Best Poker Sites for Sit N Go Tournaments
written by: John
Online Poker » Best Poker Sites » Best Sit N Go Poker Sites
Most of the tournaments offered at online poker sites can take 6 hours or more to complete - time that many casual online poker players do not have to spare. To combat this issue, the best Sit N Go poker sites offer tournaments that consist of only a few tables - sometimes just a single table where the environment is much more casual than a normal tournament and players can get the experience of playing at a final table in a tournament without having to spend hours getting there. Indeed, most Sit N Go (also referred to as SNG) are over within an hour or so. Some tournaments can be completed in less time - under an hour if play is particularly loose.
Some online poker professionals enjoy the format of Sit N Go tournaments (and the reputation for there being a great deal of loose play within them) so much that they make their entire career out of playing these types of games. At the best Sit N Go poker sites, multi tabling is possible with up to 14 Sit N Go tournament windows possible at a time.
Best Sit N Go Poker Sites - Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker features SNG tournaments throughout the day with buy ins ranging from $1.00 to $2,000.00. One of the best Sit N Go features at Full Tilt Poker is the SNG Leader Board where the top 200 SNG players each month are given cash prizes for playing well. SNG tournaments are also available as satellite tournaments where you can quickly qualify for larger tournaments around the world.
Best Sit N Go Poker Sites - Sportsbook Poker
Sportsbook Poker offers a Leader Board for their top 25 SNG players every month with a total prize package equaling $10,000.00 in free cash. The top player every month receives a $2,000.00 prize while 2nd place receives $1,250. Sportsbook Poker also rewards players that win several SNG tournaments in a row with a special Streaker Bonus. The top point winner for streaks each month wins a $750.00 prize with the 5th place streak finisher wins $150.00.
Best Sit N Go Poker Sites - Party Poker
One of the best promotions for SNG players at Party Poker is their step satellite tournaments where players can play their first tournament at a very small buy in and progress up through multi table Sit N Go tournaments to the $500 buy in level with an equally large prize package of $4,700. - all for just the original buy in. Heads up SNG tournaments are popular at Party Poker with buy ins starting as low as $6.00.
Sit N Go Poker Tournaments
SNG poker tournaments are best defined as mini poker tournaments where full tables (or a single table) of players compete to eliminate their opponents until they are the last player at the table. Some SNG tournaments only award the last remaining player as there are two few players to justify a prize package to the top finishers of the game. However, the best SNG poker sites award the top 3 players with the winner receiving half of the prize while the next two top players receive the remaining prize - usually 2nd place receiving 30% and 3rd place receiving 20%. Different player levels of Sit N Go tournaments at the best Sit N Go poker sites are possible with 9 players, 10 players, 6 handed tables, heads up play against only a single opponent and single multiple tables.
One of the unique aspects of SNG tournaments at the best Sit N Go poker sites is that they are not scheduled tournaments. In other words, the poker sites leaves a certain amount of tables open for SNG play and, as soon as enough players join the table, the tournament begins. In this way, SNG tournaments can run throughout the day depending on how many players are available. This is one of the primary reasons why Sit N Go tournaments are so popular online, especially with players that do not play during peak hours or tend to miss out on large tournaments due to time constraints. In combination with the short completion time of the typical SNG tournament, Sit N Go games are often favored by online poker tournament players.
One of the ways in which the best Sit N Go poker sites shorten the length of SNG tournaments even further is by offering turbo versions where the blinds can increase every 2 minutes. This weeds out overly tight players very quickly and allows the game to finish often much sooner than one hour. The best Sit N Go poker sites provide enough available tables and site traffic to keep SNG tournaments under $50.00 running throughout the day.
Sit N Go Tournament Strategy
SNG general strategy is no different than strategy in any other tournament. In the early stages of the tournament, there is little benefit to playing aggressively as the blinds are still low. However, as the blinds increase, your play should become more aggressive as chips increase in value. If you do raise before the flop, it is very important to use continuation bets to disguise missed flops to tighter players at the best Sit N Go poker sites. As players are eliminated down to heads up play, you will be playing almost every hand as you will be on the blinds every time. Keep in mind that, even if you have a medium strength hand that you would normally fold, chances are that your opponent has not gotten a very strong hand either. Keep play aggressive but recognize when you have lost a pot and get out while you can before losing additional chips.