Building A Poker Bankroll

How To Overplay Pocket Aces

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:10:00 +0000

I couldn't believe this hand when the cards were turned up. I was playing in a PokerStars, $10 No-Limit Hold'em single table tournament with 10/20 blinds. None of the players were familiar to me. However, due to my initial profiling, I knew that all three players had losing records. In this example, all the stacks are still deep and our hero is dealt pocket Aces in position MP1. Here's a visual of the table setup:

Hero's M: 48.33 (Learn about M)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A♣, A♥

UTG calls t20, 1 fold, Hero bets t80, 2 folds, CO calls t80, 3 folds, UTG calls t60

I am OK with the raise here. I typically recommend a larger raise in this situation, especially at the lower stakes tables. At this stage in the tournament, t80 isn't much to push out other players, especially losing players that are playing too many hands. And Aces do not play well against multiple opponents. So you want to isolate against the UTG player if possible.

Flop: (t270) 9♠, 7♣, J♠ (3 players)

What to do? I will examine the rest of this hand as if we are the hero with the Aces. With pocket Aces, this flop would fit into the "interesting" category, a medium strength hand that is probably best right now but is at risk of being beaten. The flop is semi-coordinated. With an interesting hand on a semi-coordinated board, if first to act, I recommend a bet for value. You don't want to give your opponents a free opportunity to draw to a straight or flush.

How big is your opponent's drawing opportunity? I use a tool called Tournament Indicator when I play. If I load the Aces and the flop into Tournament Indicator, the tool immediately shows me my opponents draws (this happens automatically when you are playing).

If you examine the odds section, Tournament Indicator shows your opponents have a 33% chance of hitting a straight by the river (see area circled in red). However, if you look at the win odds (white circle), you only have a 22% chance of winning the hand. Your opponent has a better chance of winning by the river. So at this point our hero should play very cautiously, especially if a scare card comes on the river.

UTG checks, Hero bets t190, CO calls t190, UTG calls t190

Again, I like a bet here. If his opponents were playing a low pocket pair hoping to flop a set, he might push them off the hand. He might also push out AK or AQ, both reasonable holdings given the action so far.

Turn: (t840) K♥ (3 players)

OK, this is a disaster card for our Hero. If one of the opponents has a Queen or Ten, they are one card closer to the straight. If they have Queen/Ten, they hit their straight. In addition, the King also makes possible other reasonable preflop hands that beat the Aces. King/Jack beats my Aces. King/Nine beats me (although I wouldn't play these cards in this situation, but you could reasonably expect losing players to play these hands.

Here's another look at Tournament Indicator on the turn:

Notice the straight percentage has increased (red circle) to 37%. But also notice that the possibility of your opponent drawing to 2 pair has also increased to 25% (blue circle). Both possibilities are higher than your current win odds of 23%. With this information, what should you do with your pocket Aces? You should check them down to the river and fold to any significant action. But what does our Hero do?

UTG bets t1350 (All-In), Hero calls t1180 (All-In), CO calls t1250 (All-In)

Oops. I guess that explains why our Hero has a losing record! Let's see what happens.

River: (t4520) Q♠ (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: t4520

Results:

UTG had 9♦, K♦ (two pair, Kings and nines).

Hero had A♣, A♥ (one pair, Aces).

CO had 10♠, Q♥ (straight, King high).

Outcome: CO won t4520

Our Hero was knocked out of the tournament. Notice above that Hero had t1180 when calling the UTG shove. t1180 with blinds of 10/20 is a HUGE stack to work with. There isn't any valid reason to call in this spot. Instead, our Hero should have folded and waited for a better opportunity to get his money in.

I think this is a great example of a player overplaying pocket aces. I hope you were able to see the logic behind folding in this situation. Aces look great, but in reality, they are only a pair, easily beat on a board like this, as clearly shown by Tournament Indicator.

That's it for now. To receive updates on my play and strategy, subscribe in your reader or email. You can also receive notifications of new posts through Twitter or Facebook.

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How To Bully A Poker Table

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:18:00 +0000

I sucked out on a short stack shove last night and then turned table bully. In post analysis, some of the moves I made were correct, others not so. I wanted to run through them here for my own benefit. I hope you will learn something too.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em
Double or Nothing Tournament
125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (7 handed)

Hero's M: 5.13 (Learn About M)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8♦, A♥

2 folds, MP2 calls t250, 1 fold, Hero bets t2795 (All-In), 2 folds, MP2 calls t2305 (All-In)

OK, so this is my first error of the night. I was multi-tabling at the time so didn't notice that MP2 had open-called. Typically I would fold to another active player in this situation. But instead I shoved. My mistake.

Flop: (t5660) 3♥, 2♣, 3♣ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t5660) 8♠ (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t5660) K♦ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t5660

Results:

Hero had 8♦, A♥ (two pair, eights and threes).

MP2 had A♦, Q♥ (one pair, threes).

Outcome: Hero won t5660

So I sucked out on MP2. Sorry about that. But now I am in a good chip position to bully the table. One of my frustrations is watching a big stack go to sleep during the bubble. I guess in a Double or Nothing tournament, that isn't necessarily a bad strategy. There is no incentive to build chips because everyone who cashes makes the same amount of money. In contrast, in a traditional sit n go, first place pays half the prize pool, so building your stack for In The Money play is important.

Anyway, from here I will show you the balance of the hands from this tournament and give an analysis of my own play. Here we go.

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 11.24

Note, with an M of 11.24 (learn about M), I am no longer in a position where I need to shove. I could just sit back and wait for a hand. However, all of my opponents at this point have M's smaller than 7, so they are in push/fold mode. Also note, and this is very important, that the BTN has only $363 left in chips. Typically on the bubble, when the other players have enough money to wait out the short stack, they will fold with just about any two cards. So the big stack can start raising or shoving with any two cards, steal the blinds and antes and build a really big stack. And even if you do get called, nobody has a stack large enough to cripple you.

Preflop: Hero is CO with 2♠, 5♣

In this situation, I have two options. I could make a min-raise and hope the BTN and blinds call (so one of us wins and knocks out the BTN), or I can fold, hope the BTN shoves and the blinds call. My thinking here is that the blinds are more likely to call the BTN if I am NOT in the hand. In addition, my hand sucks! So I fold.

3 folds, Button bets t338 (All-In), SB calls t213, BB calls t88

Both the SB and the BB call, which is correct for them with any two cards.

