Starting the New Year off Right

I’m performing a little poker experiment for the start of 2007. In the past, I tended to jump from game to game, playing in different limits and joining the odd tournament to pass the time. I have decided to be much stricter with my bankroll and choice of game for a limited time. For instance, one half of my bankroll has been set aside for on-line play, and the other half is to be used for playing at live venues. Also, I deposited enough money in my full-tilt account to handle playing 30 $10+$1 Single table sit and go’s. Sit and Go tournaments are my favorite since they don’t require a substantial investment in time and because there is a clearly defined winner. So the plan is to play these 30 SnG’s and to see how I end up at the end of it all. My winnings (or losses) will determine if I’m capable of comfortably moving up to the $20 sit and go’s.

I should be able to get through the 30 tournaments by the end of January even though I’m expecting to get done sooner then that. My first SnG was last night and things went very well.

My basic strategy for playing full table SnG’s is as follows:

1. Tight is right for the first few levels. There is no reason to go after the blinds when they are so small. If I’m getting into a pot I’m doing so with only quality hands and I’m putting in large (5X BB or more) raises to force pressure on my opponents.
2. At the mid-point I start getting involved with more speculative hands and I start to steal the blinds more often. My earlier play will allow me to get in cheaply most of the time, and my raises will be respected more often then not.
3. When we are 4-5 handed (only the top 3 get paid) I’ll wait for solid hands and play them very aggressively. Most people won’t want to be eliminated 1 spot away from the money so most of them will fold unless they feel they have quality holdings. Most Sit and Go specialists will try stealing the blinds a lot more at this point but I find that doesn’t work well at lower limit SnG’s.
4. Once I’ve gotten into the money I tend to trap my opponents and wait for them to make a mistake. Most players loosen up at this point that they are happy to get 3^rd place and a little bit of cash. I’m usually always shooting for 1^st place.

This exact strategy was what I implemented last night and it worked out to perfection. This was an uber-type table with very little action so I had to be a bit more patient then normal. Usually against a table as tight as this one I like to raise a lot more but my hand selection and the situations just didn’t seem to be optimal most of the time. When stealing, I like to have a hand that is at least a pair, suited or connected so that way I have a plan B if I’m called or re-raised, but during the mid-point of the tournament this just wasn’t happening.

I coasted into the money (which took over an hour to get to) and got to the point of getting heads up. I will admit that I did get lucky once, catching a 5 outer on the river to win a hand heads up. Everyone gets lucky every once and a while and out of all the hands I got in with this was the only one that I wasn’t the favorite pre and post flop. The Sit and Go was over a few hands later with me walking away with first place and a great start to the new year.