Are pot odds as useful in sit-n-go style tournaments as they are in normal ring games? Is their usefulness applicable to any kind of poker game online?
There is no debating the effectiveness of pot odds when playing ring game poker. Texas Holdem, Omaha hi, stud…it doesn't matter – it helps. But, what about when you are playing in a sit-n-go style tournament. Do the same rules still apply? Should you follow pot odds? What is ICM? Is it more effective in sit-n-go poker than pot odds?
When playing in sit-n-go on poker website , sound knowledge of pot odds is always helpful, but it would be a very poor decision to follow the system the way it was designed. The key to successful sit-n-go play is survival and preserving your chip stack, and calling off chips just because it is mathematically correct works contrary to your overall goal. What may be a smart move in a ring game may be a tournament ending decision in a sit-n-go tournament. There are a lot more factors that you need to consider when playing in a sit-n-go tournament.
Using the math behind pot odds to make better decisions is one way in which pot odds can help you be more profitable playing sit-n-go poker. If you know that you will make your hand 80% of the time, you will be able to make a good decision. If you know what your expected return on a play is, you will be able to maximize your profit.
One similar method that is a lot more effective in sit-n-go poker is called ICM or the independent chip model. It works in a slightly similar way, but adds another element of math that can maximize your profits. Using the ICM in sit-n-go poker tournaments online is a lot more effective than using parts of the pot odds system.
In the end, pot odds can help you make decisions when playing sit-n-go poker, but you should not follow it strictly the way it was meant to be implemented. Pot odds do not take into account different chip stack sizes, and sometimes a situation will arise where you have the odds to make a call, but doing so would cripple your stack and your chance at surviving.