Flop: (t1164) 7♣, Q♥, 10♠ (3 players, 1 all-in)

SB checks, BB checks

The blinds are going to check it down to the river. If this were a traditional sit n go, I wouldn't typically check it down. I play the bubble on a traditional sit n go just like I wasn't on the bubble, because I am still trying to accumulate chips. But in a Double or Nothing, everyone who cashes gets the same prize, so there is no value in trying to win the pot here. Instead, the correct strategy is to keep both blinds in the pot so that you have two hands that could beat the all-in player. Checking it down is correct strategy for this situation.

Turn: (t1164) A♣ (3 players, 1 all-in)

SB checks, BB checks

River: (t1164) 6♠ (3 players, 1 all-in)

SB checks, BB checks

Total pot: t1164

Results:

Button had Q♠, 8♦ (one pair, Queens).

SB had 5♥, 3♣ (high card, Ace).

BB had K♦, 8♠ (high card, Ace).

Outcome: Button won t1164

OK, that didn't turn out quite like we had hoped, but that's poker! On to the next hand.

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 11.19

Here I want to start putting pressure on the blinds. In this case, the SB and the BB will want to wait for the small stack to blind out. They will want to avoid confrontations. Neither of their chip stacks can cripple me.

Preflop: Hero is MP with 4♣, 7♦

1 fold, Hero bets t750, 4 folds

To be honest, I don't really like my play here. This hand is too weak. I also don't like the 3x raise. I think 2x is large enough to get the blinds off the hand, and if they shove, I could still fold and maintain my big stack status. Live and learn.

Total pot: t775

Results:

Hero didn't show 4♣, 7♦.

Outcome: Hero won t775

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 12.14

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 6♠, K♥

In this situation, from under the gun, I'd like to have a half decent hand, or at least something stronger than a K6 off. So I fold.

2 folds, CO bets t500, 3 folds

Total pot: t775

Results:

CO didn't show

Outcome: CO won t775

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 12.10

Preflop: Hero is BB with A♦, 4♦

With a suited ace, I am calling any shove or shoving any limp or raise. No such luck.

5 folds

Total pot: t400

Results:

Hero didn't show A♦, 4♦.

Outcome: Hero won t400

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 12.57

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10♥, 3♠

I talked about this situation in a previous post. When on the small blind, if you are first to act and either you or the BB are short stacked, the correct strategy is to shove with ANY two cards. Here I raise to T1000, which is the equivalent of shoving the BB.

4 folds, Hero bets t1000, 1 fold

Total pot: t650

Results:

Hero didn't show 10♥, 3♠.

Outcome: Hero won t650

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 13.29

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10♥, 6♦

This is an interesting spot. Here I am shoving almost any two cards. I am not worried about the SB's stack size (he can't hurt me). And unless the BB wakes up with a big hand, he will lay it down and wait for the SB to blind out. A 2x raise is OK here because it lets you get away from the hand if the SB folds and the BB shoves.

3 folds, Hero bets t500, 2 folds

Total pot: t525

Results:

Hero didn't show 10♥, 6♦.

Outcome: Hero won t525

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 14.24

Preflop: Hero is CO with J♦, 3♠

We're back to the scenario described a few hands ago. I can either raise here, hoping the button and blinds all call, and we knock out the button, or just fold and hope the button shoves and is called by the blinds. Again, it might scare off the blinds if I raise, reducing the number of opponents playing against the BTN shove. In addition, my hand sucks. So I fold and leave it to the blinds to bring us into the money.

4 folds, SB bets t500, 1 fold

I don't mind the min-raise from the SB here. If the BB is going to fold, he will fold to a min-raise just as easily as to a shove. And if he shoves, the SB can still fold and wait out the BTN. So I am OK with the min-raise here.

Total pot: t650

Results:

SB didn't show

Outcome: SB won t650

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 14.19

Preflop: Hero is MP with 6♦, 7♥

This hand is probably right on the line as to whether or not to play. If I raise and the CO folds, I expect everyone else to fold because of the VERY short stack of the CO. If the CO calls, I am typically behind but probably not dominated and could suck out. I decide to play and bet large enough to put the CO all-in.

1 fold, Hero bets t750, CO calls t614 (All-In), 3 folds

Flop: (t1753) K♠, 4♥, 4♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t1753) A♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t1753) 9♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t1753

Results:

Hero had 6♦, 7♥ (one pair, fours).

CO had A♣, 8♣ (two pair, Aces and fours).

Outcome: CO won t1753

That didn't work out like I had hoped, but it didn't hurt me and it actually increases the pressure on the other players (because of increasing the CO's stack, they are all now closer to being the short stack!). This is actually good strategy when playing a traditional sit n go. If the small stack is on the big blind, it's good to fold to him and increase his stack. This keeps the pressure on the rest of the table which then allows you to continue to steal the blinds. Anyway, that's another discussion. Back to the tourney.

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 12.97

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7♥, 9♠

This is again a pretty weak hand to play from UTG. However, the table has tightened right up. Technically, this is probably a fold. But because of the situation, I raise large enough to commit anyone who calls to the pot. This is about bullying the table, not about what is technically correct to do.

Hero bets t1500, 5 folds

Total pot: t775

Results:

Hero didn't show 7♥, 9♠.

Outcome: Hero won t775

The next three hands are uneventful, so here's the quick version...

Next hand is folded to my on the BB.

Next hand I open-shove with A7s, everyone folds.

Next hand I open-shove with 99, everyone folds.

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 16.07

Preflop: Hero is CO with 6♥, Q♥

This one is kinda interesting. Q6 is probably a little weak to shove here. However, with the small stack folding before me, the BTN and the blinds aren't going to call unless they have a big hand. Again, they can't hurt me, so I bet large enough to put them all-in. I continue bullying the table.

2 folds, Hero bets t2000, 3 folds

Total pot: t775

Results:

Hero didn't show 6♥, Q♥.

Outcome: Hero won t775

Next hand I open-shove with A9, everyone folds.

125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed)

Hero's M: 17.97

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A♠, 4♣

Again, technically, I think this is a fold. But it is also an opportunity to finish the tournament. I think if I put the BB all in, the rest of the players will fold. If one of them shoves, I am calling with Ace high.

Hero bets t650, 4 folds, BB calls t375 (All-In)

Flop: (t1525) A♦, 9♠, 5♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t1525) 3♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t1525) 6♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t1525

Results:

BB had K♥, 7♥ (high card, Ace).

