Even if you ran badly and only got first twice every five times, you would still win 32 percent on average and outdo your nitty, second-place finishing opponent. This second strategy guarantees you 35 percent of the prize pool on average (i.e., better than the 30 percent for second). Then let's assume you could instead play so aggressively that you would never take second, and half the time you take third and win 20 percent of the prize pool and the other half of the time you take first and win 50 percent of the money. Let's imagine you can choose to play so conservatively in a SNG that you completely eliminate the possibility of taking third or first - a low variance strategy that would guarantee you 30 percent of the prize pool. Play for the winįirst, let's take a look at the math of a hypothetical scenario to see why playing for the win is the correct strategy in these kinds of SNGs such as are popular when you play poker online. We are in the money and our main goal now is to take the lion's share of the prize pool and all the glory. This week, we will discuss strategy for three-handed play. Last week, we discussed beginner strategy for the bubble of a standard, nine-handed, single-table sit & go in which the top three spots pay (50/30/20 percent).