Why You Should Play Short-Handed Sit & Go
May 18, 2009
A lot of online poker rooms offer online short-handed S&G games. In this structure, a tournament only has six players and typically, the top two finishers are paid out. The poker player who finishes in first place will receive around 65% of the winnings while the second place finisher takes home around 35%.
If you do the math, you will find out why it is very appealing to play short-handed S&G games. You will have a 33% chance of finishing in the top two of each game and well, when it comes to gambling (but poker isn’t gambling, you might say), those are really good odds.
Still, it is best not to be deceived by the statistics. If you play crappy poker, you can throw the 33% figure out of the window because you won’t stand a chance. Furthermore, you also have to realize that this type of game is a lot different from the other types of tournaments you might play.
First, you must realize that unlike in other tournaments, short-handed S&G is very fast-paced. You need to pay the blinds more often so you can’t afford to be too tight. The best strategy is to play hard from the very start. Remember, you won’t have time to wait for those elusive Pocket Rockets.
You also need to protect your blinds more often. Don’t allow bullies to steal your blinds all the time. Go ahead and lay your really terrible cards down but you also need to keep in mind that you are playing six-handed. So expand your hand selection a bit and make an effort to protect your blinds.
Lastly, in a short-handed S&G, you must always play to win. Remember that the winner gets a huge chunk of the prize and everyone except the runner-up gets nothing. So forget about playing for second place. Look for opportunities to double up and never become passive. Keep this mind and you might very well be on your way to becoming an effective short-handed S&G player.
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