These multi table SNGs can have from just 2 to as many as 20 tables, but still start as soon as enough players have registered, just like a regular sit’n'go. They are often available in turbo formats, and because they only take an hour or two to play, yet offer attractive prize pools, they are growing rapidly in popularity. But whether you’re a regular MTT or single table SNG player, you’ll need to make some adjustments to your game if you want to become successful at this format of poker.

The typical payout structure on a 2 table SNG is 40%, 30%, 20%, 10% which is much flatter than the typical 50%, 30%, 20% of a one table game, while at the same time only rewarding the top 20% of the field (as opposed to 30% in a one table SNG, or 33% in 9 table games on sites like Full Tilt Poker).

That means you’ll probably want to play a little looser in the early stages in order to build up a stack before you get blinded away, but one you get past the bubble, there is less reward for being aggressive. Every place past the button earns you an additional 10%, so near the bubble your thoughts should be less on risking everything to take first place, but rather making the money. Second place earns 75% of what first place earns, so you’re better off just making it to second, than risk busting in forth in an attempt to win. With that in mind, you should be less happy to gamble once you’ve built a stack than you would in a one table SNG, with a more cautious approach being a better strategy.

Having said that, many players will still be playing too tight, and folding too often on the bubble so you must take advantage to steal the ever increasing blinds. Since the blinds and antes tend to be quite large at this point there is no need to shove. 3BB – 4BB raises from the cutoff and button will be enough to take down the blinds most of the time, without risking your entire stack. When you are 3bet from the blinds you can be reasonably sure your opponent has a real hands (unless they keep 3betting in which case you’ll need to adjust accordingly).

When the bubble does burst most people tend to loosen up, and start going all-in. The best strategy here is to tighten up and be patient. Unless you have a real hand, wait for the other players to bust each other out before making your move. Once this mad rush has settled down you can turn up the aggression again with less fear of being called light.

Multi-table sit and gos, especially the 2 table SNGs can be both fun, and a reliable way of making a steady profit. Variance in these games is much lower than in typical MTTs, but you’re still getting the thrill and experience of tournament play, so if you find cash games to slow these can be a perfect middle ground.

The program comes with a “Head up display” which works with all the major poker sites and puts your opponents stats right in front of you on the table. With Holdem manager installed you’ll be able to see at a glance which of your opponents are playing too tight, how often they are 3-betting, whether they are likely to fold to a 4-bet and a host of other useful information. Add to that a bunch of customizable modules such as the “Leakbuster” and loads of analysis and graphing tools so you can see exactly how you’re playing, where you can improve, and where those leaks are, and you have probably the single most important piece of software a poker player can own.

Before I get into the in-depth review, let me just say this… if you’re serious about your poker, then you need Hold’em Manager – simple as that. If you’re not using it, you ARE leaving money on the table, and your opponents who are using it have a bid egde over you!

Hold’em Manager Full Review

There’s good reason why most professional online poker players use Hold’em Manager. It’s a well designed and polished application, made by players for players, and it is useful in just so many ways. As already mentioned, the Head Up Display (HUD) provides a wealth of valuable information while your playing, which is especially useful when you’re multi-tabling. Away from the tables you have even more power at your finger tips, as Holdem Manager’s advanced analysis tools allow you see exactly how profitable you are at what limits, where the leaks are in your game and how to plug them, get reports on just about any aspect of your game.

Equally useful for cash game or tournament players, Holdem Manager (HEM) is hugely customizable, allowing you to have different profiles for different sites. For examples, you can have one HUD set-up for playing cash games on Full Tilt, and a totally different set up for playing SNGs on PokerStars. The HUD is extremely versatile, it will show at a glance a players vital stats right next to their avater, and a quick click will bring up more in depth statistics on them. The software starts tracking from the moment you sit down with a new player, and it keeps track of both current and past sessions, so the more you play against opponents the more useful it becomes.

