10 Common SNG Mistakes Your Opponents Make and How to Exploit Them

Profit in Poker Comes From Opponents Errors.
This Article Looks At 10 Common SNG Mistakes That You Can Profit From Today!

Let me ask you a quick question. Where does your profit come from at the poker tables? It comes from the mistakes make by your opponents right!! If everyone played 'perfect' poker then over time nobody would win from anyone else - and the house would win due to their rake. While it can lead to swings (variance) big poker profits come from finding opponents who make the biggest mistakes.

Fortunately SNG Tournaments provide more opportunities for your opponents to make than almost any other form of poker! This article briefly looks at 10 common errors and suggests ways to exploit them. The errors outlines below are covered in depth in my acclaimed (and free!) SNG Poker course 'The $16 Per Hour SNG Blueprint' we will link to this again at the bottom of this artile - along with a link to our the main SNG Strategy Articles page here at SNG Planet - the single largest collection of quality SNG strategy articles anywhere online!

common sit n go mistakes

  1. People play too many hands while the blinds are low. Hands which are likely to be second best on the flop such as an Ace with a small Kicker can cost a lot of chips. Playing only solid starting hands will avoid these issues. Those chips can be used more effectively in the later stages. Early on tight is right but 'tighter is righter'!
     
  2. Entering multi-way pots, without regard to position with medium-strength hands. Sure that medium pair (JJ for example) is strong pre-flop, but opponents will flat call raises in multi-way pots all the time. This is a recipe for disaster when 1 or even 2 over cards flop. Your equity in a 4 way pot after the flop could be as little as 20%. Either play these hands strongly to reduce the number of opponents or fold.
     
  3. Not adjusting raising and calling ranges when blinds go up and number of players go down. In the middle stages, your open-raising standards need to go down with the reduced number of players. At the same time calling ranges should be tightened. Reduced implied odds for small pairs (just one example) mean they quickly become unplayable with a raise ahead. The gap concept is king in the middle stages.
     
  4. Bad play from the blinds is another common mid-game error. If you never defend your big-blind you will quickly become short-stacked, conversely someone who always defends will soon be trapped for a big-pot. Find out how to successfully play the blinds and your bankroll will quickly grow!
     
  5. People do not understand the dynamic of the bubble. Errors come in many forms here (detailed in the full poker eBook) but mainly concern lack of awareness of stack sizes and calling without premium values. Most of your ROI (Return on investment) comes from the Bubble; make sure you know your correct all-in / fold ranges here!

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    ACR Poker Mark's Rec

  6. The Independent Chip Model (ICM) is a great help for the serious SNG player. This translates chip stacks into prize pool equity and can help further improve late game play. Opponents who make the mistake of ignoring ICM are costing themselves money... make sure you are not one of them.
     
  7. In the money play requires an adjustment that most opponents will not make, the awareness of changes in peoples calling ranges and the effect this has on the cards you can raise with. Once in the money you can play for first - make sure you do it correctly.
     
  8. When the blinds are more than 10% of your stack it is possible to play heads-up poker in such a way as to become mathematically 'Unexploitable'. A "The $16 Per Hour SNG Blueprint " free SNG strategy course explains the principals behind this and, importantly, explains when not to use this strategy!! (Read Poker eBook review)
     
  9. Trap hands is the next error to mention, Ace-King is a great example of a hand played horribly by many opponents. Make sure you are aware of common trap-hands and avoid the mistakes your opponents make with them - more pots coming your way means a bigger bankroll at the end of the night!
     
  10. Playing without regard to table selection / poker-room selection and bonuses. Do not fall into the trap of fighting for profits with too many other winning players. Set your pride to one side and play at the softest sites with the biggest SNG bonuses - you wallet will thank you! Visit our Tournament Poker Sites area find out even more about the best rooms and bonus offers.

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