Whether you like fast paced action or you just want to practice aggressive short stacked play, super turbo’s can bring some excitement into the normally dull grind. Some poker players believe that super turbos are nothing but lotteries and while there is no doubt that luck plays a large part in individual games, you can get an edge with smart play that will pay off in the long run.
First off, a typical super turbo Sit & Go usually starts with just 300 chips with blinds increasing every 3 minutes. Variance in very high in this game structure and it can take hundreds of matches to realize a profit. Many hands are going to 40%-60% win-rate situations so proper bankroll management is essential in order to not go broke during a bad run.
There are two strategies that most players will use – play tight or play aggressive. The trick is to identify these players over time and play against their chosen styles when good situations come up. For example, tight players try to avoid coin flips and will even fold a range of hands, like AK or low pockets when facing a raise. If you beat them to the pot, they are more likely to fold.
In a Sit & Go turbo, the blinds are going to increase quite fast, and doubling up early is very important. One of the key factors to remember is that your range of cards that you will be raising with will be much wider then the range that you will call with. Here’s a basic pre-flop strategy you can use for the early game and assumes you are first to the pot:
- early position with 10 BB: Push with TT, AK or better
- early position with 5 BB or less: Push with 77, AJ, ATs, KQs or better
- middle position with 10BB: Push with 99, AQ or better
- middle position with 5BB or less: Push with any pair, A7, K9, QT, JT or better, or any suited connectors that are 76s or better
- late position with 10BB: Push with 55, A8, A5s, KQ, KTs, QTs, JTs or better
- late position with 5BB or less: if on the button, any two cards, else any pair, any ace, king or queen, any suited connectors, T6 or better
Once you’ve hit 1000 chips or more, you’ll have a very good shot at making the money. Avoid running into other big stacks without a premium hand and instead focus on finding good spots to knock out the smaller stacks. Raise their blinds and call their re-shoves with suited connectors and hands like JT or better.
When the money bubble breaks, the blinds are going to be so high that you’ll still likely have only slightly more than ten big blinds so aggression will be norm. The larger your stack in relation to your opponents, the more selective you can be on your hand selection.
Your overall success with super turbos will be determined by volume play. Most short-stack specialists will multi-table up to 24 or more tables. With all the soft play you’ll experience from players trying to “get rich quick,” all it takes is a slight edge to be a long term profitable player.