10 SNG Don'ts

Poker strategy is mostly a matter of situations and "feels" and gut instincts based on observations, but there are some points that are generally agreed upon... strategy that is widely-held as "basic" or "fundamental". Everyone has an opinion, but sometimes things are pretty much black and white. As a goal for analyzing my own play, I set out to nail down 10 things that I should never do when playing the Empire/Party SNGs (some of them carry over into other games, or are universal). The following is that list. I know I love to read strategy, even basic strategy and thought I'd contribute something for people to read. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me something important that I've missed, or why I might be wrong. Here we go (no real order here, they're all important):


1. Don't play $5 tournaments.

This is one of those things that I learned the hard way before I became fully convinced it was good advice. The basic problem is this: the buy-in is $5, and the entry fee (rake) is $1, which equals 20% of the buy-in. Now, if you move up to the $10 tournaments, the buy-in is $10 and the entry fee/rake is still $1, which equals 10% of the buy-in. So in the $5 tourneys you're paying more, to win less, when you do win.

An example of what I am talking about can be seen when we compare two 3rd place finishes:

In a $5+1 you'd win $10 (10 players x $5 x 20%)
So you paid $6, won $10, netted $4
ROI: 67%

In a $10+1 you'd win $20 (10 players x $10 x 20%)
So you paid $11, won $20, netted $9
ROI: 82%

Here's a table that spells it out:

buy-in + entry	1st ROI	2nd ROI	3rd ROI
$5 + $1	317%	150%	67%
$10 + $1	354%	173%	82%
$20 + $2	354%	173%	82%
$30 + $3	354%	173%	82%

...and so on, as long as the entry fee is 10% of the buy-in.

The differences in ROI might not seem that large, but over the course of time and many games, the 20% entry fees will really eat into any possible winnings you might have at the $5 level. Perhaps more importantly, there is a negligible increase in the skill of the players between the $5 to $20 SNGs, and certainly not between the $5 and the $10 ones. If you can win at the $5 level, you can just as easily win at the $10 level.

The ONLY exception I would make to this rule is if you are a player who is new to online sit-and-go play. You have to play real money games to get a feel for things, but you're probably going to lose some money in the beginning, so it probably makes some sense to play the $5 games to minimize the loss. Be honest with yourself about your skill level... if you basically just know "what hand beats what" and how the game is played, you shouldn't be playing for real money yet. If you've read some strategy, and can consistently at least break even at the $5 level, it's definitely time to move up to $10, or higher, depending on your means. The point is, not many people fall into the category of "those who should be playing $5 SNGs".


2. Don't try and play with too small of a bankroll.

If you want to win long-term at the SNGs, you've got to start with enough money to outlast the variance and beats you are going to encounter through the normal course of play. I would say that a good high figure to start with would be 20x the buy-in/entry. So if you're going to play $10+1 tournaments, you might want to start with $220. The absolute lowest that I would start with is 10x the buy-in/entry (for $10+1 that would be $110). Much less than that and you run the risk of hitting a run of bad luck and bad cards and those inevitable poor plays that we all make sometimes, which could bust you out of money completely, even if it takes a while.

With that said, if you find yourself not finishing "in the money" at least 33% of the time, there's probably some parts of your game you're going to need to work on. Everyone has bad streaks. I had a terrible run of 13 games without a money finish not too long ago. I'd say that 13 games is pretty extreme though (and due to a few of the other points on this list no doubt). But overall, with good play and a proper bankroll, you can overcome bad luck and your own mistakes.


3. Don't play drunk.

This might seem like a no-brainer, and it is, but I would bet that anyone who drinks and plays poker has mixed the two with negative results at least once. Sure, you can have a drink or two and still play well, but there is a threshold where you're going to end up playing a little looser, gambling a little more, pushing a little harder because of alcohol. Obviously you don't want to play ripped-up, fall-down drunk, but you need to watch that "hey so I have a little buzz, I'm having fun" attitude just as much. It can cost you, and will. Go find yourself a quarter/half neighborhood game where everyone is drinking and set a limit. Have fun. Don't blow it online against sober solid players.


4. Don't play depressed, angry, or upset.

This one will really bite into your roll. You end up bored, lonely, depressed about something in your non-poker life, and decide to play anyway. Pretty soon you're frustrated, impatient, and trying plays that you would never play if you were in a good mood: ridiculous steal attempts, overbetting, and most disastrously, the "let's gamble, I'm all-in" play. Sure any two cards can win, but not when you're sitting at a full table under the gun and three guys call your J4o bluff. Playing while depressed, angry, or upset is like being on tilt as soon as you sit down, before you even play a hand. It's worse than playing drunk: at least if you play drunk and lose some money, you'll probably have fun doing it. Pissed off and broke is never fun.


