Double thru Sit & Go's are not as simple as they may first appear. Playing tight at the beginning is generally a solid approach, but what do you do after a couple of players have been knocked out and the blinds are starting to increase? The middle game strategy of a Double thru requires you to take stock of what has happened so far in the Sit & Go and weigh up your overall situation as you move towards the bubble. Keep a close eye on your ranking, how many players are left, when the blinds are due to go up and what the biggest stack is, as well as your own chip count in relation to your neighbours.
One solitary big stack can radically change the average stack needed for the other players to win and you need to factor that in when there are just a couple more knockouts needed. Calculate what that number would be (excluding the big stack, of course) and see how it changes as players are knocked out and alter your play accordingly. If you have over the average chips you can obviously sit back and avoid all but the most risk-free situations until you start falling below that average, hoping the shorter stacks get knocked out. If the average is 2,000 and you have 1,750, your strategy should depend mostly on what the other stacks sizes are and how many players need to be eliminated for you to win. If there are still seven or eight players left and no big stack the game could go on for some time, so trying to win a few more pots where possible is advisable or you’ll find yourself turning into the player that everyone is waiting to get knocked out.
Under pressure
Any time you are in a marginal position you must consider the timing of the blind increases. These will be key in terms of forcing you to make a move if you are a shorter stack, or allowing you to sit back if you have a decent stack. Will the blinds increase before you, and are they likely to decimate any short stacks before you? You should also remember that if you are one of the shorter stacks you have nothing to lose and should be trying to attack the scared middle stacks with all-ins while you still have enough to hurt them. As few as four to five big blinds can still give you fold equity at this stage of the game. Don’t play scared.
Read the previous in this series
Read the next in this series