Kevin Hollar aka Kevbo | Texas Holdem Poker Strategy

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Kevin Hollar aka Kevbo : Texas Holdem Poker Room Strategies

Playing Sit and Gos for Profit : No Limit Texas Holdem

When I arrived back home I decided to see if it was possible to play online. I did a search and found a site called Paradise Poker. I was amazed when I saw that there were 2,000 people online playing poker! I deposited $50, played for a while and lost it. A few months later, did the same thing. A few times I would cash out but no real winnings to speak of. This went on for a while and during this time I was playing in live games here and there and doing well. What I couldn’t understand was that I was winning thousands in home games, but losing at $1/$2 online. My wife kept letting me play online though, after all, I was playing with money I had won in the home games. However, I was finding out just how expensive it could be to learn how to play poker.

I finally decided that there must be some adjustments I needed to make, so I went on Amazon and bought five or six books then devoured them in quick fashion. I deposited $50 online and told myself that if I lost it, that was it. No more internet poker, only live games. I ended up building it up slowly, then six months later this guy named Moneymaker wins the World Series of Poker and all hell broke loose. Before his win, the poker site I played on had grown to 5,000 players – wow! I couldn’t believe how much it had grown up to that point. I still find it funny looking back on it. Anyway, I continued to slowly build the bankroll, but it wasn’t until the fall of 2003 when I found SNG’s, that I started to make some serious headway. I played the $5 SNG’s on Party Poker, then $10, then $20 SNG’s and so on until I eventually found myself playing the $200 tables. I now have played over 1500 SNG’s having won thousands of dollars. Many times I have heard the question “Can Sit “N’ Go’s be used as a way to build a bankroll?” to which my answer is a resounding YES YOU CAN!

Texas Hold’em Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments are becoming increasingly popular and are a nice change of pace from the daily grind of playing ring games. For a skilled player, they can also be an exciting and profitable means in which to increase their bankrolls.
You are not going to become an expert SNG player overnight. Mastering SNG’s takes hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours playing. When I started playing SNG’s in 2003 I had mixed results, I soon began to show profits, and over time my results continued to improve to the point where I consistently achieve high win rates. If you are a solid limit ring game player, you should be able to become a winning SNG player as well, but to accomplish this, there are many adjustments you must make. The reason many players fail to become successful at multi-table and SNG tournaments is because they neglect to make the necessary strategic adjustments to their game.
The initial objective of my monthly column is to provide a basic set of strategies that will give even the novice SNG player the ability to cash in these tournaments a high percentage of the time. The main focus will be one table NL SNG’s, but we will also discuss strategies for other types of SNG’s such as limit, turbo, and two and three table tournaments. Many of the strategies used for NL SNG’s are applicable to the other type games as well, but there are some very important adjustments that must be made in order to be successful. The strategies discussed will be those used by winning SNG players including myself and have been battle tested and proven to be successful. Many SNG players are already familiar with what I call “basic SNG strategy”. This implies that one should play extremely tight in the beginning and then as the tourney progresses and players are eliminated, become more and more aggressive. I firmly believe this to be the best overall strategy for the beginning to intermediate player in terms of playing profitably. There are several SNG guides posted online that do well in terms of providing a general set of guidelines for players to follow, however, we will be going into much greater detail. In order to accomplish this, we will be breaking up the SNG into its many different stages to discuss proper strategy and will look at several hand examples for each stage of play.

The first few articles will include such topics as bankroll management and expected earn rates, followed by which sites to play and why. We will then dissect the SNG and discuss each stage in detail. We will cover play at the beginning and middle stages of the tournament and then focus heavily on bubble play, and “endgame” play (1-3 players). The idea here is to develop a solid foundation for winning SNG tournaments so that you are armed with the necessary tools to become a successful (and profitable) SNG player.

Once we have discussed a roadmap for “basic SNG strategy” we will then dive into more advanced material. Basic strategy will help you develop a solid earn rate, but in order to truly maximize your potential earnings, you must learn some advanced concepts. Topics will include: profiling players, playing small cards, inducing bluffs, maximizing pots, complex scenarios, and of course there will lots and lots of hand examples.

Next month the first article will look at bankroll management and expected earn rate. I think you may be surprised by what I believe to be a sustainable earn rate.

It is very important to remain disciplined in your approach and understand that variance plays as much a roll in SNG’s as it does in other forms of poker. There will be your good runs and your bad runs, but over time, two important statistics will begin to surface. One is the percentage of the time you finish in the money (ITM) and the other is your return on investment (ROI). These are the two most important indicators of how successfully you are playing sit‘n’go’s.

How much of a bankroll do I need?

Like many of the answers in poker “it depends”. When playing limit poker, players generally like to have 250-300 big bets before moving up in limits. Then, if they go on a bad run, they move back down in limits until they have rebuilt their bankroll and are ready to try again. The same general principles apply to SNG’s. You generally want to have a specific number of buy-ins before moving up limits. Then, if you go on a cold run, drop back down to the previous limit and rebuild. There is no shame in moving down a limit. In fact, it shows a great deal of self-discipline in addition to proper bankroll management.