Hero had A♠, 4♣ (one pair, Aces).

Outcome: Hero won t1525

I am able to knock out the button and we are in the money!

I know this post was long, but I wanted to give an example of using a big stack in a Double of Nothing tournament. I hope you were able to get something of value out of these examples. Would you have played any of these hands differently? If so, leave me a comment and let me know why.

That's it for now. To receive updates on my play and strategy, subscribe in your reader or email. You can also receive notifications of new posts through Twitter or Facebook.

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Why Don't You SHOVE IT!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:51:00 +0000

Have you ever wanted to reach through your screen and strangle another player? I wanted to last night watching another player fold his hands when he should have been pushing his chips all-in (shoving). During a Double or Nothing sit n go tournament last night I noticed a player committing one of sit n' go's unforgivable sins... folding from the small blind when first to act and short stacked. Let me explain.

At the late stages of a sit n go tournament, most remaining players will have a low M (short stacks). Once you get below a certain point you do not have enough chips to play "normal" poker. So you switch into a push/fold mode. I observed a player last night that missed opportunity after opportunity to shove his (or her) chips in at an opportune moment... when he is on the small blind and everyone folds around to him. With the stack sizes in the examples below (and assuming the BB is playing "normal"), the small blind should SHOVE all in with any two cards. Yes, I said ANY two cards. Don't take my word for it. Run these scenarios through SitNGo Wizard to confirm. You will find that I am correct in each of these situations.

Here's a handful of examples from that tournament. I've included every hand where our "hero" is on the small blind, is first to act (everyone else folds), and either the hero or the BB are short stacked (M is less than 7). Here we go.

In the first example, blinds are 100/200 with a 20 Ante (7 handed). Here's a visual:

Everyone folds to the small blind. In this situation, where the BB is playing normally (not shoving or calling shoves every hand), the hero should SHOVE with any two cards. But he doesn't. He folds and the BB picks up T440.

In the next example, 100/200 blinds 20 Ante (7 handed).

The action is folded around to the SB. Again, he should SHOVE with any two cards. But he doesn't. He folds and again the BB picks up T440.

Next hand, blinds have increased to 125/250 with a 25 ante and we are now on the bubble. Maybe our hero just doesn't like to shove pre-bubble? Anyway, here's the setup.

It's folded around to our hero and once again he folds. By this time I am literally helling at my computer... why don't you SHOVE IT?!!!! Like he can hear me!

In the next hand, 125/250 blinds 25 ante (6 handed).

Everyone folds to to small blind, who then... wait for it... wait for it... he bets t2450 (All-In). WOW! Maybe he did hear me! Guess what happens next? The BB folds! YA BABY! He finally did it. He is getting the hang of this thing. The first time is always the hardest. But I bet he is a shoving machine now. And here's the proof....

Next hand, 150/300 Blinds 30 Ante (6 handed).

Everyone folds to our hero. And what does he do? He FOLDS and the BB gets the pot. OK, maybe he didn't learn his lesson after all.

I couple of hands later the bubble bursts, and our hero didn't get another change to fold.

So what's the purpose of this post? I am simply trying to show a situation when it is strategically correct to SHOVE all-in with any two cards. When you are in a situation where the M of most players at the table is below 7 (especially yours and the BB), if you are first to act then you should SHOVE IT with any two cards. The chances are slim that you will get called, and you will pick up the blinds and antes each time. And if you do get called, you can still suck out!

That's it for now. To receive updates on my play and strategy, subscribe in your reader or email. You can also receive notifications of new posts through Twitter or Facebook.

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Calling Shoves with Nothing

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:55:00 +0000

I am running very well on the "Double or Nothing" sit n go poker tournaments. As of last night, my ROI is 48.1 and my ITM is 81.8, much higher than I typically see with the traditional single table sit n go's, for a couple of reasons.

First, I am only single tabling. I typically multi-table when playing the traditional sit n go poker tournaments. However, I decided to single table while learning the Double or Nothing sit n go's so that I could concentrate on the differences and adjustments that I need to make in my sit no go poker strategy. As a result, I also pick up more information about my players and I am able to take advantage of that information in critical spots. I would typically miss some or most of this information when multi-tabling.

Second, I am playing at lower stakes than I usually play at. When developing a new strategy I typically drop down to lower stakes so that I am playing at the level that most of my readers play at. There isn't much sense for me to develop a strategy that only works when playing at the higher stakes. So right now I am playing the $10 and a few of the $5 Double or Nothing sit n go's while I work through the strategy details.

I am still seeing the same factors that affect the strategy: the blind structure, the six player bubble, and the payout structure. I will expand on these in my upcoming Double or Nothing Poker Strategy document.

For now, I wanted to review one of my hands from last night.

One thing that drives me nuts is playing with a big stack that doesn't know how to use it, especially on the bubble. During one of my games last night, one of the players tripled up early and then shut down. I guess this could be a good strategy for someone that doesn't know how to play. But my preference is to use my big stack to steal the blinds and to call small shoves. Here's an example from one of the hands from last night.

PokerStars.com Double or Nothing, on the bubble, blinds are 100/200 with a 20 ante. I am on the BB with the second largest stack.

The BTN just lost a coin flip to the CO and is now the short stack at the table. If the action is folded around to the BTN, proper strategy is for him to shove with almost any two cards. And for the SB and the BB (me), proper strategy is for us to call to try to knock him out (because this is a double or nothing and we are on the bubble). Neither of us can be hurt by his stack and by both of us calling we double the changes of knocking him out and getting in the money. OK, here we go...

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero's M: 8.73 (Learn about M-Zone)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10♣, 7♠
3 folds, Button bets t525 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls t325

As I mentioned above, if the action is folded around to the short stack, correct strategy is for the short stack to shove with almost any two cards. And correct strategy is for the two big stacks to call. But as you can see, the big stack makes a mistake and folds. Regardless, I do the right thing and call, knowing that with my hand I am probably behind and will need to suck out.

Flop: (t1270) Q♣, 5♦, K♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t1270) Q♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t1270) 4♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t1270

Results:

Button had 4♥, A♣ (two pair, Queens and fours).

Hero had 10♣, 7♠ (one pair, Queens).

