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Why The NBA Is A Lot Like A Sit N Go
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Author: Marc Weinberg
Yesterday I was watching another interminable, no-drama regular season NBA game, which for me is an obligation rather than a pleasure since I moonlight as a sports handicapper when I'm not playing or writing about online poker (and yes, my parents are so proud). Anyway, it occurred to me that the NBA league is very similar to a SNG (Sit 'N Go)...
The NBA regular season is a sham, of interest mainly to those who want to bet on the games, which is where I come in, and to litigious fans hoping to make a quick buck by goading one of the players into hitting them. It drags on for months and then the "real" season begins with the playoffs. Players start to try as opposed to going through the motions, and the sixteen teams left get down to business now that the chaff teams have been sent back to Atlanta and Charlotte and separated from the cream of the crop.
A SNG tournament starts with a group of players all jockeying for position but it usually takes me five minutes to work out who is the wheat and who is the chaff. There are often four of us with the necessary skills to win it all and six players treading water, and the first few levels of the SNG are interminable as I wait for the bad players to knock themselves out. Sometimes I get aggressive and offer them a helping hand out of the tournament, and sometimes I get a little too cocky and cute and end up knocking myself out in the process. No one is perfect in poker. The point is that a Sit 'N Go is like two distinct tournaments rolled into one: The opening levels or regular season, and the payout structure or the playoffs.
I think it really helps my game to think of these tournaments within the helpful parameters of my sports analogy. When you sit down at the start of the SNG your only focus should be to make the playoffs (usually the final three, or in a short-handed game the final two). Don't worry about building up enough chips to win it all. That is not a realistic goal at the outset, because as anyone who has listened to sports commentators can tell you once the playoffs start it's a brand-new game, baby.
Sure, it helps to reach the final three with a commanding chip lead, but 90% of the time the tournament can still be won by any of the remaining players. When you're heads-up you are only two wins away from evening up the most lopsided of contests. Say you have 1000 chips and your opponent has the remaining 9000. You double up and win (2000-8000) and then double up and win again (4000-6000). Now it's practically even and the game is on. So, qualifying for the playoffs as the #1 seed is wonderful and a feather in your cap, but no guarantee of finishing #1. There are even times when teams qualify for the playoffs as the bottom-ranked seed and end up going on the run of a lifetime to win it all, even though they're coached by an absolute meathead, but I digress...
My outlook in a SNG is to get to the payout structure and ensure that I have made a profit, however small. Once there I can adapt my strategy and concentrate on winning it all. Too many players make the crucial error of trying to win it all from the outset, when the correct approach is to see that your opponents are eliminated - that might mean passive play in a highly-aggressive game, or simply staying out of the way of those committed to tearing apart the rest of the table. It might require that kind of play from you, but not necessarily. You need to be very felxible in your approach, but remember always that showtime only starts when you're down to the money!
For those of you interested in my secret life as a handicapper I operate under the name MasterBets (which makes sense as that's my poker username at several online poker rooms) and sell my picks at an online sports handicapping service called Mycapper.com. Check it out if you have the time - my advice about betting on the NBA is often as sound as my advice about playing Sit 'N Go's :)
Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> Earning A Living Playing Sit And Go Poker - Part 3
> Where To Play Sit& Go Tournaments - Part 2 - The Novice View
> Where To Play Sit& Go Tournaments - Part 1 - The Expert View
> The Ultimate Sit&Go Tournament Guide
> Managing Your Poker Bankroll
> Advanced Poker Tournament Strategy - Stack Ratios
> Finding Weak Poker Players Online At Every Level
> A Poker Secret About Bad Poker Players
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