then hitting the high card on the flop. Of course you are going to make a large bet to get the person off their hand. If that person , reraises all in or even reraises at all, chances are you need to get out of the hand regardless of how much you have in the pot or how good you think your top pair is . The odds are that you have run into trips or 2 pair and your high card with a great kicker is now trash. A big part of becoming a GREAT poker player, is the ability to make a good lay down. It takes time to learn this , but it is very true. During this Middle Stage , position is key. You want to be raising with decent hands with only a couple players left to act, and hopefully taking the pot down preflop. You want to be going all in with premium hands no matter what position you are in. Taking down blinds is very crucial, because you dont want to enter the late stage shortstacked if at all possible.
You have finally made it to the Final Stage of the sitngo. At this point , there are 4 players left. Remember that the final 3 players are IN THE MONEY. Everyone left is on the bubble. Because the amount of the big blind is huge compared the the chipstack at this point, most players are either all in or folding. Be careful if someone just calls the big blind which happens to be one third of their chipstack, because most likely , they are setting a trap for you to raise the pot so they can go all in. You should probably just fold your decent hand in that situation. Also remember that you want to be the person making the raise or going all in and taking the blinds , and not the person calling (unless you have a premium hand of course). While on the bubble, be aggressive with decent hands in position, because NOBODY wants to go out in 4th. I know it will get annoying because you will realize that people are raising in position to take the blinds. Let them! eventually you will have a good enough hand to call them and either take them out or double up. Once you get into heads up play , the basic rule of thumb is going all in with any ace or any king, and only calling an all in with a pair or a medium ace or medium king. When you make your pushes you want to primarily be first to act. Your opponent will be more likely to go all in , than to call your all in. (be aware that someone having a large chip advantage will play a role in this as well). Play smart , and hopefully you can take down first place, But the main objective when you are playing in sitngos is to cash, or make it in the money. A successful sitngo player will cash in at least 75% of sitngos played.
What i have just explained to you is just the BASIC sitngo strategy, for more in depth strategies i recommend you get a strategy guide as well as read the other posts on this blog , which i will be updating daily to help you get the edge on your sitngo opponents. If you have any questions or requests please contact me directly or leave a comment, and i will give you a quick response. Good luck at the tables. There is a sitngo starting in 2 minutes waiting for you to register in.
Stage one of the sitngo is the Early Stage. During this stage , you want to sit back and watch the action and play nothing but level one , or premium hands. These hands are basically, aces, kings , queens, or ace king, and jacks*(be careful with jacks). With hands jack queen , 10s, 9s, ace queen, king queen, or ace jack, you only want to call if you are almost last to act and there has not been a considerable raise. I know its hard to fold if you have one of these good non-premium hands, but trust me , for the most part you will only get yourself in trouble. Here is one example you will often see in the early stages of a sitngo. Someone makes a large raise, and one player calls. The flop brings out a Queen as the high card. The original raiser makes a pot sized bet , and the other player reraises. The next thing you know there are 2 players all in. Then you see that the original raiser has ace queen , up against king queen. Needless to say , the guy who thought his king queen was way ahead , finds himself trying to find the next sitngo to register into. It has happened to me countless times, and probably you too. When you do find yourself with a premium hand , make sure you raise at least 5 times the big blind. You may think that you want to get a lot of action with kings or aces. But the reality is you dont. You would rather be heads up against one caller, and take all that players chips. You may have learned this lesson already by having your aces or kings cracked by something like 9,10 suited. You want to bet that person out of the hand and hope the guy with Ace queen calls and you can get all their chips, and when stage 2 of the sitngo starts, you have more chips to make moves with. Remember to play tight and watch players knock themselves out, and hopefully you can get a premium hand and knock someone out yourself, but if not its ok. Most often then not , stage 2 will start and you will have less chips then you started with.
This brings us to the Middle Stage of the sitngo. This stage begins when there are either 3 players out , or the big blind has reached 100 chips. Ideally, there will be 3 players gone once the blinds reach 100 , but that is not always the case. During the middle stage, it is ok to call a raise or raise with hands like ace queen or ace jack or a pair like 9s, or 10s. One thing that ive learned from my personal experience, after making a raise preflop, getting a caller , and then hitting the high card on the flop. Of course you are going to make a large bet to get the person off their hand. If that person , reraises all in or even reraises at all, chances are you need to get out of the hand regardless of how much you have in the pot or how good you think your top pair is . The odds are that you have run into trips or 2 pair and your high card with a great kicker is now trash. A big part of becoming a GREAT poker player, is the ability to make a good lay down. It takes time to learn this , but it is very true. During this Middle Stage , position is key. You want to be raising with decent hands with only a couple players left to act, and hopefully taking the pot down preflop. You want to be going all in with premium hands no matter what position you are in. Taking down blinds is very crucial, because you dont want to enter the late stage shortstacked if at all possible.