Outcome: Button won t1270

OK, so I lost the hand (were you expecting a different result?)! The purpose of this post isn't to show you a winning hand but instead to show you a winning strategy. Poker is about making the right decisions. You have no control over the results once you push your chips in. But you do have control over the decision you make. In a situation like this, when on the bubble and you have an opportunity to call a shove that won't hurt you (because of your much larger stack size), you should be calling with almost any two cards.

That's it for now. To receive updates on my play and strategy, subscribe in your reader or email. You can also receive notifications of new posts through Twitter or Facebook.

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Loving Double or Nothing SNG's!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:10:00 +0000

Yesterday I played 14 of the Double or Nothing (DN) sit 'n go tournaments on PokerStars. I cashed in 10 of the 14 tournaments, giving me a nice ROI of of 32.3%. I will take that ROI all day long, every day! No complaints here. However, I need FAR more games to flush out my DN strategy... like a thousand more! But even with the short sampling of games over the last week, I am starting to see some patterns and key changes I need to make from my standard sit 'n go poker strategy. As I mentioned in my previous post, I will outline them in a modified version of the SitNGoTraining.com course.

I am also seeing some significant advantages of the DN tournaments over the standard sit 'n go's. The biggest advantage comes from the six person bubble and no In The Money play. In standard sit 'n go tournaments you have four people on the bubble and then three and two when playing in the money. As a result, the number of decisions you must make greatly increases. Because of the increased frequency of decisions, it is much harder to multitable. With the DN tournaments, since the bubble has six players and no in the money play, the amount of time between decisions is greater, reducing the number of decisions and increasing the number of tables you can play at any given time.

Why does this matter? Because increasing the number of tables you play concurrently increases your $ per hour, assuming you can play the same quality of game with multiple tables as you can on a single table (which my strategy will teach you!). So, to give yourself a raise, just add more tables! Yes, there is a limit to the number of tables you can handle concurrently, but that number will increase over time as you get comfortable with the strategy and learn to make quick, unemotional decisions.

To receive updates on my DN SNG play and strategy changes, subscribe in your reader or email. You can also receive notifications of new posts through Twitter.

Until next time, good luck at the tables!

Poker Stars “Double or Nothing” SNG Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:17:00 +0000

I have been playing a lot of the Double or Nothing (DN) sit n’ go (SNG) tournaments on PokerStars lately. If you are unfamiliar with the Double or Nothing format, basically half the players double their money (less the tournament fee) and the other half get nothing. For example, if you are playing a $10 DN SNG you pay $10 for the prize pool and $1 for the tournament fee for a total entry fee of $11. The SNG starts with a total of 10 players. The first five to get knocked out get nothing. The other 5 each get paid $20. So if you are one of the five that gets paid, you make $9 ($20 prize less $11 entry fee).

The Double or Nothing SNG’s differ from traditional single table SNG’s. In a traditional single table SNG only three of nine positions get paid. Third place receives 20% of the pool, second receives 30%, and first place receives 50%. In a traditional SNG, first place makes more than double that of third place. So it is in your best interest to shoot for first place. However, with the DN SNG’s, the last five players all receive the same amount of money. As a result, the strategy needed for playing DN SNG’s is very different than that of the traditional SNG’s. I am going to start documenting the differences on this blog and will eventually create a DN version of the SitNGoTraining.com.

Strategy Changes

Through the playing I have done so far I have not noticed any needed changes in the lessons on EV and M-Zone foundation; the same principles apply. In addition, the basic principles for calculating outs and odds do not change with the Double or Nothing SNG’s. I continue to use Tournament Indicator for EV, M-Zone, outs and odds, so no changes there. However, three factors change the strategy needed for pre-flop, post-flop, and bubble play: the blind structure, the six player bubble, and the payout structure. I will expand on both of these in future posts. Obviously, with the DN payout structure, there is no In The Money play and no Head-Up play, which I’m happy with!

To receive updates on my DN SNG play and strategy changes, subscribe in your reader or email. You can also receive notifications of new posts through Twitter.

Until next time, good luck at the tables!

Play Double or Nothing

Make Big Money Playing SitNGo Tournaments

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Single table no limit hold’em tournaments, also known as Sit and Go (or SitNGo) tournaments, can be divided into two distinct phases:

The early phase where the blinds are small relative to the stack sizes.
The late phase where the blinds are large relative to the stack sizes.

Winning SitNGo players know that the best strategy for beating SitNGo’s is to play tight during the early phase, then play aggressively in the late phase. That’s because in the late phase the blinds become significant and you must aggressively steal blinds to survive.

The late phase is where the majority of the chips are won. It is dominated by all-in raises designed to steal the blinds. Learning how to play well in the last phase is the single most important skill you must have to win SitNGo tournaments.

This is where the SitNGo Wizard can help.

The SitNGo Wizard will teach you how to play a near perfect late game strategy. You will learn when to push and when to fold. You will learn the importance of various factors such as number of opponents, stack sizes, and opponent calling ranges.

If you are a beginning player or just new to SitNGo tournaments, the SitNGo Wizard will quickly turn you in a winning player at the low limit SitNGo’s. If you are already an experienced SitNGo player, the SitNGo Wizard will help you find and eliminate costly mistakes that you don’t even realize you are making.

How Does It Work?

The SitNGo Wizard reads your tournament hand history and runs an analysis of each hand. The analysis compares the equity you would have if you fold pre-flop to the equity you would have if you push all-in pre-flop. Equity is your share of the prize pool at any point in the tournament. It is based on number of opponents, the size of each player’s stack, and the tournament prize structure.

The software computes the equity of every possible outcome of the hand. It combines the equity of each outcome with the probability of each outcome to come up with the total equity. It would take you days to do these calculations by hand, but the SitNGo Wizard computes them in a fraction of a second.

The Tournament View

The SitNGo Wizard automatically loads entire hand histories from Party Poker, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, Titan Poker, PKR, World Poker Exchange, and the OnGame Network. Support for additional poker sites will be added based on customer requests. The tournament view (click to view full size image) displays a summary of each game in the tournament. It highlights games where your decision was close or even incorrect, so you won’t waste time on trivial hands.

The tournament view (click to enlarge).

The Game View

Clicking on a game in the tournament view activates the game summary and analysis (click here to view full size image). The analysis compares your equity when you push to your equity when you fold and tells you which play is more profitable.

The game view (click to enlarge).

