Life of a Poker Pro: SNG – Play to win or don’t play at all

Poker as we know it has evolved tenfold over the past few years; it’s now far more difficult to beat games since the inception of online training tools & sites have aided players in their education. Stealing, re-stealing, representing, 3 and 4 bet bluffs seem to be standard in most variations of the game, however there seems to have been one constant: not enough people play to WIN a tournament, especially when it comes to SNGs, be it 6 or 9-handed, turbo or regular paced.

One stone cold fact about single table tournament players is that the biggest winners are the ones with the most 1st places in relation to being runner-up/cashing. Yet time and again, I see people showing immense weakness in and around the bubble in an attempt to get into the money. This is completely the wrong strategy and could lead to the deadly road of Break Even City.

Let’s say, as an example, you are playing a 6-handed $100+9 SNG on Betfair. You have made it to the 3-handed stage and through playing tight, manage to ante your way into 2nd place, but because you are short stacked have no chance heads up. Prize money = $200, a profit of $91. Sure that works, for the time being at least. Fast forward to the next tournament in the same spot and you play tight again, but your fellow short stack survives various all-ins and you yourself get so short you are forced to play a hand and bubble. So over the two tournaments you have lost money.

Now, I’m not trying to say that in certain spots you shouldn’t look to play it safe and cash, but remaining proactive and in your own destiny as much as possible will maximise your profits and/or minimise your losses. Looking at a long term strategy, you must use any situation where you feel you have an edge, so that you can come to the correct decision that will give you the best chance of winning the tournament. DON’T be afraid to go broke. If it happens, it happens.

To get more in detail using the above example, the big stack has 5000 chips, and you and the fellow short stack have 2000 chips. The big stack is obviously being very aggressive and bullying, as he knows in most cases the 2000 stacked players are trying to hang in for 2nd. What the big stack doesn’t expect is for you to be volatile and attack/call them. So rather than letting the villain continue in a groove it’s often best to catch them off guard, turn the tables & create some doubt. Remember, you will play the same guys over and over again, and erratic tendencies stick in the mind. In other words, they’ll put you down as a nutball and be more inclined to stay away from you in the future.

In this scenario, we’ll say the blinds are 100/200 and as expected, the chip leader shoves all-in from the button. The SB folds and you have Ace-Ten. If you have a similar situation time and again in tournaments and opt to fold, you are basically admitting you are playing for second place, or at best being on over-advocator of the gap concept (pushing with junk rather than calling with a marginal hand) and in the modern game that just isn’t enough to combat the kind of players that frequent the Betfair tournaments such as, for example, myself, Annette Obrestad, & Sorel Mizzi, because against the more savvy players it’s too one dimensional and you always have to keep the better players guessing and install that element of fear into them, no matter how small it may be.

You have to be willing to make the call, not all the time but some, especially if you know you are ahead and even if it is “only” a 60/40 shot. At times you will lose to the big stacks 98/KQ/55 or whatever they hold, but when you win, it’s YOU who is the chip leader and in prime position to take it down (which in this case, is $400 and not $200). Can it create bigger swings? Sure it can, but the rewards when things go your way are much greater. If you play 2 x $109 tournaments and have one cash, would you rather it be a 1st or 2nd? Better said, if whatever you did aggressive or tight, you end up bubbling in both. Do you want to look back and tell yourself you did all that you could to win and make as much money as possible, or that you tried to play it safe and you still lost? I know which one I’d rather go for.

Similarly, if it’s you who has the 5000 stack you must not sit on it. If you wait whilst the short stacks knock each other out you will at best go into heads up even stacked, perhaps at a small disadvantage due to nesting your lead. You really must stifle your opponents and make it near impossible for them to come back. Of course, this can sometimes go wrong, and I at times have bubbled whilst at one stage having 6-7000 chips 3-handed out of a possible 9000, but who is to say that wouldn’t have happened anyway? Most of your opponents will be unwilling to call all-ins with the likes of A3/22/KT, so as big stack you can push away on their blinds safe in the knowledge that they will only be calling with a big hand & they don’t come along too often, but the blinds do and you must take full advantage. Often they will take their stand when it’s far too late to make any impact or do any serious damage to your chances of winning.

That said, being aggressive is not a bed of roses; it can really send you through some rough periods, some of which can be incredibly long and arduous—often making you look like a complete tool shed. That’s why so few people adopt these tendencies, but for sure the majority of them are winning a tidy sum. If you have good reason for what you’re doing then there can be no regrets. I, for example, am proud of the fact that several solid players have a very dim view of my game. All that it confirms to me is that I am the better player as they simply don’t understand my logic & strategy, and therefore have no way to combat it. It’s like they are going into war with no definitive battle plan, just a bunch of weapons hoping to hit a lucky shot, which admittedly can happen frequently but that’s the way it goes. Remember, we are not here to make friends (although that is a bonus) but to make money. I would rather be considered terrible and rake it in than get all the kudos and scrape by.

Your aim should always be to remain as much in control as possible and always take the initiative. Never be afraid to bubble or go for the kill; the biggest rewards come with the greatest risks. If you enter a 100m sprint do you want silver, or gold? Poker is no different. Always play for 1st, and to do that you have to find a way to get all the chips on the table. Folding around and waiting for hands won’t get the job done. It’s about applying pressure with the lead, and taking calculated risks when playing catch up. Playing to get in the money should be a last resort. Anything else is the poker equivalent of the white flag.

Regards,
JPK