Things can get very complicated for you in the middle stages of a sit and go poker tournament. The size of your stack will usually determine your strategy – and if you have any ambitions to win or get cash prizes when playing online poker.
If you have a large pile, life becomes easier for you . Use it to intimidate opponents with small stacks and send them to the trunk. Don’t get carried away, though – a few reckless calls and taps make your big pile small and you’re in trouble. Use your head all the time.
If you get to the middle and have a medium-sized stack, you might consider doubling up with an all-in push when the right opportunity arises – for example, you have strong hole cards or feel a lot of weakness in your opponent. Or, if there are no doubles, you can steal enough chips to see them in a few more rounds, when more opponents could be knocked out. You can still choose battles with medium or even small stacks in the middle stages of the tournament. And when you’re the aggressor, put these chips in and push your opponents into their hands.
Wait for the opportunity to appear and move on. You can’t wait for the aces to redeem them – they probably won’t arrive. If you are lucky enough to get an early prize, bet accordingly. Otherwise you can wait when you are in late position with only one or two callers (no raiser) in front of you. This may be a sign of weakness that you could take advantage of with a big raise or all-in push. If successful, you’ve upgraded your medium-sized stack to a larger one, which can result in a cash settlement.
If you can survive and hit the “bubble” (there are four players left, first three cash points), you may find that the game gets tighter as people automatically leave and expect someone else to be a victim. You can use this to your advantage as well by using its medium size (or, hopefully, with a large, low stack) to push the one hanging in your hand and get your chips in. People who play this way are easy to identify.
Almost two cards will do if you choose your timing and victim carefully. Careful gameplay in the middle of a tournament can earn you great rewards if you are smart about how you approach it and how you use your stack to maximum effect.
Poker Tournament Strategy: Intermediate Stage Game