You can adjust any game parameter and instantly see how it affects the analysis. This type of "what if" analysis will quickly teach you the importance of

Position.
Stack sizes.
Blind sizes.
Number of players remaining.
Opponent opening and calling ranges.
Prize structure.

The SitNGo Wizard doesn’t just analyze your hole cards. It analyzes all possible hands so you can see exactly what range of hands you can play in any situation. There are many occasions when it is correct to push with any two cards. Learning to recognize these situations is crucial to SitNGo success.

Generate Charts

Taking the analysis a step further, you can generate charts (click here to view full size image) that compare different game parameters to your playable hand range. The charts alone can save you hours investigating “what if” scenarios.

The game chart (click to enlarge).

Analyze Complex Pre-flop Action

The SitNGo Wizard can analyze almost any pre-flop situation. Suppose two opponents just call the big blind in front of you. The SitNGo Wizard estimates the range of hands with which each opponent limped and the range of hands with which each opponent will call your all-in push. You can easily change any opponent’s hand range estimate. Based on the estimates, it instantly calculates the range of hands with which you can push.

The SitNGo Wizard can analyze any number of pre-flop limpers, raisers, or callers. It can analyze hand with up to two all-in opponents. In fact, about the only scenario the SitNGo Wizard can’t handle is when three or more players push all-in in front of you. How often does that happen?

Quiz Mode: The Fastest Way to Learn Optimal Short Stack Strategy

The SitNGo Wizard’s quiz mode (click here to view full size image) may be its single most valuable feature. The quiz mode generates random games and asks you to pick the correct play for each game. It is like having flash cards for sitngo’s.

The game quiz (click to enlarge).

Each quiz game provides you with a complete pre-flop situation including your hole cards, stack sizes, blinds, any previous action, and opponent opening and calling ranges. You are asked you to pick between two options. The options are usually either Push or Fold, but may include Call or Check depending on the specific situation.

See Dramatic Improvements in Just Minutes a Day

A few minutes a day is all it takes to start seeing stunning results. After each session, start up the SitNGo Wizard and review questionable hands. At first, you will probably have many questionable hands to review each session. As your short stack play improves you will start seeing fewer questionable hands each session.

Eventually, you may see so few mistakes that you will be tempted to stop reviewing hands altogether. Don’t fall for this trap! No matter how good your short stack play becomes, you will always be able to find a few hands that you are not sure about. Additionally, you may begin to pick up bad habits without realizing it. Constant review is the only way to insure you are always playing your best game.

Play More Tournaments

If you are a winning tournament player, the more tournaments you play the more money you make. As you use the SitNGo Wizard to improve your play, you will find that the vast majority of decisions you make become very easy. Rarely will you need to think more that a second or two about a play.

The ability to make correct decisions quickly allows you to play multiple tournaments at the same time. Your profit per tournament will drop slightly because your reads on your opponents will suffer, but your overall profit will soar because you will be able to play many more tournaments in the same amount of time.

An additional benefit of playing multiple tournaments is that it is more fun. You nearly always have a decision to make somewhere. You don’t get bored waiting for your opponents to act.

Play Bigger Tournaments

As your play improves and your bankroll grows, you will be able to move up to higher buy in tournaments. Just learning to play the basic SitNGo strategy will make you a winning player at the lower level tournaments. But as you move up your opponents get better. Mistakes that you can overcome at the lower levels become more costly. The SitNGo Wizard teaches you how to adjust your play as you move up.

3 Month No Strings Attached Money Back Guarantee

At the surprisingly low cost of only $99, we’re sure you will agree that the SitNGo Wizard is an incredible value. It will probably pay for itself within the first week of use.

You will have complete access to our free on-line support forums and free software updates. We encourage your suggestions and new feature requests. All suggestions will be carefully considered as we add new features and make improvements.

In fact, we are so convinced you will find the SitNGo Wizard is everything we say it is, we make you this cast-iron promise:

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Calling A Reraise

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:37:00 +0000

I received the following message from one of the Sit N Go Poker Strategy and Training site readers. He wrote:

I love your blog, but I’m confused about the pre-flop strategy section. You advocated raising in circumstances where you have good EV relative to the M of your stack, but you don’t give any guidance what to do if you get re-raised? For example, in my last tournament, I was at an M of 15-20, with two consecutive hands where my cards were EV of 0.25 to 0.30 (I think I had AJos and then K10s). Both times I was first to enter the pot, but both times someone after me re-raised me to put me all in. Both times I folded, causing my chip stack to drop substantially.

My question is, if you are re-raised, how do you know whether to call their re-raise? Furthermore, is it really a good strategy to raise (rather than limp) if you KNOW you would fold to a re-raise, as is probably the case with those marginal hands like AJos and K10s?

Great questions. He is getting to the heart of what I am writing for the advanced lessons. The answer is simple...

The answer is... it depends!

OK, so simple answer, but explaining the answer is a bit harder. Should you call, reraise, or shove someone who reraises you? As I said... it depends. It depends on a few things. It depends on your stack size, it depends on where you are at in the tournament, it depends on the other players at the table, and it depends on your observations of the reraiser's previous actions. Let's take them one at a time.

Stack Size
This one is fairly straightforward. If you lose the hand, will you still have enough chips left over to play to the money? Remember, as I teach in the lessons, single table sit-n-gos are about survival, not about building big chip leads like in multi-table tournaments. So typically the better approach is to back down and conserve chips. But if you have a good chip lead and losing to this hand will still keep you in a good lead, you need to look further (at the next three).

Tournament Status
Are you early in the tournament? If so, probably best just to let it go with marginal hands. On the bubble? This is a tougher situation. I tend to play the bubble like I am not on the bubble--in other words, I ignore the bubble. The reason why is that many of the other players will tighten up on the bubble and play more conservatively. If you just play your normal game, that means you will be more aggressive than you were previously (compared to the other players) and can take advantage of their sudden tightening. Keep reading...

Other Players
This one ties into the next one. You MUST pay close attention to what all the players are doing at the table. This is the key to success. Most people think poker is about cards. It isn't. It's about people. Once you know how people play, your cards don't matter much. The key question you must ask here is that if you call the reraise, will anyone behind you shove? The only way you can know this is if you have been observing the other players and have seen their responses to this situation. If you have a person on your left that has a big stack and likes to shove just to steal the blinds (or a weak raise), chances are he will shove here, especially if the reraiser has been frequently reraising (covered below). But if you are in late position and not concerned about those left to act, your final decision needs to be based on the previous actions of the reraiser.

