Sit and go
SnG Heads up strategy for starters
Heads-Up poker is the most complex form of Poker. At 9-max and 6-max tables it is more likely that you will maintain certain “guide lines” to play your game. However Heads-Up depends more on reads and there aren’t that many guide lines to play with.
The Starting-phase: 50-30 BB
This is at the beginning of the SNG. Most of the time you will get an impression of your opponent during this phase. Does he or she plays a lot of hands? Are there a lot of 3-bets? Does he or she c-bets every flop?It’s important that you take the initiative in the hand. A lot of times we fold suited-connectors during a 6-max game, during a Heads-Up we standard open it. Hands like Ax, Kx, Q9 and J8 are being played the same way. Many players make the decision to bet 3 BB pre-flop. My advice is: don’t. I’d choose to make it 2 BB. We do this because we want to increase our edge. Edge basically means “how much we are better than our opponent”. If we have for instance a big edge it means we are much better. Because we have an edge we want to keep the poker as deepstack as possible. This is pure logic. If a person plays for the first time, and he or she plays against Phil Ivey and they both have 3 BB then that person would regularly win from Ivey. If that same person plays a Heads-Up SNG against Phil Ivey and they both have 1000 BB then Ivey would win almost every time, he doesn’t have to take that much risk and he could just wait and grab his chance. By opening 2BB you will keep the pots small and increase your edge. If your opponent 3-bets you, you will just lose 2 BB instead of 3 BB. That takes us to our next point. How are we supposed to play flops? In 6-max games it’s quite easy to fold bottom pairs (the lowest pair) but in a Heads-Up game it is quite a strong hand. You’ll only hit a flop 1 out of 3 times, keep this is mind. If your opponent c-bets every flop you can conclude that he has been bluffing for sure. A reaction to this could be to raise his c-bet. On the flop you should keep the pots small, just like pre-flop, bet ½ pot. You might think that if you have a strong hand that you would like to get as much value as you can? That’s right, but you can’t bet a lot if you have a strong hand and make very tiny bets when you have a weak hand. If you do this people will most likely figure out how you play and that’s just the thing that you don’t want. However you could look at this from another perspective. By betting ½ pot you are investing a small amount of chips to win relatively a lot. Your opponent won’t be able to figure out if you have a strong or a weak hand by analyzing your betting patterns.
Mid-phase 15-30BB
By the time we reach this phase we have an image of our opponent. We both have a 1500 stacksize and the blinds are 30/60, which gives us 25 BB. The difference is that from now on there will be a lot more action pre-flop and a lot less post-flop. Don’t try to look at too much flops. You only have 25 BB and there isn’t much space left to take a peak at those flops. Before you know it you’ll lose some and your stack is all messed up. During this phase you have played quite some hands with your opponent and you’ll probably have some reads as well. If you have the idea that Villian plays a lot of flops then c-bet every flop. Do you notice that Villian 3-bets a lot? Show some guts and 4-bet it (even if you have a hand which isn’t as good as his) This deters a lot.
The ending phase: 15-1BB
So this is it, the absolute endphase. Forget flops, it’s push or fold from now on. We both have a 1500 stack and the blinds are 75/150. In the begin and midphase you’ll use quite some reads but those aren’t going to help you now. You only have 10 BB left and you can’t afford to fold your button and BB 4 times in a row. If you have less than 10 BB you should always push. If you have between 11 and 15 BB then it depends on your opponents playing style. If you are playing against a loose player you can choose to push because often at a normal raise he will choose to 3-bet it. With a tight player you could try to cheaply steels his blinds.
This was my article about basic Heads-Up SNG poker. It’s extremely important to cherish your edge. You shouldn’t make weird pot bet bluffs because if you do this you are taking too much risk and you are making the pots way too big and because of this you are decreasing your edge. You are better than your opponent so why take the risk? Always keep this in mind:
Edge + Volume = $
Estrategia básica para Sit & go´s de 2 jugadores
El Póker Heads Up (HU) (uno contra uno) es una de las formas más complejas de Póker. En mesas de 9 o 6 jugadores es más probable que uno pueda mantener cierta línea de juego siguiendo algunas guías o reglas preestablecidas. Sin embargo, en HU todo depende mucho más de las lecturas que uno haga del juego y no hay demasiadas guías para seguir.