As already mentioned, away from the tables you can analyse just about any aspect of your game. You can pull up stats to see exactly what your ROI is at any limit, for cash games or tourneys. You’ll be able to see information on pre and post flop play, specific hands, specific sessions and how you perform against specific players. You can also filter your results by date, or for just about any customizable scenario you can think of. Want to know whether 3-betting in a certain spot, at a certain limit has been profitable for you historically? Well now you can find out, just run the reports and then adjust your play accordingly to increase your profits.

HEM also has a very powerful built in replayer, allowing you to review specific sessions or hands, to find and eliminate leaks…

To be honest, I’ve only scratched the surface of Hold’em Manager’s features here, covering everything in detail would take a whole book, but I expect by now you have realised just how powerful and useful it is. Then if that isn’t enough, there are several add-ons such as Omaha Manager, and the Table Scanner modules, each of which add an extra set of useful features.

Here’s the bottom line – if you want to be more profitable at online poker, you need Hold’em Manager. I know that’s a very bold statement, but it’s the plain truth. I’ve written hundreds of reviews over the years, but I don’t recall ever giving anything that sort of recommendation. I honestly could not be as profitable as I am without this software, and you can be sure that a number of your opponents are using it, so unless you want to be left behind go and grab a copy now! There is a 15 day free trial offer, so you can “try before you buy” so there really is no excuse! It really doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out at the low limits, or you’re multi-tabling the high stakes games, I defy anyone not to improve their game with Hold’em Manager.

Hold’em Manager Compatible Poker Sites

HEM will work with the vast majority of poker sites including Full Tilt, PokerStars, Absolute Poker, UB Poker, Pacific Poker, BetFair Poker, Party Poker, Cake Poker plus any of the sites on the iPoker network or the Micogaming network.

There is also more than $1,000,000 in cash up for grabs, even if you’re not the lucky winner of the $200,000 supercar.

PokerStars are running freerolls every hour 24/7 until September 25th.  The top 18 finishers in each freeroll progress to a weekly final, an dthe top 2,000 from the weekly finals win a share in a $100,000 prize pool, and a seat in the grand final on October 3rd.  The winner of that final wins the car, and there is a quarter of a million to be shared between the top 5,000 finishers.

[tweetmeme]You can also satellite your way in to the weekly finals through an $11 satellite, or a $1.10 super satellite.

The freeroll and cash qualifiers are running now so head over to PokerStars, click on the “Tourney” tab in the lobby and you’ll see the Lamborghini qualifiers in pink!

If you don’t already have an account with PokerStars you can follow this link and use the bonus code PSP13185 to claim a 100% first deposit bonus up to $600

Absolute Poker was founded way back in 2003, so it’s one of the oldest and most respected online poker room. They are owned by Tokwiro Enterprises, the company which owns and operated UB (formorly Ultimate Bet) and as such they have the size and market dominance to attract large numbers of lose players, and put on some serious promotions, tournaments and incentives.

Absolute poker offer a massive 150% first deposit bonus (up to $500) which you can claim through our exclusive bonus link.

The software is high quality, and has all the features you would expect from a modern poker client such as player locators, hand histories, note taking and various table view options including mini-view and cascading, making it suitable for multi-tabling.

Games offered include Texas Hold’em in limit, pot limit and no limit formats, Seven card stud, Seven card Hi/Lo, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi/Lo, heads up games and a good selection or tournaments.

Low to mid level cash games have plenty of fish, and you won’t have to wait to find a suitable table – literally just sit and go!  The site is considered pretty soft (definitely a lot easier to beat than the “big boys” like PokerStars and Full Tilt) so there are plenty of fish to feed on.  Omaha is also becoming quite populer on the site and there are good profit making opportunities to be had.

Deposit and withdrawal options are plentiful.  US players can use Visa and Mastercard, while overseas players get a full compliment of options including Visa, Mastercard, Moneybookers, Fast Bank Transfer, Click2Pay NETteller, bank transfers and debit cards to name just a few.  It’s also a breeze to transfer money between accounts making it simple and easy to give/loan bankroll funds with friends and family.

Customer support, as you would expect from such a well established and trusted site, is excellent.  The staff are helpful and knowledgeable, and easy to reach but only via live chat or email – there is no telephone support.

