Sit and Go tournaments, also known as SNG, are an extremely popular choice for the online poker society and for good reason. For beginners, SNG is a good choice since it offers players a chance to train in many areas of the game for a limited amount of money. It is fun, exciting and plays a lot like a final table of a tournament. If you’ve ever watched any poker shows on TV, you know what I mean.

Like other bigger tournaments, SNG requires everyone to buy-in for the same amount of money to get the same amount of chips. For example, a $5 SNG usually requires the player to contribute $5 plus $0.50 fee to get 1000 chips, and the rewards are $25, $15, and $10. A single SNG table usually consists of 6, 9, or 10 players, although the number can be as low as 2 (heads up) or as high as 50. The prize money is usually given to the top three finishers, but depends on the number of entrants.

The rules are generally the same for both cash games and SNG. However, you can play as long as you want in a cash game. In an SNG, when you lose all your chips, you are eliminated. The goal of the SNG is to survive as long as you can, and hopefully to finish in the money. Patience is the key. In a cash game, you are not just trying to survive. The goal for you is to put in as many chips as you can, when you are in the lead. In a cash game, it doesn’t matter if you’ve dropped all your chips on the table. You can re-buy anytime you want. In an SNG, you are finished once the chips are gone and there is no second chance.

The blinds at the beginning of the SNG are usually very small. Good players usually will not gamble in the early stage, unless they have very favorable holdings like the big pocket pairs or AK, AQ. Blind stealing at this stage is out of the question, since the blinds are so small, it’s usually not worth the gamble. However, the blinds usually increase very quickly and players cannot play the same conservative game. Once the blinds reach a higher level, it is time to play more aggressively and start thinking about stealing chips. On the other side, the cash games will stay at the same blind level until you decide to switch.

The ability to adjust to different conditions is more important than in a cash game, since the blind limit and number of players change rapidly. Knowing how to play short-handed is very important, compared to playing the cash games—where the number of players you play against is relatively constant. The ability to read your opponent and make adjustments is critical.

SNG is a good way to enjoy the NL game without risking a lot of chips. It is very profitable, if you can master the fine points of these games and the risk is more manageable than the cash games. A lot of players play too passively because of fear of losing “real money”. Playing SNG may be a good solution for this psychological weakness, since money is only lost after elimination. To learn more about the SNG playing strategies, please read: