Small MTT Strategy - 180 Man SNG Strategy

The strategy in this article can be applied to all small MTT tournaments but we'll use the PokerStars 180 man SNGs in all our examples since these are well-known and fit the description just about perfectly.

The PokerStars 180 man SNGs are popular because they run 24/7, fill up fast and you always know what you're getting into. The tournament will always have exactly 180 people, you always know about how long it will take to finish and you can hit a nice payday for a relatively small entry fee.

Early Level Strategy

In bigger MTTs I recommend you pay extra tight in the early levels but the PokerStars 180 man SNGs move too quickly for you to play super-tight in the early levels. You still want to play a tight-aggressive strategy but don't play super tight in the early levels here because you'll just have to play catch-up the rest of the time.

Look for opportunities to win big pots but don't worry about stealing yet. In the early levels there are still a lot of loose players and the blinds are too small to be worth stealing. Instead, use hands like small pocket pairs and suited connectors to win big pots. If several people are already in the pot in front of you, feel free to play those types of hands. If you hit something big, the extra chips will come in very handy.

Use your time in between hands to carefully watch the rest of the table. Take notes on all your opponents and see who's playing tight and who's playing loose. Pay attention to the showdowns to see what kind of cards your opponents are playing and how they play them. As the tournament progresses, this information will become increasingly valuable.

Mid Level Strategy

By the time a quarter or so of the people have been eliminated, the blinds will have moved up enough to put pressure on the rest of the people still in. There aren't as many chips to go around in 180 man SNGs so you'll see a lot of people pushing hard to keep their heads above water.

This is where you need to start stealing blinds and making the occasional resteal. Use your player notes and keep your eyes open to find tight players who give up their blinds easily. These are the ones you want to attack first to keep the chips coming your direction.

A second target you can attack are the players who try to steal the blinds too often. Identify the opponents who raise with a large range of hands and re-raise them occasionally to steal their steals. This is a riskier move but when successful it nets you a bigger pot, including the blinds. Everyone else at the table usually folds when there's a raise and a re-raise so don't worry about them. Occasionally someone will just happen to have a super premium starting hand but them's the breaks.

Late Level Strategy

As the tournament winds its way to a close, you'll see a lot more shortstacks battling it out. Most of the action will take place before the flop and you'll see a lot of all-in moves and desperate plays. Stay cool but don't be afraid to get in there and make some moves yourself. If you want to make it to the final table, you're going to have to take some risks.

Unless you have a big stack, you won't be able to attempt any re-steals so the majority of your chips will come from steals and strong hands. Big cards and pairs are your best friends in all-in confrontations so look for those before you make any big calls. You don't have to be as picky when stealing but it never hurts to have a decent hand in case you get called.

When you hit the final table, you need to go straight for the kill. The difference between 9th and 1st place payouts is huge so don't slow down a bit. Steal as often as you can and stay out of the way when other people are stealing. If you're in the blinds, there is one way you can defend against steals and earn chips yourself - it's called the stop-n-go.

The stop-n-go works like this: You're in one of the blinds and someone in late position raises (but doesn't push all-in) to steal your blinds. You flat call the raise from the blind and then push all-in after the flop is dealt, regardless of what you have. Most of the time the late position stealer won't have anything and he'll have to fold.

If you use a combination of legitimate hands, steals and the stop-n-go, you'll be able to accumulate enough chips to place well in the tournament. It takes a little luck to win one of these but if you play well every time, your skills will pay off in the long run and you'll make a lot of money at these.