Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNGs
If you enjoy playing Sit N Go’s you might want to try out the Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNGs. Their is really good value to playing them if you take advantage of the tournament structure. The only online poker room tha offers this structure is Full Tilt Poker. You can sign up for a Full Tilt Poker account today using the special TOPFIVEPOKER Full Tilt Poker REFERRAL CODE and receive a 100% on up to $600 first time Full Tilt Poker deposit bonus. Using this Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNG strategy is easy.
1/3 of the players in the tournament get paid
This is different from most 18 player sit and go’s where the norm is that the top 4 players cash. Because so many players cash you can play an extremely tight style and hang on to your chips.
There are two tables playing the same tournament – You can use this to advantage by looking at the other table during the bubble time to see if there are any players that are about to bust out. Other players are going to be weak players – Since these Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNGs are a part of a larger series of them, the weaker player try to work up. They hope they can get lucky and turn their cheap buy in all the way to the top tiers. These are going to be weaker players than the higher tiers and you should be able to out play them.
These are the reasons you can beat these special poker SNGs by using these poker SNG tips. Now let’s talk about how you actually do beat them.
Top Five Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNG Tips
A lot of the no limit hold’em tips that you have already heard apply to this format. There are a few that even the poker pros would want you to know. Here is the list of the Top Five Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNG Tips:
1. Control the Pace- If you are watching the other poker tables, you can slow down the amount of hands you play on your table. This will cause them to pay more blinds which will hurt the shorter stacks on the table. If you are short stacked then you need to try to quicken the pace of the game because you want to see more hands for the small blind.
2.Play TAG Early- Your goal is mainly to wait out all the other players and not play too many hands. It is very possible to cash in one of these tournaments and never play a hand. However, if you get a premium hand such as AA, KK, QQ, or AK; make sure you bet at least 4x times the big blind. You don’t want to give hands like small suited connectors the correct pot odds to call and catch a better hand than your big pair.
3.Push/Fold Mode- Once the blinds increase to a point where you have less than 10 times the big blind it’s time for you to start either shoving all in or folding. The time for calling and raising 4 times the big blind have ended. It wouldn’t make much sense to raise 3-4x big blinds and then fold when someone shoves. You would be just throwing away chips. Shoving all in will maximize your fold equity and help you earn more chips on average.
4.Manage the Blinds- Once it gets down to about 7 or 8 players the blinds will be massive. At this time it would be smart for you to start watching the clock as to when the blinds will increase and do your best to be in the dealer position when the increase occurs. The 200 chips you save could be the difference between cashing and bubbling.
5.Avoid the Bubble- If you use this strategy and don’t find any big hands throughout the tournament chances are you will have a shorter stack once the final table rolls around. This is when you want to avoid the bubble. You need to be aware of the chip counts of all the other players, especially the short stacks and know if they are going to be blinded down before you or not.
If they are you can wait and hope that another player takes them out when they are forced to go all-in. Or, if you have the shortest stack, you should look for any places to get your money in smart. This includes when you have a big hand out of position or even when you have a moderate hand near the button and everyone in front of you folded.
On the flip side, if you did manage to double up with a couple good hands during the early stages of the tournament and are now near the top of the leader board with enough chips to likely carry you into the money, you have to be careful not to risk those chips when it is unnecessary. Playing smart while you are winning is a great way to avoid Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNG variance. This includes not taking on other large stacks. If a big stack raises and you have anything less than AA or KK you would be smart to lay it down because the chances are you will cash whether you call or not, and there is no difference in prize for 1st or 5th. You will also be in position to pick on the blinds when the tournament is on the bubble. Since everyone else will be playing tight, you can muscle them around with your chip stack.
Sign Up to Play Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNGs
If Tier 1 and Tier 2 SNGs sound interesting, you can sign up to play them at Full Tilt Poker. You can read our Full Tilt Poker Review if you need more information about the poker room. If you are a first time player, you will receive a 100% up to $600 deposit bonus. Just make sure you use our TOPFIVEPOKER Full Tilt Poker REFERRAL CODE – TOP5POKER – when you sign up.
