1-on-1 SNGs

[The_Bankroll]

I've tried playing a few of these on bodog, and I have a friend who plays these almost exclusively. I and just had a few questions about these?

1. can these be played profitably? if so, what's a good win percentage to get? is 60-70% maintainable?

2. what kind of bankroll should you have for this? (I imagine these would be very high variance)

[PokerPatNEU]

What is the prize pool to rake ratio for the buy in? If it's 5+.50 i think it's probably not too easy to beat the rake on these. 60% is probably maintainable if you're really good but i doubt much more than that.

[Fortune 500]

Depends on your stomach for variance. Your rake on these is generally around 10 percent, so you've got to win 60 percent to break even. I've found 65 to 70 percent attainable, but with big swings. Heads up is an entirely different prospect than a full SNG... but they can be played profitably.

[The_Bankroll]

oh, the rake at bodog is really good actually, it's only 5%.

[taipan168]

A friend of mine plays the $50+$2.50 and $100+$5 heads-up SnGs on Pokerstars and claims to win 80%+ of them. I've seen him play and he is an extremely good heads-up player. So it can be done...

[The_Bankroll]

well, it's been ok so far, about 50% wins after about 10 games, which means i'm still losing a little to the rake. but if nothing else, they are really good practice at heads-up, which i've always felt was the weakest part of my hold-'em game. i think i'll keep playing these for a few more days and see how I do.
but what do you think is a good Bankroll for these? right now i'm playing the $20+1 wiith about 30-40 buy-ins. I know these would have a higher variance, do you think that's enough, or should I drop to the 10+0.5s?

[AHiltz]

These are a good way to practice heads up in regards to getting a feeling how to play hands. BUT keep in mind that when you get heads up at the end of a MTT or SnG, your stack is smaller in regards to the size of the blinds. So, they end up playing slightly differently.

[WildBobAA]

but what do you think is a good Bankroll for these? right now i'm playing the $20+1 wiith about 30-40 buy-ins. I know these would have a higher variance, do you think that's enough, or should I drop to the 10+0.5s?

If you feel comfortable playing there then I say that's fine. Just make sure you're willing to drop down if you hit a rough streak.

[stewartkev]

I've played 52 HU games ($5.25/$10.50 on Bodog) this week with 36 wins (69%). It's given me a ROI of 29%....not too shabby but not sure if it's sustainable.

[Staple Gun]

I've played 52 HU games ($5.25/$10.50 on Bodog) this week with 36 wins (69%). It's given me a ROI of 29%....not too shabby but not sure if it's sustainable.

Definetly sustainable on bodog. I dont consider myself a good mid/deep stack HU player, but bodog is easy to beat at the $5 and $10 level.

[PokerPatNEU]

I've played a handfull on stars. I have beaten many opponents in the first/second blind levels...It is strange. People get way too aggressive in these matches. It comes from them being used to playing lots of hands aggressively heads up from SnGs...but the difference is: in normal SnGs the blinds are usually very big by the time it is heads up. in a heads up match, that is not the case. So you can afford to play tight...and it pays off.

In the first-third blind levels, don't be afraid to just fold your button away with crap hands like QT, K9, A2, and stuff like that. They are fine heads up, probably the best hand, but you can just give away your small blind for the first 2 rounds and wait for a really good spot to get your chips in and people will pay you off. People tend to think middle pair big kicker is the nuts heads up...Make 1 good hand and u can usually win these, at any point in the tourney. I have raised QQ on my button to 4x BB, got reraised to 15x, and pushed over...got called by K7o. I'm not kidding, this kind of thing is common.

[Godlike.]

I'm in the process of playing 1,000 heads up matches at Full Tilt Poker. My current stats are below. I believe I can achieve a higher level than this and have just suffered a huge downswing. 70% - 75% is attainable.