La fase inicial 50 a 30 ciegas grandes (BB)
Esto es al principio del torneo, en general en esta fase te vas a poder hacer una impresión de tu oponente. ¿Juega muchas manos? ¿Realiza muchos 3-bets? ¿Hace apuestas de continuación (c-bets) en todos los flops?
Es importante que tomes la iniciativa en la mano. Muchas veces vamos a tirar suited connectors en un juego de 6-max, durante un HU vamos a abrir con ellos. Manos como Ax, Kx, Q9 y J8 también van a ser jugadas de la misma manera. Muchos jugadores toman la decisión de subir 3 BB preflop. Mi consejo es NO LO HAGAN. Yo prefiero aumentar 2 BB. Hacemos esto porque queremos aumentar nuestra ventaja. Nuestra ventaja es: “que tanto mejores somos que nuestro oponente”. Si somos mucho mejores, vamos a tener mucha mayor ventaja. Si tenemos ventaja sobre nuestro oponente vamos a tratar de mantener el juego deepstack. Es pura lógica, si un principiante juega contra Phil Ivey en HU con 10 BB cada uno, en algunas ocasiones el principiante le va a ganar a Ivey, pero si ambos tienen 1000 BB, el principiante ganará algunas manos pero el torneo lo va a ganar Ivey la gran mayoría de las veces ya que puede esperar a su oportunidad de jugar las manos para ganar.
Abriendo con 2 BB vamos a mantener los pozos pequeños y aumentar nuestra ventaja. Si tu oponente hace un 3-bet y te tiras, vas a perder 2BB en vez de 3. Lo que nos lleva al próximo punto:
¿Cómo se supone que juguemos post flop?
En juegos con 6 jugadores es bastante fácil tirar bottom pairs (el par armado con la carta más baja de la mesa) pero en HU esa es una mano bastante buena. Solo vas a ligar algo en el flop 1 de cada 3 veces, recuerda eso. Si tu oponente hace apuestas de continuación en todos los flops puedes llegar a la conclusión que ha estado tirando faroles con total certeza. Una reacción a esto puede ser aumentar su c-bet. En el fop, quieres mantener los pozos pequeños, igual que preflop, apuesta ½ pozo entonces. Puedes pensar que si tienes una buena mano quisieras apostar más para sacarle valor, es cierto pero no puedes apostar mucho con una mano grande y hacer apuestas muy pequeñas con manos pequeñas. Si lo haces, tu oponente se va a dar cuenta de tu línea de juego y no quieres eso.
Sin embargo, puedes ver esto desde otra perspectiva: Apostando ½ pozo estas invirtiendo una pequeña cantidad de fichas para ganar relativamente mucho. Tu oponente no será capaz de descifrar si tienes una mano fuerte o una débil analizando tu patrón de apuestas.
Fase media 15-30 BB
Para el momento que llegamos a esta parte ya tenemos una imagen armada de nuestro oponente. Ambos tenemos 1500 fichas y las ciegas de 30/60, lo que nos da 25 BB. La diferencia ahora es que va a haber bastante más acción preflop y mucho menos post-flop.
No trates de ver demasiados flops. Solo tienes 25 BB y no hay demasiado margen para dar una mirada a esos flops. Cuando quieras darte cuenta habrás perdido un par de esas manos y tu stack va a estar echo un desastre. Durante esta parte del torneo ya habrás jugado bastantes manos contra tu oponente y ya tienes algunas lecturas que puedes utilizar. Si tienes la idea de que el villano juega muchas manos, entonces vas a hacer apuestas de continuación en todos los flops. ¿Notaste que el villano hace muchos 3-bets? Muestra un poco de valor y empieza a hacer 4-bets (incluso si tu mano no es tan buena como la de el) eso disuade a muchos.
La fase final: 15 – 1 BB
Listo, eso es todo, la fase final esta aquí. Olvídate de los flops, de ahora en adelante es mandar all in o tirarse (push or fold en ingles). Ambos tenemos 1500 fichas pero las ciegas ahora son de 75/150. En las fase inicial y media has usado algunas lecturas del villano pero eso no va a ayudarte ahora. Solo tienes 10BB restantes y no puedes darte el lujo de tirarte cuando estas en el Button y BB 4 veces seguidas. Si tienes menos de 10 BB deberías ir all in siempre. Si tienes entre 11 y 15 BB entonces depende un poco del estilo de juego de tu oponente. Si estas contra un jugador muy loose y agresivo puedes optar por mandar all in porque con una aumento normal muchas veces va a hacer 3-bet. Contra un jugador más tigth puedes tratar de robarle las ciegas más barato.
