Playing medium-strong hands

One of the things I first noticed when moving from 3$ to 5$ sit and go's is a change in the way you can play medium-strong hands, such as:

K 10 off
K J off
QJ off
A 10 off

The average players range when you move from 3 to 5 dollar sit and goes decreases, so these hands are no longer likely ahead when you get a caller to your raise, especially if they are not in the blinds.

And, if an early position player raises, then these hands are no longer likely ahead of their holdings.

Less experienced players in the 3$ sit and goes have a wide range, especially limping range, so these hands do get called on raises or limping raises. This is less likely in 5$ tournaments.

How does this effect play? Although we should always be dependent on other player patterns and reads for a primary information, generally, this is how the game play changes:

1. Getting these cards in early position should lead to folds more often than raises.
2. Calling with these hands on an early position raiser is higher risk, potential kicker trouble.
3. You won't typically make as much money from these hands, as people with worse hands will quickly fold, people with better hands will call you and either raise you out of the hand or beat you at showdown.

In 3$ sit and goes, carefully played medium-strong hands can be decent money makers as the players limping and raise calling range is lower. In 5$ sit and goes, you can still profit from them, but have to pay more attention to position and be more respectful of early position raisers.

In other words, play these hands less in 5$ sit and goes than you would 3$.