Sit and go strategy for beginners

Sit and go’s are a quick and sometimes pretty easy way to make money playing online poker.
At low limits the players are generally poor and there is a good opportunity for a learning or somewhat experienced player to boost their bankroll.
Mid limit sit and go’s are beatable too, but the skill level of players at a $50 buy in sit and go are night and day different from a $5 or $10 sit and go.
Use the strategy articles found at Poker Rakeback Online and you will be on the right track.

Get to the money

The idea of a sit and go is quite simple.
Ten players buy in and vie for a spot in the money which is almost always the top three places.
Some will argue that the best strategy to take is to always play for first place while others contend you should simply shoot for anywhere in the top three.
The best way to look at it is really like this:

Finishing in first place is certainly the best outcome and should be strived for as often as possible but finishing in at least the top three places is a must and is inexplicably better than finishing lower!

With that said, it is vital that you take an aggressive approach from the very beginning of the tournament to ensure your best chances of either winning or finishing in the top three places.
Aggressive play early on will build your stack and make it easier to ride out bad cards as the blinds increase.
Here is a quick poker games guide for a fast start:

• Playing premium hands is best, but you don’t have to wait around for them, after all, sit and go’s can be short and they may never come!
• Use the early rounds to play AX suited, playing suited connectors, connectors and other hands that can win big money for little up front investment.
• Use your stack to take advantage of players who take early hits or are noticeably poor players.
• Protect your premium hands by making a big raise.
  Use your chips to protect good premium hands. It is a fatal error to make a small bet in early rounds when playing a premium hand.

The home stretch

As play continues and the field thins your poker strategy needs to change.
By the time four or five players are left, the blinds have most likely grown pretty large and hands like suited connectors are no longer a good idea to be playing.
For one, it costs too much to enter the pot and now with fewer players, it is unlikely you will be paid off properly.
This is where it is really important to play the best hands.
Going out in fourth or fifth place is the absolute worst because you have invested a fair amount of time by this point and you go home with no money!
Be aggressive but selective until you are definitely in the money.
Once you are in the money, play with the intention to win.
Often time’s players will settle down once they are in the money and you can take advantage of this poor strategy.
When you make it to the money, bring out all the guns and play online poker to win.

 You can find more sit and go strategy in the Sit and Go Poker Strategy section.

Author: Marcelo, from Volta Rake

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