Four Players Left, and You're the Chip Leader

In past Online Poker News articles, I've talked about how to play the early stages of a sit 'n' go (SNG) tournament, and how you want to shape your strategy based on your opponents' tendencies. Now let's talk about what happens when you get to the middle stages. Specifically, let's say that you're in a typical no-limit hold'em SNG, which pays the top three places. You've made it down to the final four, and you're the chip leader.

First, let's get into your opponents' heads.

The goal of many SNG players is not to win, but to finish somewhere in the top three. Coming in first is nice, of course, but I think the majority of players are generally satisfied to be in the money, and to leave the SNG with a profit. It doesn't necessarily make sense from a financial point of view, since sooner or later you need some first place finishes if you're going to make money playing SNGs. But from a psychological standpoint, it is undeniable.

Simply put, people love winning and hate losing. It's the same reason why some people win their first couple of hands in a live game and then immediately quit. They can't win in the long term by hitting and running, but it makes them feel good in the moment. Similarly, finishing third in an SNG feels many times better than finishing fourth, since that is where the line between winning and losing is so clearly drawn.

When you get down to four players, that mentality really kicks in for your opponents, especially if you're the chip leader. They figure they probably won't finish first, so they'd better not finish fourth! Therefore, they take extra precautions to make sure that they are not the one who ends up "on the bubble."

Make them pay for their caution.

With that in mind, your strategy should become clear. When you see your opponents playing defensively, you want to persistently raise pre-flop. If everyone is in survival mode, then why should you let them off the hook? Since they are just trying to make it into third place, they will surrender their blinds most of the time, hoping that someone else gets eliminated before they do. As the chip leader, you are the one best situated to take advantage of this passivity.

Every one of your opponents knows that if he loses an all-in confrontation with you, he will be the one out on his butt in fourth place. So instead of playing against you, he'll get out of your way, hoping that you'll eliminate someone else, allowing him to finish in the money. You might as well keep raising until someone shows a willingness to stand up to you.

Two short stacks are better than one.

Sometimes two players will be short stacked at the same time. Beautiful. Neither one of them wants to finish fourth, so they will end up competing to outlast one another, and that is perfect for you. Now you can raise when either one of them is in the blinds, and they will fold almost every time.

While they are playing to survive, you can be building your stack up to the point of domination. By the time they finish their contest, and one of them gets eliminated, the other one could be so short-stacked that he is almost a cinch to finish third. In fact, sometimes you don't even mind if the SNG remains four-handed! You'd have to get pretty unlucky to go from being chip leader to finishing fourth. Meanwhile, you are in such a controlling position with four players left that you want to be able to take advantage of it for as long as possible.

Sometimes you get a pesky opponent.

Most of the time, when the action gets to four-handed, you'll see your opponents tighten up their play. But sometimes you'll get an opponent who remains aggressive, even though he runs the risk of getting eliminated by you, the chip leader. That shouldn't bother you. If you pick up a strong hand, then take him on. Even if he wins, you won't be eliminated. And if you take him down, your chip lead will become even greater.

On the other hand, maybe you won't manage to find a strong hand. In that case, just stay out of his way. He is putting pressure on the other two players, the same way that you were planning to. If they never play back at him, then they will get blinded down to the point of elimination. If they do decide to take a stand, then sooner or later someone will get knocked out from an all-in confrontation. Either way, you'll still be standing when the smoke clears.

It's good to be the king.

Having the chip lead is always a good feeling. I hope that I've given you some ideas on how to best take advantage of it. It's not as nice when you are the short stack, struggling to survive. Next month, we'll talk about being in that not-so-warm-and-fuzzy state, and how to give yourself the best chance of survival. See you then.

Matt Lessinger's "Bet With Less" column appears in Card Player magazine. He can be reached at mlessinger@hotmail.com.

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