Basic Sit 'n Go Questions Answered Here

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]

Danastasio, the conventional answer is around 50 buyins, so you'd want a balance of ~ $1000 to be playing the $20's.


[/ QUOTE ]
Please forgive me for asking some questions that are not all basic.

Do you agree with that conventional answer, and if so, how would you justify it? Is that amount for turbo SNGs or regular ones, and at which stake levels, or do you believe 50 buy-ins is just good everywhere?

What ROIs do you feel are attainable at each level of non-turbo SNGs? How about live SNGs?

How much of the ROI or first place probability edge do you feel can be earned at each blind level?

[Collin Moshman]

CaptainSubText, pre-flop raise-sizing really depends on the table. As a general answer though, I tend to prefer smaller raises of around 2.5 BB unless I have 10 BB or fewer -- in which case I'll just shove. The main reason I like smaller raises is that I usually like to keep pre-flop pots small so that I can get away when I think I'm beat post-flop. The less comfortable you feel playing post-flop, the more inclined you should be to make larger 4 BB raises so as to keep the game more pre-flop (where you have the edge). One exception is low blinds where you are often correct to raise bigger at tables where a 2.5 BB raise is treated like a pot-sweetener (i.e., no one is likely to fold for a few extra chips) and you have a solid hand and don't want multiple players to see a flop.

Nsight, your first question is empirical -- that is, a good response would require the same player to play a large number of each type of SNG and compare winrates. Turbos will generally increase your $/hr, but since more pros often congregate at these games, your ROI will usually be higher in non-turbos. One exception would be if you were very good at late-game ICM-based decisions (when to shove, call an allin, resteal) but your low and mid-blind play was lacking. Then you'd usually have a higher ROI in the turbos.

pzhon, I do indeed think there are exceptions to the 50 buyin rule (although it is generally a decent answer) -- I go into this much more detail in the section on SNG Business Concepts in my book. STTF debates your remaining questions pretty vigorously ... the only thing I'll add is that I just played some live games in Vegas (mainly Mirage), and while live games certainly have softer competition than online, the astronomical rake (15-20%) and very shallow structure (starting stacks usually 20-40 BB) probably make it tough to make much of an income off these.

(BTW Nsight and Danastasio, I may be hitting you guys up for some split-pot tips [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] -- these games are not my strongest...)

[youbobAA]

I read with interest your section on sng as a business, especially the part on rake. So far after 28 sng and 5 mtt I have won $111.60 and paid $90.50 in buyins and $10.10 in fees for a profit of $11.00.
The tournaments on the site I play are usually at least 10%. The worst are the $1.00 + .20 so I don't play them even though I have a very small deposit. Where are the rake deals that are less than 10% fees?

[1fightnirish]

Great book! My winnings have started going up from day 1. We just need to keep this book a secret [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]. What is a good rate of return when playing SNG's. I'm not multitabeling yet and my rate of return is about 20% playing low SNG's.
I have no idea if that is good, or not. I know its better than negative.

[hitch1978]

Question about turbo reads -

If we are on a site that doesn't allow HUDs, what should we be looking out for primarily in terms on reads. I try and keep track of how many hands a player is playing, and how aggressively they play them (Well I don't try, it's second nature.) I also obviously notice if someone shows down J2o in a raised pot etc...

The problem is, in a turbo, you change through the stages of a tourney, and stacks are shifting around so fast that it's hard to know how reliable a particular aspect of my read is etc.

Do you have any general rules of thumb in this regard? Are there certain types of things to look out for that are more reliable, or more likely to be indivative of how a player is going to play through the whole tourney etc.

Just a couple of examples to clarify.

EG1. 1st hand of tourney UTG raises to 3XBB, 1 caller to the C/O who calls. He shows down trash. But he may not be playing so loose in level 3/4 as the blinds are much higher in comparison to his stack.

EH2. Player has folded all but 1 hand in first 4 levels which he never showed down. In levels 5/6 he starts by raising 3 out of the first 10 pots. (Obviously I would tag him as likely a good player at this point.) Now his VPIP is still low, how much credibility do we give his next raise?

TY.

[Boise123]

What are your thoughts on Poker Tracker and or Poker Office.
Thanks

[Collin Moshman]

TheNextLevel, glad you enjoyed the book. While it is unrealistic, unfortunately, to have a daily profit goal -- SNGs are a comparatively low-fluctuation form of poker. In an MTT for instance, 10-20% are paid on average, whereas in a 3-paid 9-man SNG, 1/3 are paid.

Acein8ter, you should steal-raise fairly often in high-blind short-handed play. The tighter the blinds are, and the better you are at post-flop play (so that you'll have a good strategy for when you do get called) -- the more likely you should be to steal. Resteal from the big blind when you have a premium hand, or you put your opponent on a steal and find it likely he'll fold immediately. Even then you want your hand to have some showdown value and you don't want to risk way more than you'd be getting (e.g., avoid RSing when the raise is to 300 and you each have 3000 behind).

suitsme, if you mean +$$ action, then yes. If you mean +chip action, then no ... you are often correct to decline.
This is a very big theme in SNG Strategy.

Boise123, I think tracking software is an excellent investment. I have the standard # Hands/VPIP/PFR/AF above all my opponents while I'm playing. My personal preference between the two is Office since I find the interface to be a little more user-friendly, but you can't go wrong.

Keep on crushing your games,
Collin

[smbruin22]

hi colin... i'm not sure if my private message that i just sent got thru to you. it seemed to work but then my sent message box is empty.

anyhow, i was thinking it would be just as good to ask here where everyone can see your response.

the abridged version is this:

does your book go deeply into plays from the blinds? seems like it represents a pretty high % of hands played in early-mid. i understand basic SNG strategy, but should i just be giving up more or less on these hands?? end before flop??? all 3-4 players check flop, but i'm still OOP with weak 2nd pair??

somewhat similar but early to mid SNG, do you raise if it's folded to you in CO and you have Q9o, JTs etc. and you chip stack is down 15%....basically do you make small power, positional moves early? or do basically do nothing but TT+, AK??

i will be buying the book with my next order. basically waiting for tysen streib's book to be stocked in canada.
thanks in advance!!!

[MikeBandy]

[ QUOTE ]
does your book go deeply into plays from the blinds?

[/ QUOTE ]
As someone who has no vested interest in the book, I assure you he does. He discusses those plays from the perspective of both the blind and the other player.

One of the things I like about the book is that he makes a point, and then illustrates it with several examples. In each example, he gives a situation followed by a question. You can cover the answer with a bookmark while you form your answer. Then read what he says.

[httassadar]

Hi, Collin,

I just finished your books and tried the advices in real play at $5 SNG.

The problem I now have is this. In low BB which is about 30-40 hands, usually I'll never get premium hands, and I'll invest some small amount for speculative hands and give them up against a pf raise or not-so-good flop.

So it's high probable that I'll be loosing 20% of my initial stack when the game comes to mid-BB when I have around 20BB. Then the game is all about stealing and all-in re-stealing. It's not normal poker any more.

Am I doing something wrong or this is just the way SnG goes?