Sit N Go Tournaments: A Primer

Today, I will talk to you about one of my favorite ways to play poker. It's called a Sit N Go tournament. The slang for a Sit N Go tournament is a SNG. Basically, a Sit N Go is like a mini tournament. A traditional tournament, like the World Series of Poker, spans days. Players in those tournaments are like marathon runners in some ways. You really need to be conditioned to succeed in them; otherwise, your mind will run you out of the tournament quickly.
A Sit N GO Tournament is like a little slice of heaven. You get the tournament play in a bite-sized piece. The typical Sit N Go tournament takes under one hour to play. A typical SNG consists of one full poker table. Players buy in, and most of the money is put into a pool that's divided among the top finishers. The winner, of course, receives the most money. Usually, the top three finishers get paid. Sometimes a poker room will expand it to include four paying slots. It's really up to the poker room.
Venture into any online poker room and you will find Sit N Go tournaments go on around the clock. They come in all sizes to suit anyone's budget. Smaller limit players usually buy into the $5+$1 Sit N Go tournaments. While these tournaments don't offer large cash windfalls, they do offer the lower limit player a great opportunity to get familiar with tournament play and to build up a little bankroll.
Money Breakdown
Earlier I told you about a $5+$1 SNG. The total cost to enter is $6. $5 of that goes into the prize pool and $1 goes to the poker room. The typical SNG will have 10 poker players in the tournament. In this example, there would be $50 in the prize pool. A common breakdown of prize disbursement would be: $25 for 1st place, $15 for 2nd place, and $10 for 3rd place.
Quick Strategy Thoughts
When playing in a SNG, it's important to play with a tournament-based strategy. Don't play the same as you would in a ring game. There are two main types of players you will find at the SNG tables.
First is the all out type tournament player. This poker player will, if playing no limit, go all-in frequently. This player wants to either score a large amount of chips fast to set him or her up for the tournament or go out quickly.
The next type of strategy is the sit and wait player. This poker player will play beyond ultra tight. This player is hoping that other players knock themselves out so he or she can get close to the money spots. The problem with this strategy is that if you aren't gaining chips your opponents are. Tournament poker is not about wading it out. It's about gaining chips.
Sit N Go tournaments are a great way to play poker. You can get a ton of play for your money. Anyone thinking about getting into tournament play should start with SNG tournaments first.