Sit and Go Poker Variations

When most online poker players think of sit and go poker, they think of fairly standard games where two or more players can sit down and start playing as soon as the available seats are full, yet there is now a whole new range of sit and go poker variations that can be enjoyed just as easily. Not all of the available sit and go poker variations will appeal to all players, but being aware of some of the most popular new formats could be useful to anyone who fancies mixing things up a little.

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Turbo
Turbo sit and go games, which are also known as Speed games, have been discussed in a previous article (see Online Turbo Poker) so we won’t repeat ourselves too much here. Suffice it to say that normal sit and go poker rules apply, but the length of time between blind increases is shorter than in a regular sit and go game. The amount of time that players have to make decisions is also reduced. Turbo sit and go games are therefore useful for anyone who wants to enjoy some sit and go poker action but doesn’t have quite enough time available for a regular game.

Deep Stack
Deep Stack sit and go poker games give each player more starting chips that they would have in a regular game, and this puts a greater emphasis on the skill of players at the table. Most sit and go games involve skill of course, but with more chips to play with it becomes even more important to manage your stack properly and to think more carefully about how much you will bet at each stage in every hand.

Double or Nothing
Regular sit and go poker games offer cash prizes to the winner and runners up, with prize amounts reflecting the actual finishing position of each player. Double or Nothing sit and go tournaments are different because they pay the same amount to all players who finish in the money, and that amount is double the cost of the buy-in. Some Double or Nothing games end just as soon as all remaining players are in the money, but others continue so that you can play for the pride of winning even though no extra prize money is awarded for doing so.

All In Every Hand
These sit and go games are known by many different names, including Kamikaze and Tilt (for example, MAD Tilt games at Betfair Poker), but they all work in the same way, with every player being forced to go all in on every hand. This often means that just one hand will be played in a tournament, but if the first hand results in a split pot then subsequent hands can be played until there is one eventual winner. Whilst we do see the logical appeal of playing Turbo, Deep Stack and Double or Nothing sit and go games, we don’t think that All In Every Hand games will be of much interest to serious online poker players. After all, one could just as easily play a single hand of online blackjack to try and double up, and that would allow one to exercise more skill and judgement than blindly going all in at a poker table.

None of these sit and go variations will ever replace the regular sit and go format, but if you want to keep your online poker experience fresh and interesting they could – with the possible exception of All In Every Hand games – be well worth taking a look at.

William Briggs