6-Max SNG Strategy
Six person sit and go tournaments, or 6-Max SNGs, are single table tournaments that begin with just 6 players instead of the usual 9 or 10 players. The payout structure for 6-max SNGs is also different, with just the top two players getting paid. Those two differences greatly affect the correct approach to 6-max SNGs.
Play More Hands
In 6-max SNGs, the blinds come around nearly twice as often as often so you need to work even harder to stay afloat. This means you need to play more hands and play them aggressively. There are fewer people in every pot so you can get away with playing a slightly wider range of hands during all stages.
This doesn’t mean you can play a lot of weak hands and hope to hit big draws. In 6-max SNGs, you will still want to look for pairs and high cards. When you play those hands, play them like the strong hands they are. Come in with raises and narrow the field. If you steal the blinds, great! That’s just free money. If only a single person calls your raise, you will both miss the flop the majority of the time. The first person to bet usually wins the pot.
Watch Your Opponents
You will be playing more hands against your opponents so it’s even more important to note their tendencies and playing styles. Some opponents will tighten up in the face of your aggression but others will be more than willing to tangle with you. Note which players are which and avoid the players who fight you for chips. If you want to win SNGs, you need to pick on the weak players.
As the tournament progresses, use any information you gain to help you identify the weakest players. Near the bubble, that information will become extremely useful because you’ll be battling it out in many pots against the same players. Pay special attention to which opponents call big bets and which opponents fold. You want to steal from the folders and avoid the callers.
Anticipate the Blinds
Never forget that the blinds come around a lot faster than they do in normal SNGs. At the beginning of the tournament, you’ll pay the blinds every few hands. After just one or two players have been eliminated, you’ll be paying the blinds basically every other hand.
With that in mind, don’t forget to adjust how you view your chip stack. In a 6-max SNG, that chip stack is going to last for far fewer hands than it does in a normal SNG. A 1,200 chip stack might look decent but if the blinds are 50/100 and there are only 4 players left, that stack is going to get hammered in short order. You need to keep up the aggression and keep adding chips to your stack.
Attack the Bubble
The bubble in a 6-max SNG occurs when there are three players left fighting for the two prizes. This stage of the tournament is both hectic and stressful for many players. The blinds are hitting almost every hand and everyone is fighting tooth and nail to stay alive.
The best strategy during the bubble is to out-attack your opponents. The bubble is not the time for you to sit back and hope someone else gets knocked out before you do. You need to stay active and keep up the pressure on your opponents. The difference in prize money between 1st and 2nd place should make it obvious that you need to play for first place. In order to finish in first place, you need to win every single chip at the table. In order to do that, you need to be aggressive.