There are several factors to consider when you are determining the number of buy-ins you will need at each level. Will you have enough of a cushion if you place out of the money in several consecutive tournaments? Do you have enough to be comfortable and not be playing with “scared money”? For me, this was reason enough for requiring myself to have 100 buy-ins before playing in the $100 and $200 games. The first few times I played at the $200 limit, it was a strange feeling to say the least and if I would not have had such a large reserve, it could have affected me mentally and changed the way I played.

When playing the $5-$30 games, most players like to have between 20 and 30 buy-ins. This will usually be enough when playing at these limits. However, as you move up to the $50, $100, or even $200 games, I would suggest you increase the number of buy-ins in your bankroll to at least 50 and preferably to 100. I personally required myself to have 25 buy-ins at the $5-$30 levels, then 50 at the $50 level, and 100 buy-ins at the $100 and $200 limits.

What are the highest win-rates I can expect to achieve?

It is my opinion that your ITM rate will vary based on which poker sites you are playing. When playing at Party Poker or one of their skins, you start with only 800 chips (1,000 chips at the $50 - $200 tables). The blinds increase after every 10 hands played so the tourneys typically last about forty-five minutes. In comparison, PokerStars starts you off with 1500 chips and the blinds increase at a slower pace. This allows for a longer tourney (usually about an hour and fifteen minutes), and of course, these conditions favors the more skilled players.

A very good player’s stats will look similar to these:

$5 -$10: ITM – 45%, ROI – 35%

$20 - $30: ITM – 43%, ROI – 30%

$55 - $100: ITM – 40%, ROI – 24%

$200: ITM – 40%, ROI – 18%

These statistics represent the expected win-rates of an expert player while playing SNG’s at Party Poker or one of their many skins. The reason I use Party for this example, is due to the popularity of their site and because their SNG format is similar to many of the other online card rooms.

You will often hear of players who have played X number of sit‘n’go’s and have produced better results. This is indeed possible, but I do believe that the better results are more likely due to the player being on a good run rather than any other single factor. Over the long run, variance has a way of evening things out. My personal experience has seen me place 1st in up to eight consecutive SNG’s when things were running well, but finish out of the money sixteen consecutive times when things were going poorly. When I was winning, I felt invincible, as though there were not a better poker player alive! Phil Ivey who? Then of course when I was losing, I felt like my game was falling apart and that I was the biggest chump at the table. After analyzing my play, I realized that my game was fine and that I was simply experiencing a bad run. The most important thing to realize is that you will have your good and bad runs, but it is your consistently solid play that will make you a winning player over the long term.

As I mentioned previously, the conditions at PokerStars are more favorable to the skilled player, especially at the lower buy-ins. I firmly believe that it is possible to finish in the money 55% of the time at the $5-$30 levels. At the $50-$100 levels, I believe an ITM rate of 50% is sustainable while at the $200 level, 45% is possible. The main reason for this is the more favorable tournament structure. The better players are going to thrive in an environment that provides more starting chips and a slower paced blind structure. Another reason is that there are only nine players. Of course, with nine players, there will obviously be less money in the prize pool so your ROI could suffer. However, at the lower levels, the higher ITM rate should more than make up the difference.

Should I multi-table?

Once you know for certain that you are a winning SNG player, then go for it. When multi-tabling, your ITM and ROI percentages will likely decrease, but your hourly rate should improve. After all, we are trying to earn the most money possible. How many tables you should play is entirely up to you. Only you will be able to determine how many tables you can successfully play at a time to maximize your winnings.

Next month we will take a closer look at which sites to play and the differences of each. Until then, see you at the tables!

KEVBO

Party Poker / Empire Poker : All of the Party skins share player traffic (except in MTT’s) so I will list them together. SNG availability on these sites is tremendous and tables usually fill up in a matter of seconds.

Game Types: Hold’em, omaha/8, 7-card stud, and 7-card stud/8 with many of these games offering limit, no-limit, and pot-limit tables. Two and three table SNG’s are also available. Buy-ins range from $5 up to $200. Party Poker has recently added step tourneys for those who want to take a shot at a bigger payout.

Players: The players here tend to be less experienced, however, the games are not as loose as they once were. In the past you could sit out the entire time and still have a good chance of finishing in the money. Currently, more and more players are adopting a tight playing style, so there are often six or more players remaining when the blinds equal a significant percentage of your chip stack.

Tourney Info: The average single table tourney lasts approximately forty-five minutes. Each player starts with 800 chips (1000 chips in the $100 and $200 buy-ins) and the blinds increase every ten hands.

My Opinion: This is where it all started for me. I began playing the $5 SNG’s and worked my way up from there. The games at that time were incredibly soft. In fact, it was almost free money! Well, times have changed and the games, while still very beatable, are tougher than they once were. The other players are beginning to adopt a tighter style, which means that you are often playing all-in poker prior to the bubble. While there is some strategy involved in this situation, the game becomes more of a card catching contest at this point. The Party SNG’s are most profitable when they are offering re-load bonuses. The games tend to soften up considerably during these periods.

