SIG (Susquehanna) Interview Guide: Poker, Options & Decision Theory

SIG (Susquehanna) Interview Guide: Poker, Options, and Decision Theory

Susquehanna International Group — “SIG” — is one of the largest options market-making firms in the world and is famously the home of the “poker culture” in quant trading. Founded in 1987 outside Philadelphia, SIG built its trading approach around the same skills that win poker tournaments: incomplete information, expected-value reasoning, opponent modeling, and disciplined bet sizing. The interview process reflects this culture, and SIG remains one of the most distinctive interview experiences in quant finance.

What SIG Does

SIG is a proprietary trading firm focused on options market making, with significant business in equities, ETFs, fixed income, FX, and structured products. The firm is headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, with offices in New York, Chicago, Dublin, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, and elsewhere. SIG trades its own capital; profit comes from spread capture and disciplined risk management, not client management.

The firm’s trading approach is rooted in expected-value decision-making under uncertainty — the same framework as serious poker. Many of SIG’s senior traders are former competitive poker players, and the firm runs internal poker tournaments as part of trader training. The intuition: a trader who can quote a fair market on an unknown, manage inventory across many positions, and stay disciplined when variance hits is functionally doing what a good poker player does at a table.

Roles SIG Hires For

Quantitative Trader

The flagship role. New graduates enter SIG’s trader training program (in Bala Cynwyd or Dublin), spend several months on options theory, market simulation, and poker training, then move to a trading desk. The training program is intensive and is a meaningful filter on top of the interview process.

Quantitative Researcher

Builds models, signals, and analytics for trading desks. Heavier on math, statistics, and programming than the trader role. PhD candidates often end up here.

Software Engineer / Technology

Builds trading systems, exchange connectivity, risk infrastructure, market-data systems. SIG has a substantial technology organization; SWE roles are not second-class.

Quantitative Strategist (QS)

Hybrid trader-quant role on certain desks; combines model development with active trading.

SIG Interview Process

Round 1: Online assessment

Probability, brainteaser, and quantitative reasoning questions. Some candidates also see a logic / sequencing component. Less mental-math-heavy than Optiver’s 80-in-8 but still timed and demanding.

Round 2: First-round interview (phone or video)

30–45 minutes with a recruiter or junior trader. Probability brainteasers, expected-value problems, motivation discussion. Expect 3–5 problems, ranging from coin/dice classics to slightly stranger setups (the interviewer is gauging how you reason under partial information).

Round 3: Technical phone or video interview

Deeper probability, market making, and a poker / decision-theory question or two. Sample questions:

“You’re playing a game where you flip coins until you get two heads in a row. What’s the expected number of flips?”
“In a poker hand, you have a 30% chance of winning. The pot is $100 and your opponent bets $50. Should you call?”
“Make me a market on the number of dominos in a standard set.”

Round 4: SIG on-site (or virtual on-site)

Multi-hour event. Includes:

Multiple back-to-back interviews with traders (probability, market making, sometimes coding)
Group exercise / trading game
Poker hand discussion (if you’ve played) or a structured decision-theory problem
Behavioral / culture-fit conversations
Lunch with current traders

Round 5: Final / decision

Senior trader review. Decision usually within a week.

What SIG Tests For

Expected-value reasoning

SIG wants traders who instinctively think “what’s the EV of this decision?” rather than “what’s the most likely outcome?” Brainteasers are designed to probe this: situations where the most likely outcome differs from the highest-EV decision (Monty Hall is a classic example). Strong candidates compute EVs out loud, considering multiple branches.

Probability under partial information

Conditional probability problems. Bayesian updating. Information cascades. The interviewer might reveal partial information mid-problem and watch how you update your estimate.

Market-making intuition

Same core skill as Optiver, Jane Street, Citadel Securities. Quote a market, manage inventory, update on information. See Market-Making Interview Questions.

Poker / game-theory thinking

If you’ve played poker seriously, expect to discuss specific hands (preflop ranges, pot odds, bluff frequencies). If you haven’t, expect a structured decision-theory problem that captures the same intuition (when to fold, when to call, when to raise — in non-poker language).

