Amarula Part 1 Reprise
First part of a lecture series covering Single-Table Sit-and-Go strategies. We will cover the objectives of playing SNGs, bankroll management for this modality, ROI, which buy-in level to play, table selection, choosing between turbo and regular, among other off-game topics. Within the SNG itself, we will address how to behave in low blinds, how to play pocket pairs, playing premium hands, full table position, gaps, and other initial topics related to SNGs. The series will consist of approximately 5 to 7 lectures. For complete understanding and student progress, it is essential to attend the entire series, as topics from this first lecture will be revisited in subsequent lectures. Participants should bring questions, doubts, and comments.
Amarula Part 2 Reprise
In the second part of the 6-lecture series, we will cover topics such as:
– Playing in Low Blinds: Pre and Post-Flop
– Correctly using Set Value, 3Bet and 4Bet: when and how to use them
– Playing Post-Flop, Betting for Value, Pot Control, how to play Draws: Flush Draw, Straight Draw.
– Mathematics: Pot Odds, Implied Odds; among other important points related to the initial phase of the SNG.
In this second part of the lecture, we will continue, now within the SNG, on how to behave in low blinds. We will work, within the range of hands already presented in the first part, on which hands we should 3-bet pre-flop and which we should call to play in position aiming to hit the flop, some practical examples of how to play correctly by Set Value, and some other important points to be analyzed in the pre-flop part.
Within the Post-Flop concept, we will cover topics such as: Pot Control, Value Betting, Maximizing the use of certain absolute hands, how to play Draws: Flush Draw, Straight Draw, mathematical concepts: Pot Odds, Implied Odds, etc…
We will also discuss, among the tools available to increase the Stack, which ones are truly applicable to this Poker modality, which ones should be used, and which ones should be ignored and/or discarded entirely.
It is of utmost importance that participants attend the first part of the lecture, and if possible, follow all the other 4 parts, as each strategy, each play, complements the others, and the posture in the SNG changes as the blinds increase and the stack grows or decreases.
Amarula Part 3 Reprise
In Part Three of the series, we will address strategies related to the 25/50, 50/100, and 75/150 blinds, or intermediate blinds in SNGs. The range of hands for this phase of the SNG expands considerably, and consequently, so does the strategy for how to behave at these blinds. We will cover the new range of hands to be played, as well as the actions with each group of hands. At this point, the SNG player should have a complete understanding of how to behave according to the number of big blinds in their stack, which in most cases will fall into the push/fold group. We will also work on the issue of being doubled up, being chip leader, and table behavior, among other points related to stack size.
We will present various post- and pre-flop game situations, with practical examples of each situation in particular, and in these blinds we will also begin to provide examples of when to go all-in (push), when to fold, and when calling a random push is good or bad.
Leandro Balotin (Amarula) Part 4
In this part of the lecture, we will specifically work on Push/Fold situations. We will continue with the intermediate blinds, addressing 100% of the conditions for when to fold, when to call certain pushes, when it is +EV to Steal in the Blinds, and other aspects involving maintenance and survival, already in a more advanced stage of the Sit & Go. Many SNG players, when starting to play this modality, do not realize that 80% of the importance of playing SNG – Single Table, especially turbo, lies in knowing perfectly when to exploit the push and when to preserve the stack and survival in the tournament. We will also work on situations that require a perfect understanding of the relationship between the number of Big Blinds and the situation in the SNG, when one is committed to having to call an all-in, whether opening with a raise pre-flop or being in the Big Blind. In this part, we will begin using the program called SNG Wizard, where we will present several situations that are confusing for many, and see what is the most correct action, according to the program’s point of view.