You’re all ready to take a shot at your favorite sit-and-go and have a plan to play a tight, disciplined game. Your first hand is the big blind and you are dealt 89 suited. A player in middle position raises from 25 to 200. Everyone grudgingly folds, as do you. The next hand you are dealt K9 off suit. This same player makes it 200 again. You call, determined not to be pushed around. The flop comes K 4 8 of mixed suits. You lead out for a 200 bet yourself and this player immediately moves all-in. Frustrated, you fold again, and it’s clear that this player is going to be a problem. How do you handle a bully like this in an online Texas Hold’em sit-and-go?
Bide Your Time
Although conventional schoolyard wisdom is that the best way to beat a bully is to stand up to him, this is not always the case in a sit-and-go. Remember that if you are getting frustrated with the bully, other players probably are too. Early in the sit-and-go when blinds are small and there’s not much in the pot worth losing chips over, it may be a better idea to throw away that K9 and let someone else deal with the bully. Sooner or later he may run into someone with a monster hand. If he gets knocked out, great, you can proceed as you had planned. If he doubles up, he has still eliminated another player, which is one less person between you and the money.
Feign Weakness
No bully can resist someone who looks weak. If you do pick up a big hand, prepare to play scared, making small bets that the bully can raise to try to bludgeon you. When he does, call until you think one of you is pot committed, and then move in. In many cases, it is better to make a small bet than to check in order to induce a bully to attack, as the bully may find the check more suspicious.
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em
If you are a particularly aggressive player, you may want to attack all the pots that the bully lets go. When the bully sees you are a bully as well, he will often leave you alone and focus his efforts on potentially weaker prey. If you notice this happening, try to stay out of the bully’s way and he will probably stay out of yours.
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