Why sit and go is the best way to learn about poker  

If you’re new to poker, it can be difficult to decide how to start playing. There are many different forms of the game and different playing environments. What is best for a beginner, and what type of poker will best help you to learn the game and develop your own skills and confidence?

The answer is that you could do a lot worse than to join a sit and go poker tournament. ‘Tournament’ sounds very grand, but it’s really just a game of poker, played to agreed rules, in which the last player in the game is the winner. As to ‘Sit and Go’, sometimes abbreviated as SNG, this means a poker game with a preset number of players.

Getting started

When enough people are gathered round the table, either physically face to face or at an NJ online casino, where sit and go games can be played at any time for real money, the game can commence. There are no late registrations – if the number of players has been reached, wait for the next table to start filling up and join that one. As SNG games are generally quite fast-paced, and never last more than an hour, there are usually plenty to choose from.

Essential poker

Although variations are possible, regular sit and go poker is the game of poker reduced to its essence. This is why it’s a great way to learn the ropes. As with anything else, success comes from doing the work. You can study the rules, watch video tutorials and practice on your own, but actually sitting down and playing with strangers is the best teacher.

With sit and go poker, you’ll learn quickly through repetition. Many of the moves you’ll make will become automatic, and you’ll learn when to play and when to fold, what makes a good hand and more. Because games can be as short as 20 minutes, it’s also easy to try out different poker variations to see which suits you best.

Things to know

With sit and go poker you can’t top up your chips partway through the game. When you’ve lost everything, you’re out. Play tight to start with and watch out for the best opportunity to up your bet and take a chance. If you do go bust, don’t worry about it. You can join another game as soon as you like (but don’t go over your poker budget).

The most common formulations of SNG poker are 6-Max, with six players, and 9-Max, with nine players, but bigger and smaller tournaments are possible. Because the game is very straightforward, it’s easy to play several games at once when you’ve got a bit of experience under your belt.

Overall, sit and go poker is extremely rewarding and can be played by anyone with a basic grasp of the rules. Once you’ve got comfortable, try speed and turbo games for extra excitement. As the blinds increase and the stakes get higher, sometimes the sky’s the limit.