pkr _ in the money! how to finish off

8/10/2019 PKR _ in the Money! How to Finish Off

1/6

5/01/2012 PKR In the money! How to finish off your Sit & Go

1/6www.pkr.com/en/raise-your-game/sit-and-go/sitandgo3-1of3/

469 Articles

Seach aie o game

Search Raise Yor Game

Raie o game/ Si & Go aeg/ In he mone! Ho o finih of...

In the mone! How to finish off our

Sit & Go

Find o ho o ge ahead of he pack and a inning Si & Go'

B Phil Shaon Thda 2 Jl 2009 10:00

1Recommend

Geing ead o hffle he cad

Find out how to crush the mone stage of a Sit & Go, and how to adjust

our pla to get ahead of the pack

Alhogh hee i a lo of dicion on bbble aeg and ho impoan i i

o o in-ae, making he coec adjmen once o each he endgame

and giing oelf maimm opponi fo addiional pofi i alo ke. If o

make i o he mone in a PKR en-plae Si & Go hee ill be hee plae

lef and each of hem ill alead be gaaneed 20% of he piepool.Theefoe i make ene o ignoe ha mone and ea he endgame a if a

ne onamen ha begn.


2/6



In this new tournament the first player out gets nothing, second place gets10% extra and first gets 30% extra. Based on this approach we can see that inthe endgame it becomes correct to change your strategy and focus onwinning. The Independent Chip Model also tells us the same. While beinginvolved in coin-flip situations, or getting knocked out when a very short stackexists will still be detrimental to you, the effect is far less than on the bubble.

Plaing in the mone

With even stacks three-handed in a $10 Sit & Go there will still be $40 to playfor, and each stack will have equity of $13.33. But doubling up means thatincreases to $23.33, reducing the edge you need to have when all-in withoutpot odds to around 57% or greater.

For this reason when three-handed you want to play more aggressively and behappier taking marginal gambles than on the bubble. You can also play drawsand reraise your opponents more aggressively as getting called and losing isless important now than accumulating chips. And once in the money youropponents will often open lighter and fold if the blinds are still shallow.

Adjusting to high blinds

Of course a lot of the time the blinds will be very high at this point with playerswaiting each other out on the bubble, so again you need to adjust your all-inand calling ranges for this. On the bubble you could often move all-in with anytwo cards in the small blind, however playing three-handed like this would be amistake. The big blind should be more willing to call you and gamble in thehope of winning the event. Therefore, while you can still move all-in with lots ofhands, folding the worst should definitely become part of your strategy.

Stack considerations

With equal stacks you should be prepared to play more aggressively and takemarginal gambles, however typically there will be differences in the relativestack sizes. If these differences are extreme it is worth adjusting from thestandard strategies. For example, when playing with a smaller second place

stack against a very short third place stack, but a massive chip leader, its notworth going over the top with your gambles, as this could cost you a secondplace finish. In this example there is a high probability that you will be able tolock up an additional 10%, but the chances of you winning overall are pretty


3/6



small. Therefore avoiding the big stack with all but strong hands is now

advisable, although it is not normall necessar to take this as far as on the

bubble and fold hands like A-K.

If ou have a dominating stack and have prospered from bubble pla to gain a

massive chip lead then ou still have considerable leverage. The other plaers

are now more likel to pla for second and let ou continue accumulatingchips. If the are both quite short with stacks of 5-10 big blinds ou can move

in with most hands from the button and almost all hands from the small blind

for up to 15 big blinds.

If there is one smaller stack ou will need to be more cautious in our

approach. The short stack will be looking to take marginal gambles and ou

need to tone down our aggression in relation to them. But this situation gives

ou the opportunit to attack the second place stack even more aggressivel

as he will not benefit significantl from doubling up through ou. If he does

decide to, it puts that additional 10% at risk.

Head o head

Once ou reach the heads-up of a Sit & Go, it's time to shift strateg again.

During most of a Sit & Go ou are keeping ICM considerations and paout

jumps clearl in mind. Once ou reach heads-up, ou are simpl plaing forwhatever is left between first and second, so an other considerations go out

the window. For this reason ou need to re-adjust and simpl consider our

chips to have a linear value, then pla based on that.

If ou suspect an all-in call would be a 50/50 and ou alread have chips

committed then ou should now automaticall want to take that gamble. This is

ver different from three-handed where with other plaers remaining, doing so

might be a bad idea since the benefit from it.

Figh or fligh

When ou get heads-up, ou will tpicall find that either the blinds are ver

high and that the effective stacks are quite short (below 15 big blinds)

meaning ou should usuall adopt an all-in or fold strateg. If ou are deeper

(above 15 big blinds) then there is room for ou to make small raises, limp andpla post flop. But most times it will be push or fold.

Plaing all-in or fold is quite simple and is essentiall a solved game in that


4/6



Shae

optimal play charts can be found in books such as The Mathematics of Poker,

or Secrets of Sit & Gos. These charts give you maximum shoving or calling

values for all hands.

However it is worth remembering that most players play too tight in such

scenarios and that you can move all-in with a lot of hands from the small blind

for 10 big blinds such as 9-7o, or J-3s. Similarly if your opponent is very tightthen you can move in with more hands than these tables recommend. But

remember that if players are shoving with a smaller range of hands than is

optimal, you need to call with less hands to compensate for this.

Going deepe

With deeper stacks there is little point moving all-in and risking all your chips

when standard raises to around three big blinds will often do the same job. If

you are called you can still afford to continuation bet, giving yourself two

chances to win. The most important thing about playing heads-up when

deeper is adjusting to your opponent and coming up with a winning strategy.

For example if they are too tight you can raise most buttons, but if they are

aggressive you may need to tighten up but be prepared to call all-in with some

marginal hands like small pairs, weak Aces and high cards.

1Recommend

Commen

great...got it.boy are they in trouble now next time i make final table.

Comment by craigmckain- 04/03/10 (Report)

hey, is it possible to have this text in dutch,yhanks i a would apriciat it !!!!


5/6



Comment b DeMAXman- 03/07/09 (Report)

Got 2 know when 2 holdem & when 2 foldem

Comment bjamestocool- 03/07/09 (Report)

Leave a comment

You must be logged into post a comment.

Register

3 comments

Shae

Relaed link

1. The basics of reading a poker hand

2. Aces rock

3. The new Sit & Go landscape

4. Folding our wa to (some of) the mone5. Surviving tilt

6. The big paoff

1. Control Commission

2. Eighteen plus

3. Gamecare certification

4. Gambling Therap5. ICRA

6. Gaming Associates

7. Gambleaware


6/6



Please gamble responsibl. For more information and advice visit

www.gambleaware.co.uk

Licensed b the Alderne Gambling Control Commission and the UK

Gambling Commission

pkr _ in the money! how to finish off

Documents