Howard Lederer is one of the best poker
players in the world. He started his career in the dark corners of New York’s pool halls
and betting parlors. He is regarded as one the smartest players ever and has taught
numerous professionals to be better. In fact, Howard is nicknamed “the
professor”. Howard penned an article regarding sit and go strategy, that on
premise is quite right, but like a rebel student, I disagree with a major point
in it.
The point in question is the comparison of
single table sit and go tournaments to the final table of a multi table
tournament. Howard says the sit and go tourneys train you for when you get to a
multi-table tournament final table – which you may know can be months in
between appearances. He is right in the sense that that they are both
tournaments and when someone gets eliminated, no one replaces that player and
the table reduces in numbers. It’s about there the similarities end.
Most sit and go tournaments don’t last much
more than an hour at a full 9 or 10 seater. By the time you make a final table
tournament, you have been playing anywhere from 3 hours to 3 days! The big
Sunday tournaments online can last 6 or 7 hours before the final table is
seated. You only get a few 5 minute breaks, so you can well imagine not being
as “fresh” as you would be sitting down to a single table tournament. In fact,
you can be well worn, irritable, and impatient.
Making the final table also means (save for
a few select tournaments) that you are not only in the money, but have made a
substantial return on your entry fee. Some players let their guard down in that
spot and play loosely because they are already ecstatic they made so much
money! In most 9 or 10 seated sit and go tournaments only the top 3 pay prize
money, and everyone who starts out is intent on getting to that final 3.
The start of a sit and go also means the
exact same chip stack for everyone! When was the last final table you made
where everyone’s Mzone was exactly the same? In an MTT you are faced with stacks
bigger and/or smaller than yours from the very first hand. Sometimes, the
stacks of your opponents are much bigger or smaller than yours. This has a huge
impact on hand selection and position play right from the first deal. All
players at the start of a sit and go have the option of playing very tight,
without falling behind or risk of being eliminated or blinded out in the early
going.
If you really want to play a final table
“simulation” for practice, there are programs available that are much more
representative of the common situations found at an MTT final table. I have a
list of them at FullTiltPokerReport.com. I still think you are great Howard –
but can we agree to disagree here?
