Sit & Go

A small on-demand tournament that starts as soon as a set number of players registers, rather than at a scheduled time.

Definition

A Sit & Go (SNG) is a tournament with no fixed start time: it begins the moment its seats fill, commonly a single table of six or nine players, though multi-table versions exist. Players pay a fixed buy-in plus a fee, receive equal starting stacks, and play until one or a few remain, with a prize pool paid to the top finishers. Because they are short and self-contained, SNGs are popular for players with limited time and are a common training ground for tournament skills like adjusting to rising blinds and shallow-stack play. As with all tournament poker, the operator's fee is a built-in cost that most players do not overcome long term.

Worked example

A player registers for a nine-player Sit & Go; once the ninth player joins, the game starts immediately, and the top three finishers share the prize pool.

Why it matters

Learners find SNGs an accessible, time-boxed way to practice tournament fundamentals with a known cost and duration. Professionals historically used SNG volume to grind a small edge, though rake makes thin edges hard to sustain and many formats have grown tougher.

Related

Note: Player counts, payout spreads, and fees vary by operator and specific SNG type.