Sit and Go Strategy: Poker Training Ground

A Sit and Go (SNG) tournament is a poker event that starts as soon as the required number of players have registered, without a scheduled start time. Typically smaller and faster than regular tournaments, SNGs usually feature a single table where players compete until one remains, with prizes awarded based on final placement.

Sit & Gos (SNGs) are the perfect strategy training ground: single-table focus, quick action, and a microcosm of tournament dynamics — from early-stack play to push/fold bubble pressure.

Played right, SNGs teach you timing, ICM awareness, short-stack strategy, and how to extract maximum value from marginal spots. Play them wrong and you’ll learn the hard way: variance compounds fast in short events. This VIP Grinders guide gives you the structure, rules-of-thumb, practical shove/fold thinking, drills and cheats to dominate single-table Sit & Gos.

SNG Formats & What Changes Strategically

Sit and Go (SNG) tournaments come in various formats, each requiring distinct strategic adjustments. For example, in single-table SNGs with 9–10 players, focus is on ICM pressure and push-fold dynamics near the bubble, while Hyper SNGs demand aggressive play early on due to fast blinds and short stacks.

Heads-up and double-up SNGs emphasize post-flop skill and aggression, and multi-entry or re-buy SNGs start looser but tighten later as ICM pressure builds. Turbo and super-turbo formats speed up the blind levels drastically, pushing players to widen their push-fold ranges much earlier. Understanding these format-specific strategic shifts is essential to adapting your play and maximizing profitability across SNG variants.

The Three SnG Phases (and How to Play Them)

Early Stage:

• Goal: Stay alive, build position, avoid marginal confrontations.
• Play: Open a reasonable range from late position, avoid big 3-bet wars out of position. Use stack depth to set up future steals.
• Avoid: Over-gunning for chips early — chips are cheap; survival is priceless.

Middle Game:

• Goal: Accumulate chips with steals and well-timed aggression; set up a shove or fold strategy near the bubble.
• Play: Open wider from CO/BUTTON; 3-bet light against steady openers; defend blinds based on player tendencies.
• ICM note: Be aware of short stacks — stealing from a short stack is less profitable when you risk busting them before bubble.

Late Game / Bubble:

• Goal: Maximize survival or exploit fold equity to accumulate chips. The game becomes push/fold heavy.
• Play: Use shove/call ranges informed by stack sizes and opponent tendencies; exploit tight players on the bubble and protect your stack by folding marginal spots when necessary.

Stack Size Rules & Shove/Call Thinking

These guidelines help you adjust your approach dynamically based on your effective stack size relative to the blinds. Applying these heuristics consistently can significantly improve your decision-making and overall tournament performance.

Stack size — measured in big blinds (bb) — is your primary decision engine. Below are practical heuristics; memorize them.

Practical Sit and Go Shove Guide:

• From Button / Cutoff (10bb): shove ~ any pair, Axs+, ATo+, broadway combos (KQ, KJ), suited connectors down to 76s (approximate; tighten vs many callers).
• From Small Blind (10bb) facing button open: shove wider than BB; use blockers (Axs) to push.
• Calling as Big Blind (vs shove with 10bb): call with pairs that do well vs shove range, broadways with strong kickers, and Ax with decent kicker depending on bubble and payouts.
• VIP caveat: these are directional ranges — use a push/fold chart or solver for exact thresholds, and always adjust to opponent tendencies (tight vs calling station).

ICM and Sit and Go Tournaments

ICM (Independent Chip Model) converts chip EV into prize EV; near the bubble, survival is often worth more than marginal chips. Here are 3 simple ICM Sit and Go rules:

1. When you are medium/large stack: avoid marginal calls that eliminate short stacks heading to money.
2. When you are short: shove wider — fold equity is your weapon; the risk of busting is offset by survival value.
3. When you are in middle stack vs short-on-bubble: be extremely cautious calling shoves if you’ll be near bubble pressure — small pot EV can cost real money.

Practical ICM tip: if you’re unsure, default to survival on the bubble unless you have clear fold equity or a read.

Bankroll & Volume Guidance for SNGs

SNGs are variance-heavy relative to cash — treat them like MTTs for bankroll planning. Track ROI per format and adjust buy-ins accordingly.