Have you ever wondered why so many articles have been written on the importance of position in poker? Simply put, it’s because it is the single most important concept in no-limit hold’em and one which, when successfully grasped, is the most profitable weapon you can have in your arsenal.
In a Sit & Go context, the importance of position is greater still. Being on the button provides you with key information about the hands you might be up against, from which you can formulate the best plan of attack (or indeed, decide to fold).
Take the example of the dreaded A-K. While the hand is powerful no matter where you are at the table, the hand becomes so much easier to play in a Sit & Go environment if you have the button by your side. Let’s elaborate.
With a traditional starting stack of 1,500 chips, you’ve enjoyed a relatively quiet first level, treading water and posting blinds to find your stack now at 1,470 with the blinds at 15/30. You then get your first ‘real’ hand, Ac-Kc, and make a standard raise to 90. Everyone folds around to the button who calls.
Out of position problems
The flop comes Qc-6d-Td, giving you two overcards and a backdoor flush draw. You make a continuation bet of 150 and the button raises to 550. You’ve managed to find yourself in a quandary. Does he have a draw? Did he just flop a marginal one-pair kind of hand or even just air? You’re left with a headache and a chipstack that has just been reduced by over 10%. The key to winning poker is being able to keep your decisions as simple as possible, so this is not good. On the flipside, it’s easy enough to see how this example works in reverse – just make sure you’re the one on the button next time.
Another key point to remember is that the button presents you with the last and best spot from which to attack the blinds. With so many players playing too wide a range from the blinds, you can punish them with some well-timed aggression using all the extra information you have by being last to act.
Love the button and poker will love you. Ignore it and you will end up with a Sit & Go hangover you could easily have avoided.
Blind stealing from the button
Of course, while having the button is a huge asset in SIt & Go's, there is a limit to its powers. As much as you need to leverage your positional advantage, you also need to recognise when it’s time to stop raising and take a breather.
The reason for this is that players are wising up to the constant aggression of players on the button and have come up with a counter-plan – they’ve started three-betting! Rather than just defending with hands such as K-Q or A-9s and then relinquishing the pot to a c-bet on most flops, players have started playing back at the button, and rightly so. With everyone having read an article about the button being the box seat, we ALL know button raises are usually just attempts at thievery.
So, how do you adjust to this when you have the button? If you find yourself up against a player who seeks to defend his blinds more with three-bets, tighten up your hand range. Hands like pocket Threes are now going to become troublesome, so think about mixing your game up and perhaps limping the button with them early on. Ultimately though, the best way to fight fire is with fire. When you open from the button, ask yourself, ‘Am I happy to commit with this hand if they reraise me again?’ Make sure that when you’re putting your chips over the line you’re bringing the big guns such as A-Q+ and 9-9+ and you’re putting yourself in a better position to handle the little blighters.
Of course, all of this depends on the blinds and how many players remain. As you get shorter stacked, opening raises for 3x when you have 11BBs becomes suicidal. If you’re happy to play the hand at all, stick them all in and leave that aggressive blind defender to call off his chips.
Players are getting smarter and are more aware than ever of button abuse, so make sure you adjust accordingly. And remember, no matter how aggressive they are, you’re the one with position.
Bullying tactics
So far we've focused mainly on preflop play. Now we’re going to look at some concepts related to postflop play and how to exert pressure from the button.
In any Sit & Go it’s important to get a grip on who you can and can’t bully, especially in earlier levels of play or when you’re facing someone equally deep-stacked. Some SNG players like to divide their opponents into two groups – bullies and rocks – and in these terms you’re ideally looking to find yourself some rocks, and preferably in the seats to your left. These tight players are likely to defend their blinds only with genuine hands, so if you find a player frequently abandoning their blinds feel free to raise into them mercilessly.
When you meet resistance from players who want to peel flops, you need to consider two criteria aside from character type: stack sizes and board texture.
Dry and wet flops
A dry flop is one that’s generally uncoordinated, with no straight or flush possibilities, such as Kc-8d-3s. A wet flop is the opposite, packed with troublesome draws that make it harder to ascertain if you’re playing against a made hand or a draw. A flop like Qd-Jd-Ts would be an example.
So how does flop texture affect your action? If you’re playing against a player whose range is likely to feature Broadway cards (such as K-J) or suited Aces, the second flop is a far harder one to move them off by bluffing. Of course, if you’ve hit that flop hard you can make yourself a pretty penny by continuing with your ‘bullying’ and hope your opponent doesn’t believe you.
Dry flops make for far easier fodder. On a K-8-3 rainbow board you’re essentially only worried about your opponent having hands like K-J or K-T, as you would expect A-K to reraise preflop. Even if you get called on the flop by second-pair type hands or weak top pairs you may be able to push your opponents off the pot by firing a second shell. Remember not to try to bully players who are obviously committed to the pot! Poker is a game that involves common sense, and if you use your head, along with some positional awareness, you’ll be able to dominate Sit & Go’s from start to finish.