The Sit and Go format for tournament poker allows players to enjoy tournament poker on a smaller scale. Players know before buying in how many players they’ll be facing, and with some experience will begin to be able to gauge the length of a particular game.

Since these tournaments do not as take a long time to complete as do some tournament events, they can be really profitable for online players who often play them exclusively. Many players play several Sit n Go type events per day, just as you might a full time job, while others play several of them at one time.

Profitability

If you think about it, let’s say you have to finish in the top three to be in the money in a particular sit n go event. Let’s say you buy into 20 $10 sit n go’s per day, (that’s 200 in buy-ins, so to do that responsibly you’d need a $4k bankroll (therefore using 20% of your bankroll on any given day).  Now your only goal is to finish in the money, doesn’t matter if you win 1st or 3rd so long as you don’t lose your buyin…

Then you graph that out, taking out your expenses and figuring your daily ROI. Those fees play a role in making it more difficult to maintain a positive ROI. A winning pro player is looking for a 5%-8% ROI.

Table Selection

Sit n GO table selection is just as important a factor when projecting a favorable outcome as well as a positive ROI as the process is when playing cash games.

For that reason, it’s important to play Sit n Go poker sites that offer a wide selection of poker games.  The bare minimum that you’re going to be looking for when choosing a poker site is a site that has a lot of action in the Sit n Go sections of their lobby. No one wants to sit and wait a half hour for a tournament to begin. You’ll want lots of tables to choose from with games that start regularly, in the stakes that you’re looking to play at.

The average single table sit n go can be structured for players ranging from 2 to 10. Multi-Table sit n go tournament events on the other hand are a lot like Multi table tournaments that hold a specific number of players and start whenever that number has been reached. For instance, PokerStars offers 18, 45, and 180 player Multi-Table sit n go events.

PokerTracker Compatibility

Additionally, if you’re a pro poker player, or trying to become one, and you’ve ever been to 2+2, you know for sure you’re not the only one right… There’s a pretty good chance you’re going to come across some other grinders as you make your way up the SNG profit ladder. The number of other ‘regs’ at the table is going to have some outcome on your chances of making it into the money, if you’re playing with 5 other decent regs, all with the same goal; making it into the top 3 paying places, things are going to be a bit tricky right?! …

If you can find a table with say, 1 other reg, or none would be even better, and a bunch of casual players, or better still, absolute fish, your giving yourself the best shot at making it into the money (after you get into the money you can work on employing an even stronger strategy and working your way into the best paying position possible, for now though, let’s just keep that ROI positive).

How do you know if another sit n go player is a reg? Well one tell is that they’re playing 4 games at once, which you can figure out pretty quickly by scanning the game lobbies. It’s pretty rare for a casual player to be playing any more than 1, maybe two sit n go events at a time. A casual player may play 3, but they’re probably a bit overwhelmed at that point, and really not a threat.

Another way to tell is by using poker software like Poker Tracker 4 that outlines a player’s profitability. However, not all sites are compatible with Pokertracker 4, so that’s another thing to take into consideration, do the poker sites that you’re considering allow the use of Poker Tracker 4?

Bonuses and Additional Prizes

Lastly, when considering the profitability of a poker site you’ll want to look into the effect that bonuses and other prizes have on your overall ROI. SNG tournaments usually do not accumulate bonus points for players at nearly the rate that cash game play does. Since these do not offer the allure of massive payouts, SNGs are often the last area where players will find attractive bonuses and prize options. However, some sites offer nice incentives for players who participate in SNG play. At Lock Poker, there is a promotion called “Battle of the Nexus.”

This is basically a race to accumulate levels of tournament fees paid. For example, an $11 dollar SNG would allocate $10 to the prize fund, and $1 to tournament fees. This promotion allows players to receive prizes at certain levels of contribution to tournament fees, ending with a $5,000 prize at the maximum level. This level requires a player to pay $8,000 in fees. Since most SNG structures use a ten to one ratio for their fees, this means that a player will have to wager $88,000 to hit that level. While this seems absurd for people who occasionally enjoy a $5 tournament, for players who play four $110 SNGs at a time, this level is completely attainable.

Many sites, such as Bet365 Poker, also offer Jackpot SNGs. These offer progressive jackpots for people who rack up a certain number of consecutive SNG wins. These wins can happen at buy ins as low as $2. These are particularly attractive for aspiring SNG players who have a beginning bankroll, but who are expecting to play a high volume of poker. SNGs offer poker players a chance to hone their tournament skills without the time and money investment of larger MTT tournaments. Depending on a player’s skill and bankroll, certain SNG offerings are more attractive than others.

Geographic Availability

Lastly you’re going to have to discern whether or not the poker sites you’re looking at are available in your geographic area. Some players may opt to do this first to quickly narrow down a long list of possible sites.