We’ve all been in the same situation. You sit and wait in a Double or Nothing SNG for a good starting hand, hoping for any type of love from the dealer. Finally, you get AKo and you get that little flutter in your stomach. “This is the hand,” you think. “I’m going to double up.” You raise 3x the BB and wait to see if anyone has the guts to call. The button and the big blind decide to play and you chuckle, imagining the AJ or small pair they’re playing. “Suckers.” You hover the mouse pointer near the bet amount slider, trying to figure out what size bet would extract the most value. And then the flop comes: 3s6hTd.
Now what?
This situation happens most often in the early stages of a Double or Nothing SNG, as in the later rounds you should be in push/fold mode (unless you’re sitting on a nice stack). You’re left with a tough decision. Do you continue to push the action, or do you check and hope for a free card.
This decision is never easy, especially in turbo DoNs when your chips are so valuable. The blinds go up very fast, and any extra hit on your stack could severely limit your chances later in the tournament. On the other hand, you are very aware that DoN players are generally pretty tight, and might not chase the way regular SNG or cash players would.
So what do you do? Your first consideration should be the number of people in the pot. The more players who see the flop, the better the chance that one of them hit something. Taking a stab at a pot in this situation will probably result in a call, and another difficult decision for you on the turn.
If there are only one or two players in the pot then you have to look at a few aspects of the hand. Start by taking the flop into consideration. Is there anything on the board that looks like it would fit a random DoN players’ starting hand (especially one they would call a raise with)? If not there is a better chance that a continuation bet could take down the pot. Another situation where a continuation bet works well is when the board pairs, especially if it’s a lower pair. If the board is coordinated and is in your opponents’ hand range then it is probably better to check it through.
Next you have to take your reads on your opponents into consideration. This can be more difficult in DoNs since you will most likely be playing many at once. But if you have reads on your opponents (such as if they’re particularly prone to chasing draws, or if they fold regularly to any show of strength), then you should act accordingly on those reads.
It should be understood that if someone is betting into you, then you should shut it down. Players do bluff in DoNs, but it happens far less than in many poker structures. You will have better situations to go to war with a hand.
And, most importantly, make sure you don’t make the exact same moves every time you’re in this situation. As with all forms of poker, you don’t want to become too predictable.
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Learn the secrets of building your bankroll with Double or Nothing SNGs in Double or Nothing Sit and Go Strategy Guide