You have finally made it to the Final Stage of the sitngo. At this point , there are 4 players left. Remember that the final 3 players are IN THE MONEY. Everyone left is on the bubble. Because the amount of the big blind is huge compared the the chipstack at this point, most players are either all in or folding. Be careful if someone just calls the big blind which happens to be one third of their chipstack, because most likely , they are setting a trap for you to raise the pot so they can go all in. You should probably just fold your decent hand in that situation. Also remember that you want to be the person making the raise or going all in and taking the blinds , and not the person calling (unless you have a premium hand of course). While on the bubble, be aggressive with decent hands in position, because NOBODY wants to go out in 4th. I know it will get annoying because you will realize that people are raising in position to take the blinds. Let them! eventually you will have a good enough hand to call them and either take them out or double up. Once you get into heads up play , the basic rule of thumb is going all in with any ace or any king, and only calling an all in with a pair or a medium ace or medium king. When you make your pushes you want to primarily be first to act. Your opponent will be more likely to go all in , than to call your all in. (be aware that someone having a large chip advantage will play a role in this as well). Play smart , and hopefully you can take down first place, But the main objective when you are playing in sitngos is to cash, or make it in the money. A successful sitngo player will cash in at least 75% of sitngos played.
What i have just explained to you is just the BASIC sitngo strategy, for more in depth strategies i recommend you get a strategy guide as well as read the other posts on this blog , which i will be updating daily to help you get the edge on your sitngo opponents. If you have any questions or requests please contact me directly or leave a comment, and i will give you a quick response. Good luck at the tables. There is a sitngo starting in 2 minutes waiting for you to register in.
PROJECTSNG : Review ......The best sitngo strategy guide to date
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The first strategy guide i want to talk about is ProjectSNG . Ive purchased strategy guides in the past and picked up and few helpful things here and there. I was disappointed more than once to find out that what i purchased was information i already had, just basically worded differently. Then i came across Projectsng. This guide has everything any other strategy guide out there has to offer times 10! .
This guide will take you through the beginning, middle and late stages of a sitngo , telling you what to do in each situation you will encounter along the way. The information on what to do once you get heads up is going to really boost your profits. I dont know about you, but i was finding myself finishing in 2nd place way too often, even when i had the chip lead going into heads up play. This guide will show you how to take down first!
Here is where ProjectSNG really stands out above the rest . There are strategies explained that I've never heard of, such as the ICM CONCEPT, and the M system . This information alone was worth the money. Trust me! On top of that , he is going to show you how to properly execute and when to make a continuation bet., build your chipstack while on the bubble, and many other useful tips that will get you into the money, and then finish the job. I actually found myself laughing out loud after stealing peoples chips or forcing them into making bad all in calls , especially when i realized , I used to be the guy that this was being done to!
ProjectSNG is the best guide out there to date , with the most secret and exclusive strategies your going to find. I personally suggest that you give it a try .It is well worth the money. It paid off for me immediately. I havent had to make a deposit on my account since i purchased it 2 months ago . If you do give it a try , please come back here and let me know how well it worked for you. If you click the purple links in this review it will take you to the site so you can see more about how to get the guide.
This guide will take you through the beginning, middle and late stages of a sitngo , telling you what to do in each situation you will encounter along the way. The information on what to do once you get heads up is going to really boost your profits. I dont know about you, but i was finding myself finishing in 2nd place way too often, even when i had the chip lead going into heads up play. This guide will show you how to take down first!
Here is where ProjectSNG really stands out above the rest . There are strategies explained that I've never heard of, such as the ICM CONCEPT, and the M system . This information alone was worth the money. Trust me! On top of that , he is going to show you how to properly execute and when to make a continuation bet., build your chipstack while on the bubble, and many other useful tips that will get you into the money, and then finish the job. I actually found myself laughing out loud after stealing peoples chips or forcing them into making bad all in calls , especially when i realized , I used to be the guy that this was being done to!
ProjectSNG is the best guide out there to date , with the most secret and exclusive strategies your going to find. I personally suggest that you give it a try .It is well worth the money. It paid off for me immediately. I havent had to make a deposit on my account since i purchased it 2 months ago . If you do give it a try , please come back here and let me know how well it worked for you. If you click the purple links in this review it will take you to the site so you can see more about how to get the guide.
About SitngoJoe
I created this blog because i play in sitngo's for at least a few hours a day , as im sure most of you reading this do. i know im a good poker player but playing online is a whole different beast , and it doesnt take long for you to find that out. You encounter so many different kinds of players, from the maniacs, to the fish, and then there is your regular sitngo joe , like me, and probably most of you, that know how to play good solid poker but cant seem to win consistently, and find yourself continuously depositing money to your account every few days. hopefully im able to provide you with the information and ammo you need to start avoiding the bad beats and watching your chipstack getting eaten away and we can start making all the hours you put in on fulltilt and pokerstars start to pay off and we can click the withdraw button and not the deposit button. im going to be keeping you all up to date on the newest poker strategys and poker odds calculators and other poker software available, as well as any other valuable information to help us all be successful sitngo players. A good number of players that you will come across in any sitngo are making a legit income and paying their bills by successfully cashing out in the money and taking down as many sitngos a day as possible . Why cant we do it too!
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