Reraiser's Previous Actions
This is by far the most important of the four areas. As I said earlier, if you know how someone plays, it doesn't really matter what cards you have. This is the situation here. Based on your observations of the reraiser, does he have a strong hand? If you can't answer that question, you might want to just fold and wait for a better situation. How do you answer that question? You answer it based on your observations. What observations? The key is to watch how your opponents play before the flop and to factor in the information discussed above from their perspective. For example, if your opponent is the big stack at the table and you are at the bubble, the "correct" play for him is to reraise to force people to fold (because of their fear of getting knocked out or a confrontation with a bigger stack). So if you noticed that the reraiser is reraising every hand, it is unlikely that the reraiser has a big hand. You should probably shove and hope that he folds. However, if the reraiser has been quietly sitting there folding hand after hand and then all of a sudden wakes up and reraises... well, that's an indication that this is a very tight player and is only playing big hands, probably AA or KK or AKs, something like that.

I could go on all day with different scenarios, but I hope this is enough to get you thinking and to explain why "it depends" is the only answer I can give!!!

To the other question... should you just limp instead of raising if you know you will fold to a reraise. Now you can draw on the information above to answer that question. If you M is still high and you have a person on your left that has been consistently reraising, I would just fold and wait for a better situation. The "better" situation is when you are dealt a big hand and you just limp in, expecting the aggressive player on your left to raise you. Then when it comes back around to you, you can reraise or even shove. Hopefully he calls and your big hand holds up!

Feel free to contact me with additional scenarios or questions! Good luck at the tables!

Sit 'n Go Basic Strategy Available for Download!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:36:00 +0000

I have been asked numerous times to make available a downloadable and printable version of SitNGoTraining.com. I finally decided to make the Basic Strategy (Lessons 1 through 9) available for a small fee of $9.95 USD. Immediately after payment (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Paypal) you will receive an email with the download location and your login and password. Note: the downloadable and printable version is only available in English.

To proceed, click the "Buy Now" button.

The Basic Strategy includes the following lessons:

Basic Sit 'n Go Strategy

Lesson 1: Bankroll Management
Lesson 2: Selecting the "Best" Sit 'n Go's.
Lesson 3: EV and M-Zone Foundation
Lesson 4: Calculating Outs and Odds

Applying Basic Sit 'n Go Strategy

Lesson 5: Pre-Flop Play
Lesson 6: Post-Flop Play
Lesson 7: On The Bubble Play
Lesson 8: In The Money Play
Lesson 9: Heads-Up Play

Return to Course Outline

Set vs Trips

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I received the following email today from one of my SitNGoTraining.com readers:

Hey,

I was reading your sit and go training guide and this should be corrected.

F = Fantastic--you flop a set or better.
I = Interesting--you flop top pair with good kicker, two pair, trips, or 4 cards to a straight or flush draw.

You categorize a "set" as Fantastic and in the line below you categorize "trips" as Interesting. In my poker experience, a set and trips are the exact same hand. Which is correct?

I've received similar messages in the past, so I thought I would take a few minutes to hopefully clear up the confusion.

For starters, it is a common misconception that a "set" and "trips" are the same thing. They are not. To clear this up I will first define these terms and then explain why a set is stronger than trips.

A "Set" is three of a kind when you hold two of the cards in the hole and one is on the board.
"Trips" is also three of a kind. However, two of the cards are on the board and only one is in the hole.

Here's an example of a set:

Board: Kxx
Hole Cards: KK

Here's an example of trips:

Board KKx
Hole Cards: Kx

(The x's represent other, non-paired, random cards)

Both are three of a kind but the configuration is different. Do you see the difference?

So why is a set stronger than trips? First, a set is less obvious (or more deceptive) than trips. It is harder to put someone on a pocket pair that hit the board than a single card that matches up with a board pair. In addition, in a situation when one player has a set and the other has trips, the set wins. Well how does that work. They are both three of a kind, correct? Wrong. For me to have a set and you to have trips means that there is a pair on the board (the pair you need for trips). As a result, if I have a set, that means I have a full house (I have a set which is three of a kind and your pair on the board gives me a full house). So my set will always beat your trips. No exceptions.

Board: KKQxx
My Hole Cards: QQ
Your Hole Cards: AK

I hope this helps explain why I value a set higher than trips in my Post-Flop Play Lesson--because a set is different than trips and (excluding potential draws) it is a stronger holding than trips.

Good luck at the tables!!

Making The Right Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:22:00 +0000

I haven't been playing much lately. Been focusing on some projects that I have been managing overseas. But to be honest, I got a little burned out on poker. The rest was needed.

Last night we had some friends over to play a little friendly Texas Hold'em around the kitchen table. I felt good playing again. The game sparked that inner poker fire that had been burned out for a while.

Tonight I decided to go back online and play a little. I started with a little limit Hold'em to warm up. Within about 10 minutes I had a pretty good feel for the players at the table and was able to "extract" some profit from the weaker players. I then moved on to a $20 sit n go tournament.

I played my standard game, just as I teach on SitNGoTraining.com. I played a very patient game and made good decisions throughout. We were still at an M of about 40 by the time we made it to the money. As a result, we had lots of time to wait, wait, and wait, until the blinds rose enough to start forcing plays.

With three players left, we were about even in chips, but it was time to start shoving. I waiting for the proper situations to shove. Finally, the big opportunity came. The player to my right had been raising the pot on each button. He did this time also and I looked down to see QQ. Normally I would be excited to have QQ with three players left, in the money, and a raise-happy button. However, QQ and I have a bad history together. I don't have the exact statistics, but more times than not (many more times!), someone sucks out on me when I play QQ. If I were on the bubble I probably would have thrown it away. That is how bad my history has been! Throwing QQ away against a habitual button raiser. However, I couldn't let it go this time. He raised, I shoved. He turns over AKo.

The result of the hand isn't really what this message is about. The issue is about making the right decisions, regardless of your history in that situation. I almost folded the QQ because it has such a bad history for me. There might be some situations where folding QQ is the right decision. For example, if the button and I were equal in chips and the BB was all in (blinded out), if the button shoved, it would probably make sense to fold and hope to get down to two players. But the three of us were about equal in chips and our stacks were about 8x the BB. So it is time to shove.

