My SNG situation, advice needed

[CasualCasper]

Hi FTR,
I am currently playing at a site but I'm not sure if I'm profitting enough, so I would like to hear some of you guys view on my situation.

Pros of the site: 10% rake down to 2,5€ which I'm playing at since I'm a student and can't afford to move up just yet (haven't seen a 10% rake on any other site at that level).
Tax free winnings because of EU license.

Cons of the site: The blind structure is every 10 hands, which you really can feel in-the-money when you are just 3 players or heads up.

I usually end in the money 7 out of 10 times, but the problem is I only win 2 out of the 7. Would I profit more from 10 minutes blind structure or should I keep on playing at the 10 hand structure and try to perfect my late stage play? I'm just wondering if I'm up against luck, which in that case would make no sense in improving my late stage play.

Advice needed
Cheers, Casper.

[natso]

I thought 10% rake was pretty standard for SNGs, and sometimes it's even less for turbos, etc. I'm US though so I'm not sure how things work on the Euro sites.

I used to play the 10-hand blind structure games, but it was quite a while ago. I don't really recall there being much difference in how the game played out except towards the end where the blinds could shoot up pretty quick. It gave it kind of a turbo feel I guess.

I don't know what your sample size is, but if you're cashing 70%, keep doing what you're doing, that's crazy high. I have a feeling you won't be able to sustain that rate long term though. IIRC, I think 34% ITM is the magic number to be break even, so you must be doing fine even if you aren't shipping as much as you'd like. Work on your heads-up game and that should help things. GL

[surviva316]

blinds increasing every 10 hands doesn't sound that fast for an SnG. SnG blind structures are like the equivalent of MTT turbos because the early, middle and late stages of the tournament happen so quickly (all within an hour instead of like 6 hours). winning 2 out of 7 sounds pretty good to me, but i'm new to sng's also

[CasualCasper]

Thanks for the feedback!
Well the blind structure is actually pretty nice until you reach the money. It somehow becomes a bit like push/fold poker because the blinds go up that quickly. You're probably right I should keep on playing at the tables, after all it's quite decent to be in the money that often even though it's probably decreased down the road. But until now I have started on different sites with 25€ and trippled in a week or two, so I must be doing something right Have read quite a few poker books to improve my game, can you recommend a poker book about heads up? Haven't really read that much about heads up, probably the reason for my poor in-the-money/heads up stats.

[taipan168]

I haven't counted the hands, but it seems pretty similar to a turbo structure at Stars or FT which is based upon time, at least at the earlier stages. You probably get a few more than 10 hands in at the later stages.

I agree with what natso said about 70% ITM. Take a look in the FAQs and I list what a more typical ITM ratio might be. Over more than 3000 SNGs I have about 40% ITM split equally between 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

It somehow becomes a bit like push/fold poker because the blinds go up that quickly.

Being able to play good push/fold poker is one of the most important, if not the most important, skills in playing SNGs.

But until now I have started on different sites with 25€ and trippled in a week or two, so I must be doing something right

Well done on your good results - just be aware that variance (both positive and negative) is a really big factor in poker.

Have read quite a few poker books to improve my game, can you recommend a poker book about heads up? Haven't really read that much about heads up, probably the reason for my poor in-the-money/heads up stats.

I think there are a couple of stickied threads in the FAQs, otherwise Kill Everyone, Collin Moshman's book (Sit N Go Strategy) and Harrington on Hold'em cover this topic. However, the most important thing in heads up is to adapt to your opponent's playing style.

[CasualCasper]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah I know you're right with the ITM, probably also because I play at the 2,5€ level. But bad luck will turn up down the road. I will take a look at some of the books you recommended taipan168. I think I have read one of your articles here on FTR when I started out playing poker which was a big help, so of course a lot of credit to you mate.

[Nakamura]

I thought I had an issue with this in the past, so I went and played hundreds of HU games and ST. I really got to work on my HU game and ratio has improved.

You'd know better where the issue lies if you analysed if your stack ratio at the point of going HU. If it's less than 2/7 you are doing ok HU and the issue may lie with weak-tight play before HU play. If your stack-ratio is better than 2/7 when you get to the HU part, you'll need to work on your push-fold game.

[Kijjo]

Saw an interesting talk by Howard Lederer, breaking down the SNG payout math. Once you cash in a SNG that pays 50/30/20, you gotta look at it like everyone's recieved 20% of the prize pool each. Now the only determination to be made is will you get nothing else, another 10% for second, or another 30% for taking it down. Good way to put things in perspective right?
It would be good to keep a record for a while, of what your stack size is when you get to the bubble, after the bubble bursts, and then when hu starts. This'll give you an indication if you're playing too weak and giving away value somewhere before hu, leaving you at a chip disadvantage. Only thing is, for this info to be meaningful, you're gonna have to record it over a nice big sample.

[rong]

thats quite a good idea

[tpb221]

I usually end in the money 7 out of 10 times, but the problem is I only win 2 out of the 7. .

What do you mean by "usually" in the money 7 out of 10. You're either winning 7 out of 10 or you're not. First, if you don't have HEM/PT start a spread sheet to track everything.(If you don't have one there are free ones online to download.) You need to keep records so you can track how you are really doing.

At 7 out of 10 in the money with 2 wins per 7 you are doing very good. Assuming a 50/30/20 payout with 9 players you have a ROI greater then 64% which is very high for SNG. Over a large sample size I think this would be hard to keep up as variance would catch up with you.

Keep playing these SNG as you are doing well with them.

Best of luck.

[CasualCasper]

You're right tpb221, "usually" should instead have been "approximately", I don't really keep track of It. and that's the first mistake, of course I should keep track of it, I'm going to make a spreadsheet right away!
It maybe 6 out of 10, but It was just to give you guys a picture of what my problem is. I get a hell of a lot of 2nd places but I always seem to make a mistake when playing HU. What I came down to was either improve my HU or the blind structure made it impossible, since you can't beat luck. But I'm going to work on my HU for sure and keep on playing at the site. I have also started an account today on another site with 8 min blind structure and 2000 stack instead of 1500. I'll see what's most profitting in the long run.

[TLR]

I would switch to a site that works on a minute based blind structure, the 10 hands blind structure causes rapid blind increase as the table gets shorter and game is in push/fold mode.

post some tourneys from the bubble and forward.

I played relatively little HU Sngs, and from the few I played it is a very different game then HU at the end of a turbo Sng tournament, due to the stack depth.

[tncatfish43]

do whatever you feel the most confident with.if you don't feel sure of yourself you are starting out at a self inflicted disadvantage