Texas Hold 'Em Tournament Strategy: Winning Sit and Go Poker Tournaments

Texas Hold 'Em has gained an enormous amount of popularity over the last several years but nobody could have predicted the rapid rise in popularity for the "Sit and Go" tournament, which has quickly become the most popular online poker tournament format for players of all skill levels.

What truly makes these type of no-limit Texas Holdem tournaments so popular is the notion that the play is something similar to playing at a final table of a regular poker tournament. In fact, perhaps the only frustrating part is trying to find a Sit and Go (SNG) table that you can jump in on in order to play before someone else takes the limited amount of seats.

Every single major online poker playing site and poker rooms offer the opportunity to experience play at a Sit and Go format. Some players like to refer to these types of mini poker tournaments as satellites. When you combine that with the fact that anyone can buy into these events (meaning you will have players of all skill levels) you will understand why you need to develop a sound strategy prior to entering a SNG tournament if you expect to win.

There are many different types of Sit and Go tournaments but the two most dominant or widely played are the single table format and the multi-table tournament. Each offers its own unique style of play which makes it imperative that you familiarize yourself with all elements of the game. For those poker players that crave real excitement, there is even a "Turbo" style of play where the game speed is elevated at a much faster rate (5 minutes instead of the usual 15 minutes) with increasing blinds and a smaller amount of time for decisions to be made by all of the participants. As you would expect, this style of poker tournament is extremely challenging and requires a completely different level of play.

As a regular player of SNG tournaments I prefer to throw my chips into the two table format because they normally allow anywhere from 18 - 20 players and generally the available amount of prize money is higher than the actual single table format. Although the entry fee for these tournaments can vary from a low buy in of $5 to a high of $10,000 you need to understand that as the amount goes up to play so does the caliber of the players. So always make sure you are ready to advance to the next level prior to attempting to play in that game.

During my vast hours of time spent playing in these poker tournaments I've been able to identify several key areas that every player needs to ensure they are focused on if they intend to win any SNG they pay an entry fee to play in. I've been able to use these tips myself in order to consistently place in the money if I didn't win the tournament outright.

1 - Playing Conditions - Always make sure you are able to adjust properly to the current playing conditions. What this means is as the blinds go up, the antes kick in and the number of remaining players decreases you will need to change your own style of play. Always be on the lookout for when you can take advantage of a player or situation based on your change in playing patterns.

2 - Position Is Everything - If you intend to finish in the money (normally top 3 or 4 for these tournaments) then you had better have a firm grasp and understanding of which hands to play depending on your starting position on the table. As with any tournament, early on you may want to play slightly conservative and only enter the pot with the best hands and then later open your range of hands to play as you see how the remaining players play in certain positions.

3 - Beating The Aggressive Players - Aggressive players can be found all over the place but fortunately for you they can also be beat by choosing battles that favor your hole cards. Wait patiently allowing the aggressive player to commit themselves to beating into you with your dominate hand and then take them down.

4 - Heads Up Play - If you ever intend to win the big money you will need to understand how to change your playing style once it gets down to yourself and another player for the championship. You must be able to increase your play to a more aggressive style in order to finally take all of your opponent's chips. The difference in prize money between first place and second place should be more than enough motivation to get you fired up about mastering this type of play.

5 - Online Poker Tells - Some people believe that online tells don't exist but they actually do and if you properly learn how to read them it can be the difference between making money and losing money in online poker. Always make sure to mark players that are tight and aggressive so you can avoid them unless you have a dominate hand pre-flop. Also make sure and note any players that appear to be loose in their style of play or weak at defending their blinds. All of this information will come in handy later in the tournament.

6 - The Art of Blind Stealing And Bluffing - Simply put you must know how to successfully bluff your opponents if you expect to survive the blinds and antes as they increase in the later stages of the tournament. Keep in mind that you can't bluff weak players off their hand so don't even bother trying.

By following these six simple tips you will increase your odds of surviving the early rounds of any SNG and find yourself making more money instead of simply being another fish at the table.