Poker Stars : The tournament software is far superior to any other site on the net and they have an incredible selection of games. Many players prefer to play here because you start off with more chips and the blinds increase at a slower pace. This makes for a slower tourney and thus benefits the better players.

Game Types: Hold’em, omaha , omaha/8, 7-card stud, and 7-card stud/8 with many of these games offering limit, no-limit, and pot-limit tables. In addition, they offer short-handed, turbo, heads-up, and multi table SNG’s (up to 5 tables). Buy-ins range from $1 up to $5,000.

Players: The players here have a tendency to be more experienced than those on the other sites, but if you are patient and follow the proper strategy, then you should do well.

Tourney Info: The average single table tourney here lasts an average of an hour and fifteen minutes. Each player starts with 1500 chips so if you lose a bunch of chips early, you still have plenty of chips left and you’re not crippled as badly as you would be playing on a site that starts you off with less chips. The blinds increase every ten minutes.

My Opinion: Poker Stars is where I call home most of the time. I really like the 1500 in starting chips coupled with the blind structure. If I take a stab at a pot early on and miss, then I still have plenty of chips (and time) left to where I’m not crippled. On some of the other sites, if you make a move at the wrong pot, then you end up critically short-stacked and it’s very difficult to mount a comeback. Stars also offers every kind of SNG imaginable. This works well when you want to test your skills at other games or if you are just wanting to try something different to break up the routine.

Paradise Poker : The selection of games is very limited, however, the hold’em tourneys fill up rather quickly.

Game Types: Limit and NL hold’em, Omaha/8, and 7-card stud/8. They also offer heads-up matches. Buy-ins range from $5 up to $300.

Players: The players here are similar to those found at Party Poker. Due to the blind structure, if you find yourself on a table full of tight players, then the game often turns into all-in poker with six or seven players left even in the $5 games.

Tourney Info: The average single table tourney lasts approximately forty-five minutes. Each player starts with 1,000 chips (800 chips in the limit tourneys) and the blinds increase every ten hands.

My Opinion: The SNG’s here are very similar to the ones you will find at Party Poker. However, one difference is that they start you off with a few more chips, (1,000) which gives you a little more breathing room when the blinds increase. If you play a lot of SNG’s at Party then you will probably like Paradise as well. It also makes for a nice change of scenery.

UltimateBet : The software is excellent and the mini-view feature makes it easy to play more than one table at a time.

Game Types: Hold’em, omaha , omaha/8, and 7-card stud with many of these games offering limit, no-limit, and pot-limit tables. In addition, they offer short-handed, turbo, heads-up, and multi table SNG’s (up to 4 tables). Buy-ins range from $1 up to $5,000.

Players: The players here are similar to those found at Poker Stars. They tend to be better on the average, but still very beatable.

Tourney Info: The average single table tourney lasts approximately an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Each player starts with 1,500 chips and the blinds increase every ten minutes (12 minutes at the $200 an up tourneys).

My Opinion: Although Poker Stars is my favorite, UltimateBet is not too far behind. They start you off with 1500 chips and have a blind structure similar to the one at Stars. The software is excellent! For those who like to multi-table, they offer a mini view feature I wish all of the sites had.

Pacific Poker : The games here are some of the softest you will find. The only drawback is that their software is very cumbersome. They currently only offer hold’em.

Game Types: Limit, NL, and PL hold’em. In addition, they offer short-handed, turbo, heads-up and multi-table SNG’s (up to 4 tables). Buy-ins range from $1 up to $750.

Players: The players here are some of the least experienced you will find anywhere.

Tourney Info: The average single table tourney lasts approximately one hour. Players start off with 800 chips in the games up to $20 and 1,000 in chips for the games $30 and above. The blinds increase every 15 hands.

My Opinion: The players just don’t get any worse than Pacific Poker. I believe this is due to the fact that they get a lot of crossover business from their online casino. The only catch is that their software is almost unbearable at times. Although very slowly, they are making improvements and I will probably be testing the waters here again in the near future.

Final Thoughts

There are without question some other sites out there worth playing and I have played a few of them, but I don’t feel as though I have enough experience with them in order to offer a worthy opinion.. The one thing I will say is that these other sites tend to offer similar games and structures to the sites already listed, but the games tend to take longer to fill up with players.

For most players, hourly rate is the most important factor when choosing which site to play. Although I have mentioned how you will likely earn more per tournament at Poker Stars and UltimateBet, it is possible your hourly rate may be better when playing at Party Poker. This is because the average SNG at Party is much shorter than the ones played at Stars so you will play in many more tourneys over the same period of time. I’m currently doing an analysis on the hourly returns which I will discuss in a future article.

One final and very important note, especially to those playing the lower buy-in tourneys, make sure to take note of the table fee being charged by the different sites. For example, when playing the $5 buy-in tourneys, Party Poker charges $5 plus a $1 table fee ($5+1). In fact Party Poker and Paradise Poker both charge $5+1. When playing the $5 games, I would suggest playing at any of the other sites listed rather than Party or Paradise because they only charge $5+.50. This will make a substantial difference in your overall return.

Next month we will begin to dissect the early stages of a sit’n’go. Until then, see you at the tables!

KEVBO