Bien, ese fue mi artículo sobre estrategia básica para sit and goe´s en HU. Es extremadamente importante cuidar tu ventaja. No deberías hacer faroles raros del tamaño del pozo porque tomas demasiados riesgos, armas pozos demasiado grandes y eso disminuye tu ventaja. Tienes que ser mejor que tu oponente, así que si lo eres ¿Para que tomar riesgos? Siempre recuerda esto:
Ventaja + stacks grandes = $$
Basic info about SnG's
Basic info about sng’s
The benefits and disadvantages of sng’s
Every game has its benefits and his disadvantages. The variance by sng’s is pretty high. At cashgames you are able to sit with 100BB constantly and by sng’s that is not the case. Because of that you cannot exploit your edge a lot. The result of that is that the variance will get higher. Another disadvantage is that you will need an hour (at minimum) for a sng. Most of the time a STT takes about 50 min, calculate the time which it takes to start too that and you are over an hour. You can play a cashgame for 30 minutes if you want to. Another one is that you can’t grow that much with playing sng’s. The biggest online winners are all cashgamers. Ofcourse sng’s do have their benefits. If you master a solid standard then it is quite easy to beat. You can learn this very quick and in cashgames you won’t. In cashgames you will come across a lot more difficult spots and therefore it takes more time to learn it. Most of the time the players who are good at sng’s are also good in MTT’s and also the end game of it. Sng-players are used to play with stacks who aren’t deep and therefore they are experienced in it. If you can’t decide what to play then just make some decision. Choose for the thing that pulls at you the most.
Bankroll management
A frequently asked question is: “what kind of bankroll management do I need to maintain?” If you are playing cashgames then that’s an easy question. You only have to look at the limit. If you are playing sng’s then it is a different story. You need to keep the ITMER, buy-in, if it is a turbo or not all in mind. You can imagine that you need less buy ins for a deepstack 9-players sng then for a 180 players turbo sng. If you keep yourself to the below scheme you can are able to play pretty safe.
Volume
It’s important to play with a lot of volume because the variance is high. If you beat $16 (9 players) sng’s with a ROI (return of investment) of 20% (which is good) then you still only win $3,6 for every sng you play. Assume that one sng takes about an hour you still only earn $3,6 an hour and that is not an hourly salary which will make you rich. It is important to attempt to reach the maximum from your profit(highest possible hourly salary). Let’s take another example. If you have a 15% ROI at $3,25 while playing 10 tables at the same time that will earn you more money. You, yourself need to figure out what is the highest profitable point. You need to learn to play a lot of volume, it is a process that everyone has to go through. If you are only able to play 2 tables at the same time then that is also a sign of level. You still have to think a lot about situations and that takes time. If it takes time the result is that you aren’t able to play a lot of tables. As you grow in your skill a lot more “standard situations” will occur and that allows you to play more tables. A commonly used method to play at more tables is to constantly add one table to your amount. For instance you keep yourself to it that you will add one table each week. At PokerStars you are able to choose between tiled and cascade. The benefit of tiled is that you will see a lot of showdowns and it gives you a good overview. The disadvantage of it is that you cannot play that much tables (12+). The benefit of cascade is that you are able to play a lot of tables. The disadvantage is that if you respond too late you will wind up siting out which can lead to a loss in stack and you are completely unaware of it. Also you don’t have a lot reads and it’s not the best option for a nice overviews. There is also a difference between playing constantly or playing sets. The benefit of playing sets is that you are constantly in the same fase from your sng(early stage, midstage and endgame). The disadvantage is that you are playing a lot less sng’s then if you were playing constantly. The disadvantage from playing constantly is that you are different blind levels all the time. If this doesn’t bother to you then it’s recommended to play constantly. You will play more games an hour which means that your hourly salary is also higher.
The use of Holdem Manager and PokerTracker in sng’s
HM(Holdem Manager) or PT(PokerTracker) were actually designed for cashgames. During these days it is also used in a lot in sng’s. An important thing to keep in mind is your HUD(which is aimed at cashgames). You won’t have that much on the 4bet percentage in sng’s because it is rare. Look at the VPIP and PFR percentages for a guess at the level of your opponent. A BIG disadvantage is that stats are able to deceive you. Your opponent will always play a lot more aggressively in a HU then at the beginning of a 9-max sng. 36/26 looks like a donk to you then maybe but 40 hands could possibly be played in a HU sng.