Discipline under variance

SIG explicitly probes how candidates handle bad outcomes. After a “wrong” trade in a market-making round, do you tilt? Do you widen your spread defensively forever, or do you recalibrate and continue? Disciplined response to variance is part of the culture and the interview signal.

Preparation Strategy

Months -3 to -2 (probability foundations)

Work through A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews (Zhou, “the green book”) and Heard on the Street (Crack). Focus on probability, expected value, conditional probability, and combinatorics. See our guides on Probability Classics and Expected Value.

Months -2 to -1 (market making and options)

Practice market-making mock rounds. Read Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives (Hull) for options basics. Understand put-call parity and Black-Scholes intuition.

Month -1 (poker / decision theory)

If you don’t play poker, learn the basics: pot odds, expected value of calls/folds, range thinking. The Theory of Poker (Sklansky) is the classical text; Modern Poker Theory (Acevedo) is more recent. You don’t need to be a serious player — you need to be able to reason about a hand using EV and range thinking.

Final week

Mock on-sites. Behavioral prep: why SIG, why trading, how you reason about tough decisions in your life or work.

SIG vs Other Market-Making Firms

SIG vs Optiver: Optiver is more options-pricing-rigor; SIG is more decision-theory-and-poker. Both are top-tier options market makers; the cultural texture is different.

SIG vs Jane Street: Jane Street emphasizes broad intellectual curiosity (functional programming, math, philosophy, etc.); SIG emphasizes game-theory and disciplined decision-making. Both attract bright people; the interview vibes differ.

SIG vs Citadel Securities: Citadel Securities is more technology-driven and broader in product; SIG is more options-centric and more trader-driven. Compensation is comparable.

Compensation

SIG pays at the top of the market. New-graduate trader compensation is typically $200,000–$350,000 base + bonus, with substantial upside in years 2+ as candidates take on more risk. Quant researcher and SWE compensation is similarly competitive. Bonuses are tied to firm and desk performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to play poker to get hired at SIG?

No, but you need to think the way poker players think. SIG values expected-value reasoning, opponent modeling, and disciplined bet sizing — the underlying skills, not the game itself. Many SIG traders don’t play poker seriously. That said, if you do play, expect to discuss specific hands; if you don’t, expect a structured decision-theory problem that probes the same intuition. Reading a basic poker theory book before interviewing is helpful even if you never play.

How does SIG’s training program work?

New trader hires enter a multi-month training program at SIG’s headquarters (Bala Cynwyd, PA) or in Dublin. The program covers options theory, market making mechanics, risk management, and trading simulation. It also includes structured poker training: lectures, supervised play, and tournament-style sessions. After training, traders are placed on a desk and ramp up risk gradually under senior-trader mentorship. The program is rigorous; not every new hire passes.

Is SIG worth interviewing at if I’m focused on Jane Street / Citadel Securities?

Yes. SIG is in the same tier of compensation and intellectual rigor, and the interview experience is genuinely different — preparing for SIG sharpens skills you don’t get from Jane Street or Citadel Securities prep alone (specifically, decision-theory under partial information). Many candidates target all three plus Optiver and IMC; the firms compete for the same talent pool, and a strong candidate at one is generally a strong candidate at all.

Where is SIG based and how location-flexible are roles?

Headquarters is Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania (suburban Philadelphia). Major offices include Dublin (substantial trader presence), New York, Chicago, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney. Trader roles are typically tied to a specific office; SIG does not offer remote trading. Quant research and SWE roles have similar location requirements with limited flex. If you have a strong office preference, raise it early in the recruiting process.

What kind of background does SIG hire?

SIG hires from any quantitative discipline: math, physics, computer science, statistics, economics, engineering, even philosophy or chess masters. What matters is quantitative aptitude, decision-theory intuition, and demonstrated discipline. Traditional finance background is unnecessary. Many SIG hires have competitive backgrounds in chess, poker, math olympiad, or other domains where decision-making under partial information is the core skill.