The Importance of a
Tight Image in Super Turbos

Tight Image - In a Super Turbo you want your opponents to think you push tight, so they will call you less often, allowing you to win the blinds more frequently.

When you go all-in during a Super Turbo Sit-N-Go, you almost always should prefer that nobody calls. One reason for this is because stealing the blinds adds such a significant percentage to your stack. Another reason you prefer not to get called is because, unless you are a big favorite against the hand that calls (and you seldom will be), you stand a good chance of getting eliminated or damaged.

For example, 7 players remain and you push all-in for 255 chips at 20/40 with A7 first-in from the small blind. The only hands you would actually want calling you are hands that you dominate (A6-A2, K7,Q7,J7, etc). You don't want to get called by a better hand obviously. You don't want to get called by any pair that you're coinflipping with (66-22). You don't even want to get called by two live cards such as KT or J9. In fact, even if the BB held 54, you should be happy for him to fold that.

Think about it - if 54 calls your A7 push, your average chip stack after the hand would be about 317 [because it would either be 510 or 0 (ignoring the small chance of a tie) and you'd have a 62.5% chance of winning]. If the BB folds his 54, your stack would be 295. The third possibility is that you fold, leaving you at 235 after posting the SB. But you're not folding A7, so we can ignore that scenario.

So is it worth the 22 extra chips on average (317 minus 295) to get called by the 54 when you will get busted 37.5% of the time? No, it is not. If this was a cash game or a winner-take-all freezeout then yes, but not in a Sit-N-Go, and that's because of the payout structure of SNGs and the fact that you can increase your equity just by letting other players eliminate each other.

Of course, you won't be getting called by 54 there. But I think it's a good demonstration of why even with a strong hand like A7 versus a single random hand, you should be happy to win the pot uncontested. And it also shows why having a tight image is good for you. There are occasions when you should try to induce calls, but much more frequently you should be trying to induce folds.

There are several things you should do to accomplish this. Here is an article on Folding in Neutral Expectation Push-Fold Situations.

How to Maintain a Tight Image

and another article on ...

How to Induce Folds