Being prepared and in the right mindset for an online sit and go tournament will make all the difference in the world. In this type of tournament, the action can move quickly and one mistake can land you out of the tournament. Here are some basic suggestions for your success.

Do you have time to play?
If you know you only have 45 minutes to play the tournament will easily run an hour, should you play? Are you going to be relaxed and play your game if you’re watching the clock and not the game? The answer is obviously no. You’ll step out of your game, push harder, bet on second or third best hands, and lose all your chips.

How are you feeling?
Do not play if you are feeling depressed, over tired, stressed, overly anxious or if you are worried about money. Here is why.

When you are over tired, you are more likely to make mistakes. You will find yourself missing the opponent's flush draw that beat your straight. You will start tilting, bet on the lowest pair on the board and lose.

When you are depressed, you will do the same things you did when you were tired, except now you are doing it faster.

Being overly anxious will cause you to play every hand you are dealt and also bet heavily on second or third best hands. You lose quickly this way.

When you’re worried about money it affects your play. Either you are going to play too aggressively and fast or you are going to be too passive and your opponent will push you around and win. You will be so afraid of losing the money that you will not be playing the hands or betting like you should.

What Should My Strategy Be?

Every player has his or her own unique style. Stick to that style first. In the beginning, don’t try to get too fancy. You have plenty of time to play and the blinds are small starting out. Be patient and observe your opponents even when you aren’t in the hand. Figure out how your opponents bet. Are they callers or raisers? Do they play a lot of hands? How do they react to raises? Get to know the table. Adjust your style based on how the table is playing. Whatever the tone of the table is, do the opposite. If the table is playing really tightly, play looser. If you have run into a raise-a-thon, play tighter. Observe what position you are in for each hand. The earlier the position, the stronger your hand needs to be. If you know a player is drawing for their hand, make them pay dearly to hit their hand.

If you plan on playing a hand, don’t check, bet. If you think others have a weak hand, bet. It’s always better to be the initiator and not the follower. Show strength, not weakness by betting.

Follow these suggestions and you should do fine.