Generation Next -- Scott Sitron

When Scott Sitron began playing sit-and-gos on PartyPoker back in 2004, the creed he lived by was: Tight is right. Playing six $100 tables simultaneously led to steady profits against mediocre competition, building his bankroll to $10,000. But that fish pool dried up when PartyPoker vacated the U.S. poker scene. He struggled on Full Tilt and PokerStars versus better players and an ever-evolving game of aggression, so he chose to take a poker sabbatical to contemplate, study, and retool his game.

“I had a lot of experience, but I felt I was holding myself back by playing too tight,” said Sitron. “There would be +EV (positive expected value) spots where I could play against bad players in position, but I was just passing them up and waiting on good cards. I realized I was easily exploitable and, more importantly, limiting my profit potential.”

After grinding the local $2-$5 no-limit hold’em live games in Milwaukee with some success, Sitron decided to give online poker another shot. In 2008, he won a $10,000 World Series of Poker main-event seat, but spread the cash out as buy-ins for various smaller tournaments. That strategy was rewarded with a second-place finish in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em event No. 52, for $385,974. Now he could breathe a little easier and fund the day-to-day high-stakes online tournaments he loved.

This spring, Sitron has blazed the tables by taking down a $200 PokerStars Sunday Warm-up tournament for $111,249, and two PokerStars $100 rebuy events for a total of $59,924. To date, he has cashed for more than $1 million online. He has become the poster boy for taking time away from the tables to strip down in-game thinking from A to Z, and to rebuild a stronger and more flexible game plan.

Craig Tapscott: Congratulations on the recent success. More players could benefit from contemplation away from the tables.

Scott Sitron: Thanks. When I started back with MTTs [multitable tournaments] online, I focused on watching other successful players. I put in the hours and hands, and really kicked my game up to the next level.

CT: Whom did you observe?

SS: I watched “jcamby33” play. As an observer, I learned a lot, even if I wasn’t seeing his cards. Then I joined a training site, which helped. If you don’t have any poker knowledge or experience, those videos aren’t really going to help, but if you do, they can fix a lot of leaks in your game.

CT: What did you learn that Card Player readers can benefit from?

SS: Simple things. I was always raising three times the big blind preflop. I learned that online, you should raise more like 2.5 times preflop, and play small-ball poker. Also, instead of three-betting with a monster, I would flat [flat-call] with A-A to trap. And in the past, I would always protect my hand against draws. Sometimes it’s better to let them draw, and if they miss, then let them bluff off their chips to you on the river. Make them pay.

CT: What else do you do differently since your return to the online tables?

SS: I’m playing fewer tables, and making smarter decisions. Now, I really focus on playing the players. I try to think on their level, which I do very well. I try to assess whether or not they are making a play based on past experiences and the situation.

CT: What are some clues to what level players are thinking on?

SS: How much they raise preflop. If they raise four times the big blind from middle position, that’s a big indicator. I rarely see regular players do that, so I assume they are not very knowledgeable or advanced. Also, I look back at hands and see what hands players showed down, and how they played them.

CT: Let’s talk about your overall strategy in the big events in which you’ve been successful.

SS: I try my best not to get into big all-in situations, and I try to chip up without having to show down hands or flip [coin flip] and leave it up to luck.
I call it bobbing and weaving. Sure, you have to pick up pots. I lose a couple here and there, but in the long run, I have to continue to build my stack.

CT: What did you apply from your SNG [sit-and-go] success to multitable tournaments?

SS: How to play the money bubbles. I learned to loosen up and abuse the table. It’s all about the situations. Playing shorthanded a lot helped me to learn to play a greater variety of cards. That gave me a good perspective on the endgame.