The Nit Game: How to Punish Tight Play at Your Poker Home Game

The Nit Game is a poker side game that punishes players who fold too much. It forces everyone to get involved or pay the price. Made famous by The Lodge Poker Club and streamers like Doug Polk, this game uses physical buttons (usually red NIT buttons) to track who needs to win a hand.

The concept is dead simple. Everyone starts with a button. Win a hand to get rid of your button. The last player still holding their button at the end pays everyone else at the table.

Here are the complete rules for running the Nit Game at your home game:

1. Give everyone a button. Each player starts with one red NIT button in front of them. You can use poker chips, coins, or anything visible.
2. Play poker normally. Your main game runs exactly as usual. No-Limit Hold'em, PLO, mixed games, whatever you play.
3. Win a hand to lose your button. When you win a pot at showdown or force everyone to fold, you remove your NIT button and put it aside.
4. The last button pays. When everyone else has cleared their buttons, the remaining player with a button pays each other player a set amount.

Before you start, get everyone on the same page about these details:

• Payment amount: How much does the loser pay each winner? Most games use 1 to 3 big blinds per person.
• Chopped pots: If two players split a pot, do both clear their buttons? Most games say yes.
• Time limit: Set a hand count or time window. Thirty hands or one hour works well.
• Walks and preflop folds: If the big blind wins uncontested, does that count? Usually no.

The Nit Game creates pressure without changing your stakes. Tight players suddenly have a reason to play more hands. Loose players get rewarded for their action. Everyone pays attention because anyone could be the last one holding a button.

It also creates natural drama. When three players are down to their last buttons and the session is winding down, every hand matters. Even the players who already cleared start rooting for outcomes.

• Buy actual red NIT buttons online. They cost a few bucks and make the game feel official.
• Run it every session so players expect it. Consistency builds buy-in.
• Keep the stakes small. This is supposed to add action, not stress people out.
• Announce when two buttons remain. It ramps up the tension.