The point is this. Know the right decisions before you are faced with them and more importantly, follow through on them regardless of your history. If you continue to make the right decisions, over time, you will profit from them.

Make A Quick $50 Online!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:18:00 +0000

In my sit n go poker training I teach how to make money playing poker online starting with just $50. Well, what if you don't have an extra $50 sitting around? Or what if you aren't really interested in poker and just want to make a quick $50? I can help you with that! Here's the deal...

I will pay you $50 (via Paypal) within

one business day of successfully completing

the steps that I outline below.

That's right! $50 within one business day of completing the steps. No strings attached. Follow the steps and earn a quick $50. You can use it for poker or you can use it for anything else you want. That's up to you. How can I do this?

Simple. By following the instructions, I get paid $60 from the advertisers for bringing you to the site. In exchange, I will pay you $50 for your time. I make $10 off of you and you make $50 off of me. A beautiful thing!

Before starting the process, make sure you read ALL the instruction so that you don't make any mistakes. If you do not follow the instructions correctly and completely, I won't get my $60 and you won't get your $50. If you have any questions before you start, just send me an email me. I try to respond to all email messages within 1 business day.

OK, here we go.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Set up a PayPal.com account. You don't need a business account; a personal account will do just fine. Note, if you already have a paypal.com account, you can skip this step!

Step 2: Click on this link: http://gaming.freefactor.com/?id=25662
That link will take you to the site to join as my referral. When you arrive at the site the text above the login box at the bottom of the page should say "You are being referred by user 25662." If it doesn't, then you need to clear your cookies and click on the link again. Important--unless you complete these steps correctly, I won't get my $60 and you won't get your $50!!!

When you get to the site you will be prompted to Choose Your Free Gift! Don't worry about that right now because that is for when you start referring people to the site (doing exactly what I am doing), and you can always change it later if you start doing that. It is important that you do not click any other links on the site at this point, but go straight to the sign up process at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter your PayPal email address in the E-mail Address field in the form at the bottom of the page, then click Next Step.

Step 4: On the page that appears next, complete the information by filling in ALL the blanks with your REAL personal information.

Step 5: Click the "I agree to the Terms and Conditions" check box, then click Next Step. Note: This box does not appear until you have completed the steps above.

Step 6: Click on the Offers tab and browse the offers. Find some that interest you, then click on them and complete enough of them to have 100 credits credit.

That's it! When one hundred credits worth of offers have credited, your name and email will turn green in my statistics page for that site. Then once a day I will pay everyone that turned green $50 to their PayPal account.

But keep reading... here's some more tips for working with the site:

ADDITIONAL TIPS

Tip 1: When you get to the confirmation page or final page of the sign up process for each offer, wait a few seconds for background processes to work before you move away from that page. I usually print this page to remember what offers I joined. You will also get a confirmation email; make sure you save that email. Look in your SPAM folder if for some reason you don't get it.

Tip 2: Depending on what offers you choose, the credit for them may show up instantly or it may take a few minutes to a few hours or even days. The approximate credit time is listed in the offer description. Even offers advertised as instant credit can sometimes take 10 minutes to 2 hours to show up as credit in the site.

Tip 3: If you go to your stats page within the site, you can see your referral link. If you have a friend that wants to join with that link, and do the same thing that you just did, then you will qualify for the $60 referral prize, and will be able to pay your friend whatever you agree on - as I agreed to pay you $50. About half of the prize amount is typical.

OK, let's get started. If you already have a PayPal.com account, click the following link to start the process.

http://gaming.freefactor.com/?id=25662

Remember, follow the instructions exactly (so I get my $60 and you will in turn get your $50). If you have any questions, email me. After you have completed the process, remember to return to the SitNGoTraining.com site to learn how to make money playing sit n go poker tournaments online!

Lights On!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:52:00 +0000

I received an email today from one of my SitNGoTraining.com students. I love getting messages like this. Enjoy!

Hi, I just came across your blog yesterday, I have read the whole thing and improved my game already! I got Tournament Indicator, and placed 1st in the first tourney, and 2nd in the second one. I just wanted to say THANK YOU! That program and your blog have made me feel like I have been driving at night without the lights on, and finally I figured out where the switch is to turn them on! ;) I really hope your blog continues soon, and you go over some of the strategy for the big, multi-table tourneys! Have a great day, and Happy Election Day! :)

Kristina

See more comments about SitNGoTraining.com.

Why Bankroll Management?

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:38:00 +0000

I regularly check my visitor referral information at SitNGoTraining.com. The referral information tells me where visitors come from and how they found my site. Many visitors come to my site as a result of a question they typed into one of the major search engines. Just yesterday a visitor typed the following question:

What does poker bankroll management protect you from?

What a great question. I have addressed this in my lesson on bankroll management but I wanted to expand on one of the reasons in this post.

One of the primary reasons for bankroll management is to protect you for the inevitable swings that WILL occur in your luck. That's right, I said the nasty word... LUCK. No matter how skilled you are as a player, poker still involves luck. Just ask Phil Hellmuth who is quoted as saying... "If there weren't luck involved I guess I'd win every one!"

I've often heard the coin-toss analogy used to explain the luck swings. In a nutshell, if you flip a coin enough times it will land heads roughly half the time and tails the other half of the time. However, it won't rotate evenly between head and tails. For a period of time it might land heads many more times than it does tails. And other times it might land tails many more times than it does heads. This is the luck swing that I am referring to. You have no control over it and it will happen regardless of anything you do to try to stop it.

There will be times when the cards go your way--when luck is in your favor and it seems like you can do no wrong. We've all been there (and love it!), but it never lasts. There will also be times when you are playing your best game (or at least you think you are!) but the cards just don't seem to go in your favor--your opponent catches that one-outer, or your draws never seem to complete. It is during these negative times that you must have a large enough bankroll to continue playing through the negative swing until your luck balances out.

So back to the question... What does poker bankroll management protect you from? It protects you from the inevitable swings that will occur as a result of bad luck. If you have a large enough bankroll you can play through the swings without worrying about going broke.

Now, if you feel like you are constantly on the negative side of the luck swing, maybe you need to focus on developing your skill further! For free poker strategy and training, check out my website at SitNGoTraining.com.

Good LUCK at the tables!