5. Don't switch between $5, $10, $20, and $30 levels.

There's nothing fundamentally bad about switching between the lower levels; as I've already mentioned, the skill at these tables is basically the same. But that's also the reason why you shouldn't switch often: if the skill of the other players is basically the same, you should have about the same chance of winning a $10 SNG as you do a $20 SNG. So who's to say fate won't bite you in the ass and let you money in the cheaper ones and get knocked out in 4th place in the more expensive ones? Switching levels is a good way to have a good ITM% (in the money %) and still be just barely breaking even, or worse.

There's nothing wrong with trying a more expensive level now and again when your bankroll is far enough into positive territory to allow it, but in general you should pick a level you can afford, and stick with it. Grind it out.


6. Don't get busted out when you started a hand with more than 8x the BB.

I stole this one from pokernerd's SNG strategy post, and it's worth repeating. The logic behind this is mainly that you should NEVER make bad enough calls to get busted when you started a hand with a stack that was far from desperate. Never go all-in, unless you are 99% certain that you will win the hand unless: 1) you have less than 8x the BB, or 2) you're already in-the-money. I even usually extend this logic a little further and set my limit at 6x the BB. Also, 99% certain, doesn't necessarily mean that the hand you hold is a 99% favorite... but it should be damn near uncrackable. Sure, your opponent could have quads and beat your full house, but that isn't going to happen often enough to worry about. However, with you holding trips, 4 spades showing on the board and none in your hand, you don't want to bust out. Fold it down if your opponent bets you all in, and conversely don't try anything fancy that can cost you chips. Live to play another day. If you want to "gamble", go play the lottery. Tournament poker is all about survival.


7. Don't play for second place.

When it's down to three, and you're already in the money, play to win. Play for first. The prize is a good bit better than the second place one, whereas a second finish is only worth a little more than a third. There's a lot of slightly different strategies you can take when it's down to three players, but they all share one quality: aggression. You don't want to just outlast someone so you can slide into second place, you want to attack. Too much aggression is stupid, but too much is ALWAYS better than not enough when down to 3 players.


8. Don't do other things while you're playing.

This one might have a few exceptions, and we'll get to those, but it certainly can't hurt to follow this advice. It seems to me, that if you're playing several games at once, or watching television, or instant messaging a friend while you're playing, you're missing information and cues from other players that might be useful later on. As well, if you're busy doing something else, your mind is not really on poker... you're not sitting there evaluating every hand, watching how people play, reminding yourself what your strategy should be at every moment. If you're a winning player long-term, and you think you can do something else while you're playing, or play multiple tables, try it sometime. Just don't ignore your stat book or journal when they start telling you that you should focus on one game at a time.

The possible exception to this rule is during levels 1 and 2. You're going to be folding often, which can become boring. I wrote most of this list while in the early levels of tournaments, but once level 3 came around, it was definitely time to start paying attention to things. Do something else if you must, but know when to start watching. Ideally, you give yourself the most advantage by paying attention the whole game, but that also takes discipline to not get bored and frustrated with the pace and end up making foolish plays.


9. Don't think you are better than you really are.

We call those people "suckers" or "fish". Everyone has leaks in thier game which cause them to either lose money, or not make as much as they should be making. Winning at poker long-term takes a lot of patience, and a lot of self-observation and analysis. You should always be improving your game, no matter how good you think you are. Every single time you do not make the money, figure out one thing that you did wrong, or one thing that you could have done better. Keep a journal of these things and work on them. Remind yourself of them as you're playing. Turn weaknesses into strengths. You're not that good, and neither am I.


10. Don't be a dick.

This one I might get some argument with from a few people I know. It's my thinking, that anytime you antagonize or annoy the other players, you just paint a big red bulls eye on your chip stack.

Online play is often criticized because you cannot see a face or notice body language. (as you probably know however, there are other "tells" and patterns you can observe online) You're basically playing against faceless, emotionless computer avatars most of the time. When you start complaining about your hands, or crying about a beat, people will notice. It's not enough for them to read your hand or anything, but now they are paying attention to you, which I would argue is generally a bad thing.

Worse than drawing attention to yourself, is screaming for it. Taking the full amount of time to act every time is one example. Saying things to other players that involve censored words is another. It's more than bad etiquette, it's probably making you a target. People are going to take delight in busting you now, and mostly, you don't want that.

People may say, "but if other players are gunning for me, that just makes them more likely to make a bad call, or overbet against me", and that might be true, and yes, you could probably use that to your advantage. My theory is: most of us would probably do better plugging our own leaks rather than attempting to create them in other people.

So say "n1" (nice one) or "nh" (nice hand) when someone shows a full house or makes a nice play. Say "gg" (good game) when you bust someone out, or when you get busted out. If the table is chatty and friendly, participate a little. Just don't be a dick or draw unnecessary attention to yourself.

-------------------------------
That's it for now... I'm sure most of this is pretty straight forward, but I'd appreciate any feedback or other ideas.