January 6, 2009
Online poker brought a new tournament concept that has become amazingly popular, and that is the sit'n'go tournament. Because these tournaments play fast, short handed, and have large payout jumps, optimal play requires the adoption of special strategies geared toward these events. A new book that attempts to fill this void for no-limit hold'em sit'n'go tournaments is Phil Shaw's Secrets of Sit'n'gos.
In cash games and typically in the early stages of multi-table poker tournaments, a chip is a chip. That is, each chip you win is worth as much as a chip you might lose, and most strategic decisions come down to making good poker decisions based on the odds the pot is offering. In tournaments that aren't winner-take-all, as one gets closer to the money all chips of the same denomination are not worth the same, and this asymmetry can greatly affect strategy. One mechanism to account for this difference is called the Independent Chip Model (ICM), and understanding the ICM is the core of the strategies in Shaw's book.
The crux of the ICM is that players should make decisions that maximize the expected payout they will receive from the tournament rather than maximizing the odds of winning the tournament outright. Often these decisions are quite counter-intuitive and the correct play can change drastically depending on the point in the tournament, stack size, position, and opponent stack sizes. Anyone who plays in these events but does not understand these considerations will be at a significant disadvantage to those who do. Secrets of Sit'n'Gos covers many of these situations as they apply to no-limit hold'em sit'n'gos.
The book is organized chronologically as we move throughout the tournament. Shaw begins by covering the pre-game and early game considerations. In a nutshell, the author recommends that early on players focus on survival rather than taking big risks. This doesn't mean that Shaw advocates playing timid, he doesn't, but this is not the appropriate time for "push-and-pray" poker tactics.
As the book moves into the middle game, the bubble, and being in the money, optimal strategy shifts drastically. Once play becomes heads-up, ICM considerations disappear and it becomes proper to "just play poker" again, although it's almost certain that short-stacked tactics will be appropriate. Finally, the book ends with coverage of some miscellaneous topics and quizzes that test the reader on the material in previous chapters.
Overall, I believe the advice Shaw provides is good. Anyone who plays sit'n'gos regularly who doesn't know how to adjust playing strategy as the tournament progresses would benefit greatly from this book. I don't believe that Secrets of Sit'n'gos is the last word on all things sit'n'go, but I do think it is filled with good advice. I expect that many who read it will be amazed at how different proper strategy may be from how they are playing. If my experiences in playing sit'n'gos are representative, there are a lot of players out there who are in dire need of this information.
My biggest criticism with the book is its brevity. Not counting the quizzes, the book is 128 pages in length. I feel quite confident that Shaw has more to say on the subject, so I think another 30 pages or so would have been appropriate. Certainly, there are additional cases that were not covered in this book that are worthy of consideration. However, this does not detract from the value of the material that is present within the book's pages.
Tournament sit'n'go players should be familiar with how proper strategy will change in sit'n'go tournaments as circumstances change. One path to this understanding is through the Independent Chip Model. Those who are not familiar with these considerations are playing at a distinct disadvantage to those who do, and reading Secrets of Sit'n'gos is a good way to get up to speed. I recommend this book to those who play in these sorts of events.
Secrets of Sit'n'gos is a good book about applying the Independent Chip Model to sit'n'go poker tournaments. The book may be brief but the material it contains is solid, so I'd recommend it for those who play sit'n'gos and aren't familiar with this particular approach.
Note: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher. I have no other interest, financial or otherwise, in the success of this book.
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