SNG Player Ability Question...

[Vaun21]

Before I ask my question, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love this site! I was surfing the web last week and came across FTR and it's exactly what I have been looking for for months. This seems like a solid community and there is a wealth of information provided here and I wanted to say how appreciative I am to have such a great resource available, as I'm sure many others are, as well.

OK, enough ass-kissing...

My question pertains to the level of player ability at SNGs at the different buy-in levels. When do you start seeing a noticeable elevation in the player's abilities at SNGs? I know some of you play the higher buy-ins and was hoping that I could get some incite from your upwards moves from the lower buy-ins.

Thanks.

[DavSimon]

I am certain there is a correletion between the value of the buy-in and the level of play, but it is not a constant. I have played $5+1 SnG's that have had a few very tough players....and I have played plenty of $20+2 and $30+3 SnG's that have had surprisingly bad players. Large bankroll does not always = more skilled player. Generally the level of play does increase overall when you step up in the levels...I have never played a $50 SnG so I cannot comment on anything at that level or above. The easiest ones I have found are the 2-table $10+1 SnG's at Stars. It seems that many new people have the bankroll to play at that level or decided to move up from the $5 games too quickly because of short term success. The $20 and $30 levels are almost identical in difficulty...a smattering of fish with many solid players.

[Radashack]

Personally I group 10$ - 50$ SNG's at all about the same level. you'll be amazed at the amount of fish and bad play, but there are also some serious players like yourself looking to build the roll.

100$ SNG's is where you get a good portion of sucessful players. Up to 1k which is the shark cage

[Aces]

I agree w/Rada, I've played plenty of $5 - $50 SNGs, and I'd say that on average the skill level only gets marginally better if that. The decision to move up in SNGs should be more driven by BR then worries about the competition. If you can win enough at $10SNGs to bankroll a move up then do it.

Only played 1 $100(came in 3rd), so can't comment about anything greater than $50s.

[FlyingSaucy]

I've only played $5's and $10s on Party, and $1's and $5's on UB.

$1's on UB are about as easy as 5's on Party (although my sample size is kind of small on UB, only 20). The $5's on UB and $10's on Party are a slight step up in difficulty.

[aokrongly]

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[Vaun21]

Thanks for all of the input, guys. I really appreciate it. Right now, I've been playing the $2 + .25 SNGs at Absolute. I'm sitting at about 35% ITM, 20% in first (about 40 SNGs). So, I decided to try to move up to the $6 + 1, and I find that it's not really the other players are better than myself, but rather, I play differently because I am expecting them to be a lot better. It really affects my game negatively, and I need to get past the "thinking too much" and just play my game.

Again, thanks for all the replies.

[michael1123]

I agree with Rada. Basically $20 - $50 SNGs on Poker Stars are pretty similar in skill level, with probably an average of about half fish and half solid players. $100 is a step up, but there's still a good deal of not so good players. $200 (turbos mostly) seem to be the average game of the high buyin SNG players on Poker Stars, but there's still definitely some fish (but fish that are much better / more aggressive than the $10-$20 fish I'm sure). The $500s are usually very good players, with the occasional fish being way over his head.

Expect all $200+ SNGs that aren't turbos to have a lot of rocks. The high buyin turbos fill up much faster, so if they're choosing to play a non-turbo, they probably aren't comfortable with high blinds, where aggression thrives.

Only once have I played at a $500 SNG that was full of fish. At the $200 level its amazing how often that happens considering the buyin, but its still a rather rare occurance (probably 5% - 10%).