The squeeze play is a fantastic strategy to use in No Limit Sit and Go poker tournaments – particularly at the business end of the game, when there is a lot of difference between the financial reward for finishing 3rd or 4th as in 4th gets nothing. In order to play it, there has to be the right scenario and you should have already built up a table image of being a particularly tight player.
The aim of the squeeze play concept is to get players who have raised pre-flop to fold their cards before the flop is dealt. It will not result in a monster pot for you, but takes advantage of your table position and image to provide you with an additional 8 – 12 big blinds. If you are playing on or around the bubble when players are playing in fear, this could be the hand that nudges you in.
The squeeze is best played when you are on the button. In front of you Player A has made a 4x BB raise and Players B calls. You, as Player C, look down at your marginal hand and, instead of folding or calling, you raise by the amount of the pot. The squeeze is based on the Gap Concept that states thata player must have a stronger hand to call with than to raise with, since the initial raiser has fold equity and only has to have a better than average hand.
This implies that each subsequent caller must have a hand strong enough to challenge a raising hand. So Player A will assume that Player B has a strong hand and fold because he fears a re-raise. Player B called, rather than re-raised on the first orbit of betting, which suggests he has a hand which can handle one raise but not two, and he folds also – both conceding a fair pot to Player C (you) who bet on a marginal hand.
The squeeze should best be used in sit n go tournaments because it can put Player A´s and Player B´s tournament lives at risk, whereas in a ring game they can just dip into their bankroll for more chip money.
If you have been attacking too many pots immediately before using this strategy, it may well backfire on you, but played correctly and it can be a lucrative ploy at the time when you may need a major chip boost in a sit and go poker tournament.