Absolute Poker is a site that is easy to recommend.  It’s one of the “old school” poker sites, and since it has been around for so long it has had time to find and iron out all the niggles and create a really good experience whether you’re a recreational or pro player.

Absolute Poker Current Promotions

Included in the update is a whole new 3D lobby. A beginners and advanced version is included, allowing players to choose between a simple and easy to navigate lobby, and an advanced lobby with powerful filtering and options. A “my favorites” tab allows players to keep track of their settings.

Late registration and time bank features are a welcome addition, bringing 888 poker up to date with many other online poker sites, and new layouts giving players the option of choosing tables, decks and new avatars make the games easier on the eyes.

888 have also added a new social feature, allowing players to interact when not at the tables, and a new rewards store.

To celebrate the launch 888poker are running a number of promotional tournaments and freerolls. To take part, just log in to your 888 poker account. If you don’t have an account with 888 then not to worry, new players are also eligible for the freerolls and signing up through our exclusive bonus link here will get you a 100% first deposit bonus up to $600.

There will now be a 110 day recess allowing the television coverage to catch up, then the final table will be played in November, and we’ll have a new world champion of poker!

All of the remaining players are guaranteed to walk away with at least $811,823 and the winner will take the title, the gold bracelet and $8,944,138 in prize money.

The 2010 November Nine are:

Jason Sentl (USA) – chip count 7,625,000
Joseph Cheong (USA) – chip count 23,535,000
John Dolan (USA) – chip count 46,250,000
Jonathan Duhamel (Canada) – chip count 65,975,000
Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi (USA) – chip count 15,450,000
Matthew Jarvis (Canada) – chip count 16,700,000
John Racener (USA) – chip count 19,050,000
Filippo Candio (Italy) – chip count 16,400,000
Cuong “Soi” Nguyen (USA) – chip count 9,650,000

The November Nine will do battle one again at the final table on starting on 6th November 2010.

The payout structure for the November Nine this year is:

1st place – $8,944,138
2nd place – $5,545,855
3rd place – $4,129,979
4th place – $3,092,497
5th place – $2,442,960
6th place – $1,772,939
7th place – $1,356,708
8th place – $1,045,738
9th place – $811,823

The series culminated in the WSOP “Main Event”, a $10,000 buyin No Limit Hold’em tournament, the winner of which is considered the world champion of poker.  Participation in the main event peaked in 2006 with 8,773 players competing (before gambling legislation limited the number of online satellites), and the tournament currently attracts slightly less with 7,319 players entering the 2010 event, competing for a first prize of just under $9 million.

Since 1976, the winner of each WSOP event is awarded, along with the prize money, a gold bracelet which is the most coveted non-money prize in poker.  Phil Hellmuth currently holds the record for most bracelets with an amazing 11 titles to his name, closely followed by Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan both of whom have 10.

WSOP Main Event Winners

November Nine

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Chip leader at the end of the day is Theo Jorgensen from Denmark with 9.3 million in chips.

Johnny Chan was one of the players to bust out today.  The 2 times world champion finished in 156th place after becoming short stacked with pocket kings against pocket aces.

Tomorrow will see the remaining 78 player whittled down to just 27, the final three tables, who will return for the final day of competition to decide on the final table, the “November Nine”, who will return in November to play for the title.

At this point the average stack size is now over 1 million, with blinds at the start of day 6 at 8,000-16,000 and a 2,000 ante.

All of last year’s November Nine, all previous WSOP “Player of the year”s and all previous world champions bar one have now been eliminated.  Only Johnny Chan, the 1987 and 1988 world champion remains, and he is currently in ninth place.

Chip leader is Evan Lamprea from Canada.

For example, if the board shows Ah Qh 7h 3c 10d then the nut flush would be made with the Kh and any other heart.

In hold’em three of a suit must be on the board for a flush to be possible.  If a player holds 2 suited hole cards, and 2 cards of the same suit come on the flop they have a flush draw, also known as a 4 flush, needing only one further suited card to complete.  If they hold the ace, or the highest suited card not on the board then they have the nut flush draw.

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