Poker Online Sit and Go Tournaments

Yesterday I decided to take a swing at a few sit and go tournaments. It has always been the one kind of play I enjoyed consistently online. I always enjoyed the aspect of the final table as well as the fact that if you finish in the top three, you are in the money.

Back a few years ago when I used to play more frequently online and actually believed it was a viable source of an income stream for me, I would hit up the sit and gos on a regular basis. Originally, when I was playing at a particular site where I tended to have a winning record, these single table tournaments were good to me. I found that people played loose, made a lot of mistakes and it wasn't long before I was in contention to finish in the money. I enjoyed it.

I feel like things have changed. Again, this is a computer program we are talking about so I know it is odd to say it feels like things are different but it really did feel that way. The play seems to be the same from the players. It has remained loose and unpredictable. The outcomes and the combinations are what seem very different.

For example, I was sitting with pocket kings in late position and saw an early position raiser boost it up to three times the big to continue, followed immediately by another player who pushed all in. Now this always drives me a little insane online but I have come to expect it of the sit and go tournaments. What made me think about it for a couple moments was that it was still early and there was no reason to risk my whole stack. I figured I might just sit and wait for the maniacs to play each other out. My patience got the better of me and I just decided to call, knowing full well there was only one hand that was beating me at that moment.

I should tell you, I always expect the ace to hit in situations like this, having put one of these two nut jobs on A,K. Anyway, the first raiser called the all in and our hands were exposed before the flop came down. The first guy had pocket jacks, the all-in nut job had pocket eights and I was feeling a little better. I was immediately expecting to see an eight on the flop. Turns out it came down A, 2, 10, and I was feeling even better. Please note, the A did hit.

I ended up winning the hand and actually going on to place second in the tourney. I mention this story not to share in my message of play tight and aggressive and it will pay off. Rather, the scenario that continued to unfold during the course of this one sit and go. That showdown of players with pocket pairs happened four times during that one tournament. Each time there were at least three players involved. I can't remember the last time I saw so many hands where three players were dealt pocket pairs at the same time in the same game during such a short period of time.

Back when I used to play more frequently, that never seemed to happen as frequently. It did make stop and wonder each time I saw it happen. It just seems like these long shot combinations of hands are far more frequent online. Then again, maybe I've just learned how to pay attention. Let me know about your experiences.