Sit 'N Go Strategy

Sit 'n Go Strategy author: Collin Moshman rating: asin: 1880685396 binding: Paperback list price: $24.95 USD amazon price: $16.47 USD

This is a fairly new (published July 2007) book specifically on beating 1-table sit 'n go tournaments. It's another Two Plus Two Publishing book, by new author Collin Moshman. I found the advice to be very accurate, overall. Moshman includes a lot of observations and rules of thumb which will help you play SNGs to win. The book contains over 150 specific hand examples which are very helpful for learning purposes.

There has been considerable discussion about a few of the hands, for instance in one hand Moshman recommends limping in early position, with low blinds, with KK. However, probably there is no one correct answer for some of the early situations and playing the same hand in different ways, particularly against opponents who you are facing multiple times is often good strategy.

The book is divided into 4 parts, low-blind, medium-blind and high-blind play, as well as some assorted, not overly helpful information on a SNG "career," i.e. his thoughts on bankroll management, differences between levels of play, and some suggestions of how chip stack affects players' strategies. There are also tables in the appendices which have charts of hands to move all-in with given various blind levels depending on your stack size, position and hand. These can be used in a robotic but effective way to progress through the high-blind portion of the game. As Moshman explains, many players err by not playing aggressively enough during the high-blind portion of the game.

Moshman uses the Independent Chip Model (ICM) extensively to inform the decisions. The ICM is a way of calculating a player's equity in the prize pool and understanding it is critical to understanding how to play the high-blind portion of SNGs. At first glance some of the recommendations seem impossible (the requirements for raising are extremely loose and the requirements for calling a raise are extremely tight) but the math is solid.

One minor, yet annoying, problem is the poor copy-editing in this book. There are, believe it or not, two errors on the back cover ("strategy is spelled startegy" and the second "Two" in Two Plus Two is not properly capitalized).

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in beating SNGs. It's not perfect, but it's the only book of its type and contains a lot of useful advice.