SNG Tips #1: Early Stages
In a standard SNG (non-turbo), the key to surviving the early stages is to play very tight. Your loose opponents will be betting frivolously in hopes of doubling up early, and you can get trapped into a short chip stack right away if you’re not prepared to go all the way with a hand. Stay tight and let the fish execute themselves before you make any serious moves. Use this time to read your opponents so you can use their own strategies against them in the latter stages.
SNG Tips #2: Middle Stages
As the tight players hunker down to finish out the SNG, the ultimate goal is to finish in the money bubble. At a single table SNG, it’s typically the final three who get paid, so your mission is to finish in 3rd. You’ll want to be more aggressive when you find an opening, and by learning about your opponents earlier on, you can use that as a weapon to keep your stack on the rise.
SNG Tips #3: Late Stages
Once you’ve hit the money bubble, it’s time to change up your methods and shoot for #1. Knowledge is power, and knowing that you’ve already won will help give you the confidence to be even more aggressive as you try to boost your ending prize. This is no time to sit back and wait. You should know enough about your opponents at this point to take full advantage of their weaknesses. Attack!
SNG Tips #4: Know Your Limits
Playing lower buy-in SNGs will bring weaker competition, while the more expensive variety will be a lot tougher to overcome. Choose a level that suits both your budget and your skill level. You don’t want to be too over-skilled, or your strategies will go right over your opponents’ heads, but don’t take on a table of elites when you’re still learning the ropes.
SNG Tips #5: Playing 6-Max SNGs
6-max SNGs are a perfect for players who don’t have a lot of time, or simply prefer to get it over with sooner. A 6-max SNG never lasts very long, but offers the same great action of a full single table or multi-table SNG.
SNG Tips #6: Stealing Blinds
Stealing blinds is all but worthless in the early stages of an SNG. They become a little more valuable in the middle stages, but highly worthwhile towards the end. As the blinds increase, so should your attempts to steal them.
SNG Tips #7: Speed of Play
If youre an aggressive player, you’ll want to play the faster Turbo SNGs where aggression really pays off against tighter players. He blind levels increase so fast that without being a little aggressive, your stack can dwindle away before you ever get a decent hand. The standard SNGs are better for tight players who like to wait for a premium start to make a move.
SNG Tips #8: Double or Nothing SNGs
A Double or Nothing (DoN) SNG is very different from your standard SNG payout structure. As the name implies, the winners double what they paid to enter, and the losers get nothing. A $2 DoN SNG with 6 seats would have a $12 prize pool with the top three finishers each pocketing $4. You must finish in the bubble - 1st, 2nd or 3rd - and the exact position matters not. If you finish 4th, 5th or 6th, you lose. The goal is to make the bubble and nothing else matters.
SNG Tips #9: Importance of Position
When playing an SNG, or any other poker game for that matter, your position at the table should always be taken into account. If you’re in early position (out of position), you are forced to make larger bets/raises if you really want to stay in the hand. If you aren’t holding the nuts, your chip stack can suffer greatly. A small wager results in a big raise you may not be willing to call. The end result is a loss of chips with nothing to show for it. When in late position, the opposite is true. You can play weaker hands because you’ve been afforded the chance to see how your opponents acted, figuring their hand strength before you make a move.
SNG Tips #10: SNG Steps
Steps SNGs are used to get towards a larger prize or prize pool by winning a series of SNGs that start with a smaller buy-in. A lot of poker rooms offer Steps Satellite SNGs to major live poker events like the WSOP. If you’re a good SNG player, you can spend very little and gain an awesome prize, but the important thing is that you can spend that small amount time and again to reach the goal, rather than paying one large sum and hoping to win on the first try. Be sure to check out the prize structure because finishing 1st isn’t always required to move on to the next step, or may award a retry of the current SNG step.
You can use these sng tips coupled with good bankroll management to help boost your bankroll. Another great way to help your bankroll is to make use of one of our poker bonuses from one of the top online cardrooms.