Basic info about Sit and Go
The benefits and disadvantages of sng’s
Every game has its benefits and his disadvantages. The variance by sng’s is pretty high. At cashgames you are able to sit with 100BB constantly and by sng’s that is not the case. Because of that you cannot exploit your edge a lot. The result of that is that the variance will get higher. Another disadvantage is that you will need an hour (at minimum) for a sng. Most of the time a STT takes about 50 min, calculate the time which it takes to start too that and you are over an hour. You can play a cashgame for 30 minutes if you want to. Another one is that you can’t grow that much with playing sng’s. The biggest online winners are all cashgamers. Ofcourse sng’s do have their benefits. If you master a solid standard then it is quite easy to beat. You can learn this very quick and in cashgames you won’t. In cashgames you will come across a lot more difficult spots and therefore it takes more time to learn it. Most of the time the players who are good at sng’s are also good in MTT’s and also the end game of it. Sng-players are used to play with stacks who aren’t deep and therefore they are experienced in it. If you can’t decide what to play then just make some decision. Choose for the thing that pulls at you the most.Bankroll management
A frequently asked question is: “what kind of bankroll management do I need to maintain?” If you are playing cashgames then that’s an easy question. You only have to look at the limit. If you are playing sng’s then it is a different story. You need to keep the ITMER, buy-in, if it is a turbo or not all in mind. You can imagine that you need less buy ins for a deepstack 9-players sng then for a 180 players turbo sng. If you keep yourself to the below scheme you can are able to play pretty safe.SoortStake# buy-in Turbo# buy-in Non-TurboSTT(6-9 players)0-5.5$6545 6-11$8060 12-27$11580 28$-39$140100 40$-60$180120 61$-119$225150 18-27 players0-5.5$7050 6-11$9065 12-27$12085 28-39$150110 40-60$190140 45 players0-5.5$7550 6-11$10075 12-27$140100 28-39$180130 40-60$250175 180 players0-5.5$10075 6-11$12585 12-27$175100 28-39$250120
Volume
It’s important to play with a lot of volume because the variance is high. If you beat $16 (9 players) sng’s with a ROI (return of investment) of 20% (which is good) then you still only win $3,6 for every sng you play.Assume that one sng takes about an hour you still only earn $3,6 an hour and that is not an hourly salary which will make you rich. It is important to attempt to reach the maximum from your profit(highest possible hourly salary). Let’s take another example. If you have a 15% ROI at $3,25 while playing 10 tables at the same time that will earn you more money. You, yourself need to figure out what is the highest profitable point. You need to learn to play a lot of volume, it is a process that everyone has to go through. If you are only able to play 2 tables at the same time then that is also a sign of level. You still have to think a lot about situations and that takes time. If it takes time the result is that you aren’t able to play a lot of tables. As you grow in your skill a lot more “standard situations” will occur and that allows you to play more tables.
A commonly used method to play at more tables is to constantly add one table to your amount. For instance you keep yourself to it that you will add one table each week. At PokerStars you are able to choose between tiled and cascade. The benefit of tiled is that you will see a lot of showdowns and it gives you a good overview. The disadvantage of it is that you cannot play that much tables (12+). The benefit of cascade is that you are able to play a lot of tables. The disadvantage is that if you respond too late you will wind up siting out which can lead to a loss in stack and you are completely unaware of it. Also you don’t have a lot reads and it’s not the best option for a nice overviews.
There is also a difference between playing constantly or playing sets. The benefit of playing sets is that you are constantly in the same fase from your sng(early stage, midstage and endgame). The disadvantage is that you are playing a lot less sng’s then if you were playing constantly. The disadvantage from playing constantly is that you are different blind levels all the time. If this doesn’t bother to you then it’s recommended to play constantly. You will play more games an hour which means that your hourly salary is also higher.
The use of Holdem Manager and PokerTracker in sng’s
HM(Holdem Manager) or PT(PokerTracker) were actually designed for cashgames. During these days it is also used in a lot in sng’s. An important thing to keep in mind is your HUD(which is aimed at cashgames). You won’t have that much on the 4bet percentage in sng’s because it is rare.Look at the VPIP and PFR percentages for a guess at the level of your opponent. A BIG disadvantage is that stats are able to deceive you. Your opponent will always play a lot more aggressively in a HU then at the beginning of a 9-max sng. 36/26 looks like a donk to you then maybe but 40 hands could possibly be played in a HU sng.
