Sit N Go: it sounds like a children’s game. Or, perhaps, it could be a creative insult you shout at the yahoo who cuts you off on the highway. It certainly is an obtuse bit of jargon in the poker realm, especially to a newcomer who is feeling good about remembering the ranking of poker hands and no longer calls the Turn the River and vise versa.

Shorten it to “SNG” and you will have the uninitiated gritting their teeth as they try to part the veil on poker; I certainly recall feeling that way the first time I read the term online. So, what is a Sit N Go, and should a new poker player take part in one? How about a more experienced player? Theses and more questions will be answered as we take a look at the Multi-Table poker tournament’s little cousin.

Sit N Go, or the more grammatically correct “Sit AND Go”, aptly describes what happens when you begin one of these tournaments. First you sit and then, when the proper conditions are met, you go, or begin. A SNG is a poker tournament that is limited to a certain number of players; once all the players are signed up and have paid their buy in and entry fees, the event begins. This differs from a Multi-Table tournament in a number of ways; the MTT starts when a given time is reached, not a given number of players, and however many players are in it get dived up among a number of tables. At the SNG, which is often a single-table event, you know how many players you will be up against before you sign up, which is one of the advantages of this form of poker tournament that will be discussed below.

SNG Limits
SNG limits are determined by the casino or poker room, either online or live, and deal with both the buy in and the number of players. A typical SNG, for example, may be a $2 + $0.50, 10 player event. The $2 represents the buy in and will form the prize purse, the fifty cents is the casino’s entry fee, and the game begins once the tenth player buys in. The number of players can range from two to forty, but rarely will go larger than that. Buy ins can get pretty pricey, all the way up to $100 or more, but this article is primarily concerned with low limits and qualifier SNGs.

SNG Pros
SNG’s share the same safety net that other tournaments do; in the worst case scenario, all you lose is the buy in and entry fee. Another shared benefit— tournaments are a fairly cheap way to see lots of poker hands, which is essential to becoming a better player. So what are the advantages that SNGs have over the MTTs? The biggest advantage is that you know what you are getting into before you get into it.

Take a normal MTT for example, say a $5 +$1 event. You won’t know what you are playing for until the event begins and all the buy ins are totaled; even in guaranteed events you won’t know for sure, because the percentage breakdown used to divvy the prize pool changes based on the number of players. Take a $5 + $1, 10 player SNG, however, and you know before you begin that the prize pool is $50. The second advantage is, you know how many people you have to beat to get your hands on the cash. Also qualifier SNGs can be a boon; they offer an entry to a bigger event as a prize, and can be an easier goal with fewer players than the same kind of MTT event.

Winning SNGs
Winning a SNG event utilizes most of the same poker skills that winning a MTT event requires, with a few important differences. SNGs are, typically, much smaller and likely much shorter. In a smaller event you will have less time to wait for ultra premium hands, because while you wait, a few players are busting out a few others and before you know it, you are the short stack. This may get you into cashing distance, but having the chip lead is preferable than not, so don’t be afraid to speculate early on. The same lessons you apply to playing heads up work when you enter a two player SNG, as do the short handed lessons when you join a six handed SNG.

Stick to the basics in a SNG and you should have no problem getting into the money, which is usually at least twice your buy in. Look for good opportunities to really increase your chip stack, however, or you will end up facing a chip leader who can push you around. Hand choice is vital, meaning you only make big plays with powerful hands like JJ or better pre-flop and two pair or better post-flop. Avoid chasing straights and flushes if you don’t hit them on the flop.

Try out SNGs and see how they fit with your poker strategy; just remember that cardinal rule about knowing your limits; you can bet the player sitting in the $100, 2 handed SNG waiting for you is not a newbie.

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