Low-Stakes Multi-Tablers: Moving up to Career Play

[Collin Moshman]

Hi Guys,

It seems there has been more discussion of career play in this forum recently. Let me address one aspect of turning a small side income into a career.

Suppose you are a Stars $16 grinder, multi-tabling with an ROI of 7% over many games. You should strongly consider playing fewer tables at a higher buyin (bankroll allowing, of course). Doing so will have an uncertain effect on your hourly winrate. This is because:

Playing volume will decrease (=> lower hourly winrate)
Competition generally improves (=> lower ROI)
Fewer tables allows for better decision-making (=> higher ROI)
You are investing a greater amount per game (=> higher $ profit per given ROI)

Combining these variables into a black-and-white result on hourly winrate effects is, unfortunately, not possible.

Regardless of winrate, your fluctuations will increase since you necessarily win more or lose more every game. So if winrate is uncertain, and variance is sure to rise, why should you concentrate on fewer tables at higher buyin?

Because if you are a low-stakes grinder, increasing your buyin is the only way you can achieve a long-term goal of an SNG career (or very substantial side income). You must always be aware of your SNG goals. Perhaps you have other career goals and know you are strictly a hobbyist, or maybe the extra income you get from your present routine is crucial to paying the rent each month and you cannot risk higher swings right now. There is nothing wrong with these scenarios, and I’m certainly not advocating all low-stakes grinders set their sites on an SNG career.

But if you do aspire to be a serious winner, you must consistently strive to move up in stakes (bankroll allowing, see “Sit ‘n Go Business Concepts Summarized” in my book, or simply do a forum search on bankroll discussion). This is accomplished by studying the game, and allowing your strategy to evolve and improve, even if high-volume push-botting at the lower stakes seems a "safer" proposition.

Know your SNG goals, and realize that higher buyin investments are what lead to increased income in the long run.

Good luck guys, and I will take questions in this thread about making a living from SNG play (75%+ of income deriving from SNGs).

Best Regards,
Collin


PS If you are indeed a high-volume low-mid stakes player, PM me if you’re interested in potentially earning some free money/coaching.