Ultra Turbo Sit-N-Go Strategy
A brand of NL Holdem sit-n-go that has become popular at various levels has been the ultra turbo sit-n-go. The most common place to find these is at UltimateBet. Commonly known as a UT, these sit-n-go’s usually have level’s that last two minutes each. Many players view these as total shovefests. While this may seem true, there is a bit of strategy that can be used to play these games effectively.
First, realize that many players will be in an all-in or fold mentality. As a result, you will see a lot of players open for big raises early on in the game. How you play in the early part of the game is determined by the table that you are playing. If you have a really aggressive table, then you will want to sit back and wait for strong hands before getting too involved. If there are a lot of limpers, open up your starting hand requirements a bit.
Early on in a game, I like to try and see few pots cheap with hands such as large suited card, suited aces, two big cards, and small to medium pairs. The reason is that many times these hands will be paid off when they hit. I will play my big pairs hard. I will even do the same with A-K and A-Q.
I will usually open the pot for a pot sized raise when I open early on. This serves two purposes. First, I want a decent pot to be built pre-flop. Next, I can put on added pressure on the flop. If the blind are 50 – 100 with a limper and I raise to 500 and get a call, there is over 1,000 chips in the pot. Unless I happen to be against a big stack, this will be about a third of my opponent’s chips or more. If I bet out on the flop or shove, then I am putting him to a decision for all of his chips. Of course, if I flop a really big hand, I am going to probably bet a smaller amount to try and entice a call or a chase. If I flop something like top pair with a weak kicker, I want to put as much pressure as I can to make him fold.
A lot of times, big pots are made pre-flop in ultra turbo games. Two players get a solid pair and they get into a raising war. Get used to this type of shoving. Once you get to the middle and later part of the game, your strategy depends on your stack size and the blind size. If you are short stacked and the blinds are relatively high, then you need to find a hand to play and there is really only one move, and that is all in.
If you have a big stack of chips, then you can start attacking the tight players and the short stacks. If you notice, this is starting to sound like typical sit-n-go strategy. After the early part of the tournament, you really play the game like a typical sit-n-go. The main difference is that when you get to 4 and 3 handed play, you may want to open your game up a bit more. The blinds are still coming around 2 out of every 3 or 4 hand, but the main difference is that the level is going up every 2 minutes. As a result, you need to open up your game a bit.
Be aware that due to the nature of the game, there are going to be times where your aggressive play is going to bust you out. Luck does indeed play a bit more in Ultra Turbo games as opposed to slower games. However, just like any other poker, over time, luck will even out and proper strategy will win. Be prepared for swings and amazingly ridiculous bad beats. Don’t let them put you on tilt or cause you to drastically change your game. You will find that at times, you will put some incredibly sick beats on other players as well.
Playing an Ultra Turbo sit-n-go starts off looking like a luckfest and many times it can seem as such, but if you use a solid aggressive strategy, you will be able to come out near the top of these games frequently. Good luck to you at the tables.
