If you thought that the pressure was bad enough in the middle portion of the Sit and Go (SnG) game, wait till you get to the end game.  By now, there should only be a few players vying for the pot, so it’s time to adjust your play style once more.

Don’t Hold Back

If you’ve been keeping that aggression all pent up until now, the late game is the time to release it.  Seriously, though, the blinds are now high enough to warrant this kind of aggression from players, save those with exceptionally huge stacks.  Conservative play is for the early part of SnG.  Even if others should fold and play more passively at this point, go for gold!

Just because you’re playing more aggressively doesn’t mean you’ll play mindlessly, though.  Before you call, make sure that your hand is very, very strong for the flop.  Your hand needn’t be as strong for a raise, though, as players tend to fold then.

Keep Your Opponents Guessing

In any kind of competitive game, it pays to be unpredictable.  Patterns could be your undoing, so try to keep things interesting by becoming even trickier than you were in the middle game.

For example, if the flop isn’t terrible, check.  In all likelihood, your opponent will bet.  This will result in a considerably shorter stack for him or her after the preflop raise.  The tendency now is for him or her to attempt to get the pot, even if he or she doesn’t hit.  When your opponent goes all in, call and boot him or her out of the game.  If you had re-raised preflop instead, your opponent may have been able to escape.

Train Your Opponents’ Brains

The trick still involves making your opponent think the way you want him or her to think.  Feign weakness when you’re actually strong and you can effectively hit two birds with one stone – you’ll end up knocking your opponent out and getting a much bigger pot for yourself in the process.

Mind Games Galore

In spite of the pressure, the middle game for SnG can also be a very interesting time as this is when the players start playing more mind games with each other.

Your objective in this part of the game is to make intelligent bluffs.  If you’ve been paying close attention to your opponents since the early part of the game, you’ll probably have a good idea of which player you can bluff at this point.  In general, avoid bluffing when the stacks in question are either large or short as you’ll probably invite more calls for stacks like those.

Apply constant pressure on the more passive players.  The idea is to “train” them to respond in the way you want them to through bets, checks and folds.

Following Through

Continuation bets have a bigger role to play in the middle part of the SnG game than in the early game.  Since you’d likely been playing conservatively early on, shift your gears and start building up your stack of chips.

This time, pot size bets are the way to go.  Only check or fold if your bet is called and wait until your hand improves.  Depending on which opponent is in the hand with you, adjust and play your hand accordingly.

The Art of Deceptive Play

While aggression is dominant in the middle game, it may sometimes pay to slow play a certain hand when the time is right.  For example, try flat calling players to lull them into a fall sense of security.

Finally, free yourself from your fears and go all in on the preflop.  This is the time for doing so.  Remember, if you can at least get an average or so stack in this part of the game, you should do well in the latter part of SnG.

Choosing One’s Battles

Yes, discretion is oftentimes the better part of valor.  If you will notice, certain SnG players have the tendency to go all in early on in the game and wager all their available chips on their hand.  If that is the case, it is highly advisable that you sit back and allow these “all in maniacs” to boot each other out of the game.  Every time a player is KOd, it raises your chances of winning the money, so feel free to hold back a little when the need arises.

On Playing and Folding

Remember, the objective here is to survive until the middle and late stages of the SnG game.  The general strategy of holding back prevails here.  It is highly recommended that you slow down and let calmness reign.  If you have a marginal hand, don’t limp in.

On the other hand, in the event that you get a strong hand on the preflop, consider playing it aggressively.  To avoid having this kind of hand cracked by multiple players calling, do a raise of five to six times the amount on the big blind.  Even if someone calls, it’ll likely be a heads up, and it’ll still be more advantageous to you than if majority of your opponents call.

Remember that strategic folding is generally the way to go in the early part of the game.

The Lure of the Big Stack

Have you ever felt insecure upon seeing everyone else building up their stacks of chips while you seem to be the only one folding?  Then here’s a word of advice for you.  You don’t really need to do the same thing, at least early on in the game.  Resist the temptation to join the bandwagon as you still have two more SnG stages to play through.  In fact, the middle and the late stages are the critical times for building up your stacks.  Set yourself free from the pressure of playing your hand just for the sake of accumulating chips and reserve the heavy artillery for the battles to come.