Mtt Sng Strategy
Lesson 2: The Endgame and the Bubble
Getting yourself ready for the final stages of the tournament is very important to making money in MTTs. Most of the money in prizepools is distributed to the last 10% of players; which makes this last stage of the tournament the most important part to practise.
A philosophy of ‘bet until your opponent gives you a reason to stop’ is a good first principle when developing a hyper turbo strategy. This will be most effective against recreational players and at lower limits. Employ a more fluid strategy against stronger players. Turbo Multi Table Tournaments MTT events with a turbo structure will allow for a lot more strategy and actual play than a turbo sit and go. Even though the blinds are going to creep up on you a lot faster than they will in a sit and go, there is still a fair amount of time to mess around with post flop play.
To turn you into a successful endgame MTT player, this lesson involves playing small SNG tournaments at Titan Poker (non-US) or PokerStars (for US players). The reason we will be playing Sngs is because they give you alot of necessary experience playing short-handed and heads-up play – and they give you wonderful experience getting used to bubble play. In addition, playing Sngs also allows you to play far more games, since you arn’t dependant on the MTT schedules.
Play Sngs to Improve Your MTT Endgame
Titan Poker and PokerStars provide the best Sngs to practice your endgame strategy. Titan Poker is the best choice for non-US players, and they run a number of 10-man sngs at a variety of stakes. Sngs are great because they get you the short-handed experience necessary for playing your way through the bubble and to the final table.
If you’re unable to play at Titan because you’re from the US, PokerStars similarly offer excellent Sngs for you to practice your MTT end game. Titan is still our recommended choice for non-US players however.
Play Sngs at Titan + $500 Bonus
Use code Mosesbet1 when you sign up and you’ll also get a free $500 bonus and poker calculator tool. US Players not Allowed. You can make more money here too becausethe players are notoriously weak.
Play Sngs at PokerStars + $600 Bonus
PokerStars is the largest online poker site, and they do provide a regularly schedule of short-handed Sng games. The only difference playing here instead of Titan is that the competition is slightly harder. !
How Long Do I Keep Playing For?
Depending on your bankroll, I suggest playing Sngs with a buy-in of less than 1/40 your bankroll. For example if you’re bankroll is $50, play $1-$2 Sngs. With a $200 bankroll you should play $2-$5 Sngs.
Keep playing at your chosen poker room until you’re starting to make profit in these games. Remember in a 10-man Sng with 3 paid places (1st – 50%, 2nd – 30%, 3rd – 20%), you need to be getting in the top spots at least 33% of the time to break even. Once you’ve acheived this stage, you’ll be ready for bigger multi-table tournaments where you’ll have a crucial advantage over your opponents at the bubble stage/final stages.
Tools for Playing Sngs
If you’re deadly serious about winning Sngs and improving your end game, I recommend using SNGWizard. This specialist sng software allows you to track/analyze your play, your ICM, and locate any flaws in your game. In the long term this will give you a higher ROI by maximising your EV from tournaments.
Go to Lesson 3 – Which Tournaments to Play.
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Intro Page For A New Series Of In Depth Multi-Table Sit N Go Strategy Articles!
Sit and Go Tournaments come in many sizes. While there are plenty of strategy articles covering the 1-table variety and the largest of these (The 180 Player Sit N Goes for example), the middle ground is not well covered. This is an introductory piece for a new series on 2-table to 5-Table Sit N Go Strategy Articles (so 18 to 45 players on most sites).
This article will look at some of the different forms of MTT SNGs available and the key differences between them. It will also address the key question of whether a ‘standard’ 1 table Sit N Go strategy shares any elements with the multi table variety. For a selection of the multi-table SNGs available at the top sites check out our Best Site For Multi-Table SNGs article.
Mtt Sng Strategy Template
What Multi Table Sit N Goes Are Available Online?
Firstly, what multi-table sit and go tournaments are available. Well the list is growing all the time as sites come up with new and innovative new structures. These start with 2-table 6-max SNGs (usually playing 3 or 4 places), the 2 table SNG games are common with 18 or 20 players – depending on the site these will usually pay 4 or 5 places. As we move up 3 table and 5 table SNGs are the next most popular with up to 8 paying spots.
Blinds vary between the games and sites from 15 minute levels through to 5 minute ‘turbos’ and even faster in some cases (such as the Titan ‘Super Turbo’ games). While Texas Holdem is the most popular by far there are other games available in this format too – including Omaha and Stud for example.
What Are The Key Multi-Table Sit N Go Strategy Considerations?
Let us start with a question…
Would the 1-table Sit N Go strategy of playing tight and solid poker early then pushing all-in late work in a multi-table SNG?
There are 2 main issues with this – firstly the tables are going to be full more of the time, especially in the larger of these games. While pushing <10 big blinds with 4 or 5 players at the bubble works well, pushing into a full table carries a significantly greater risk of being called (and correctly so if you are pushing a wide range).
Secondly, our opponents are more likely to be playing a post-flop game from an early stage. There is a need to accumulate chips in a multi-table SNG that is not necessary in the earliest stages of a 1-table tournament. Missing opportunities to do this by playing too tight could prove very costly.
When considering strategy for a 3 or 5 table sit and go we need to look ahead to the final stages. By the time the bubble is reached the blinds are likely to be very big indeed compared to the stack size. One or two players will usually get an early double up with a premium hand and go on to accumulate a big stack by pressuring opponents throughout the tourney. This adds pressure to also accumulate chips – at the end of the day you did not enter a 2 hour long tournament to scrape into the lowest paying spot, staying ‘viable’ to win the tournament is also a key strategy consideration.
To summarize the basic strategy considerations – we need to strike a balance between the need to accumulate chips and survival. If the two aims contradict each other then chip accumulation must become the priority.
Mtt Sng Strategy Definition
Multi-Table Sit N Goes - Is ICM Appropriate For Multi-Table SNG Play?
Yes, the jumps between the paying places can be used to calculate (or at least estimate) our prize pool equity in dollars and use this to assist with decision making. As the number of paying places increases so do the complexity of the ICM calculations - which double for each place added! However a sound understanding of ICM will allow us to closely estimate when a call or push has a positive expectation. Read our Introduction to ICM for SNGs article for more information on this subject.
Over the coming weeks we strategy articles for multi-table SNGs covering the specifics of 2, 3 and 5 table SNG games as well as adjustments for the turbo varieties will appear here at SNG Planet – make sure you come back soon!
In the meantime why not check out our comprehensive review of the Best Sites For Multi-Table SNGs.
Planet Mark Recommends: We have no hestiation in recommending 888 Poker to all readers who enjoy profiting from the Multi-Table SNG tournament format. Unlike at some bigger sites like PokerStars, these games are not filled with pro grinders, and have a much more amateur / recreational feel - making them easier to beat. 888 offer new players $88 free to try out the games (no deposit or credit card needed) - check out the MTT SNGs at 888 now, and see how much easier they are to beat. Click www.888poker.com for more.