Full Tilt Pro Offers Advice For Sit n’ Go Play

Full Tilt Pro Howard Lederer Offers Great Advice For Sit n’ Go Play

At Full Tilt Poker the pros are always willing and ready to help Full Tilt players improve their game! And Howard Lederer proves it by offering some great advice for playing the bubble in nine-handed Sit n' Gos.

Howard points out that the most crucial point of these one table Sit n' Gos that generally pay out for only the top three positions, comes when the game is down to only four players. The reason for this is that three of the remaining players will be in the money and one will leave the table with disappointment in the knowledge that nothing has been gained. This is the most unpredictable time of the game where stacks are dwindling while the blinds continue to grow and everyone is out for the win.

Mastering the bubble is the best way to make playing Sit & Gos worthwhile Howard advises. Since first place winners at Full Tilt Poker take 50% of the prize pool, while second gets 30% and third receives 20%, you can be fooled by that 20%. However, when three players are left at the table, 60% of the cash has actually already paid out leaving the remaining players battling for 40% of the prize money. To get your share, you'll have to make, "tough decisions and tight lay-downs to make sure that you get a piece of that 60%," Howard says.

Howard gives the example of being in a Sit & Go, where you are on the bubble, are in second with 3,000 chips and the blinds are 100/200. You pull A[d]-7[d] in the big blind and the chip leader raises to 600 on the button. When the small blind folds you call the additional 400. The flop is Q-8-3 with two cards being diamonds. Here, you check, and then your opponent puts you all-in for about double the size of the pot. This gives you only about 3-to-2 pot odds for a call. Because it is not early in the game and the money bubble has burst - do you call?

Here you are, on the bubble with 60% of the prize money about to be won. Calling puts you at 50/50 odds of being the player whose game ends on the bubble and wins the least. According to Howard, the structure of the Sit & Go should affect your decision. When the bubble bursts you should change your approach significantly. Since the last three players are actually battling for 40% of the prize pool, shifting from third place to second gets you an additional 10%, yet going from third to first, wins you 30% more. This means you have to do what is required to take first place, without worrying that you will finish third. According to Howard, now is the time to put your chips at risk to gain a stack that will make you a winner.

Howard also advises that you not let anyone push you around with a hand such as J-9 or Ace-rag. He says that you should, "take a stand and put your chips in the middle," rather than watching your chips feed the ante and then hobbling into second place instead of taking the win. Once you reach the money, the point is to win the most possible.

Grab a seat in a Sit n' Go at Full Tilt Poker today - and put Howard Lederer's advice to the real test!