Responding to a Preflop Raiser

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:22:00 +0000

I received an interesting question from one of my Sit N Go Training Course readers:

I've come across this situation a few times now and I am not sure what I should be doing as your training does not discuss it. What do I do if I have a +EV hand bigger than my M value but someone raises before me. A couple of times now I have had a PP and put a re-raise in only to have them put me all in. Since it is late in the tourney, I'm at a point where since I already raised, my M-factor becomes less than 7, so I call and find myself against a bigger PP. What would be the best course of action in this situation? Do I fold and leave myself with an M-factor lower than 7?

This is a great question, so I thought I would post my response here also. The answer is highly dependent on the situation. This is the type of thing that my future lessons get into (if I ever get around to finishing them!)... how to modify the basic strategy based on your observations at the table. So, to start off, some things to think about...

First, if your raise is equal or greater than 1/3rd your stack, just shove it all in to begin with. If you raise 1/3rd, you do not have enough money behind to push your opponent out on the flop or turn (they have pot odds to call). So if you are going to commit 1/3rd your stack, put it all in. If you shove, your opponent might fold. But if you put 1/3rd in, it is equal to shoving (because you are pot committed), except your opponent might stay.

In the situation of someone raising before you, think about three things.

First, who is the person that raised and what does the raise mean. The next lesson will teach about active observation. This is basically carefully observing all the plays of your opponents and drawing conclusions based on that information. If the person who raised before you rarely raises and only shows down strong hands, it is likely that he is raising with real strength (and you will get called if you reraise or shove). In that situation, unless you have AA or KK, I'd dump the hand and wait for a better opportunity to get your chips in. However, if the raise comes from a very loose player or someone that you have observed raise preflop and then fold to a reraise, shove it in! But if they are loose and a gambler, in other words they call with crap just because it is fun, again, wait for a better opportunity.

Second, think about who is left to act behind you. Are the players left to act tight players who don't like to get involved unless they have strong hands? or are they people who have shown a tendency to gamble. In other words, is there anyone behind you that you expect to reraise or shove? If so, you might want to wait for a better opportunity because the PFR'er might call and then you are in a three-way battle. Not the situation you are looking for.

Third, think about how far you are from the money. If you are on the bubble (1 away from the money), you decision is highly dependent on your stack size compared to the others at the table. If there is a player in the red zone and the blinds are going to hit him before you, it usually makes sense to wait it out. If you are the small stack, that increases the need to be the first one to raise. So in both situations I would avoid the confrontation.

Again, there are numerous other things to consider in this situation, but these ideas should start you thinking in the right direction.

Good luck at the tables!

Full Tilt Sit & Go Madness!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:22:00 +0000

Sit & Go Madness has returned to Full Tilt Poker! The event starts at 4 pm EST this Friday, August 1st, and ends at 4 pm on Sunday, August 3rd.

For more information, go to Full Tilt Poker and click on the "Sit & Go Madness" tab.

See you at the tables!

Absolute Poker / Ultimate Bet Scandals

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Back in October, 2007, I posted a warning about the potential scandal at Absolute Poker. The Absolute Poker issue has since been resolved. However, its sister company, UltimateBet.com is also under investigation. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, who oversees these sites, released the following press release a couple of days ago.

==

KAHNAWAKE GAMING COMMISSION

Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake
July 23, 2008

Kahnawake Gaming Commission (the "KGC") has been continuously regulating online gaming for over 9 years – longer than most, if not all, other jurisdictions. During that period of time, the KGC has proven to be a world leader with regulations and methodologies that have established a regulatory environment in which online gaming can be conducted fairly and securely. The KGC's success as a regulator is evidenced by the fact that a significant percentage of the online gaming industry has chosen to locate and operate within Kahnawá:ke. Given the length of time that it has regulated this new industry and the significant number of licensees under its control, the KGC's record has been exemplary.

As commentators have correctly noted, even the most well regulated industries are not immune from abuse. Examples can be found in the banking, securities and land-based gaming industries. The fact that the online gaming industry is new and is technologically driven creates additional regulatory challenges. Throughout its history, the KGC has met these challenges and its regulations have been emulated in a number of other jurisdictions around the world.

Over the past several months, it was discovered that individuals within two of the KGC's licensees – Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet – had created and carried out a scheme to cheat players. In both cases, the improper conduct of these individuals was brought to the attention of the licensees, and the KGC, by affected players. The KGC acknowledges the diligence and sophistication displayed by these players and the role they played in bringing these matters to light.

The first case involved Absolute Poker. After a thorough investigation carried out by the KGC and its agents, Gaming Associates, the KGC rendered its decision in this matter on January 11, 2008. This decision concluded that the cheating that took place was not initiated, nor did it benefit, Absolute Poker as a corporate entity, or its directors or principal ownership. The decision imposed a number of sanctions and conditions on Absolute Poker, including twenty-four specific directions for changes to its management and systems. The KGC was provided evidence that all players affected by the cheating that took place were fully reimbursed for their losses.

Shortly after its decision was rendered in the Absolute Poker matter, the KGC first became aware of similar allegations of cheating involving individuals within Absolute Poker's sister company: Ultimate Bet.

Over the past several months, the KGC has been closely involved in an in-depth investigation of the Ultimate Bet cheating allegations. Significant efforts have been expended to identify and correct the flaws in Ultimate Bet's system that permitted the cheating to take place; to identify the individuals that were responsible for the cheating and to ensure that all affected players were fully reimbursed. Unfortunately, the KGC's actions were not well communicated to the poker industry or public at large, creating an incorrect perception that the KGC was 'doing nothing'.

The KGC's investigation into the Ultimate Bet matter has yielded a number of key findings which, within the next several days, will enable the KGC to issue its decision on the appropriate steps to be taken.

It should be stressed that the KGC's primary concern throughout both matters was to ensure that affected players were fully reimbursed and that corrective measures were implemented to prevent against any further incidents of cheating. Both of these objectives have been accomplished – as evidenced by the fact that the recent concerns that have been raised about the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet matters are not being driven by affected players.

==

Return to Sit N Go Poker Course

The Next Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:38:00 +0000

Just a quick update to let you know that I am working on writing the next chapter for the SitNGoTraining.com poker strategy. I have been buried lately with another project, which has taken me away from my focus on this site and from playing. But I am in the close-out phase of the project now, so I should be able to regain my focus shortly.

Thanks for your patience and understanding. And as always, good luck at the tables!

Return to Course Outline

February Report

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Well, I had a less than excellent month in February. I spoke about profit per hour (PPH) a couple of posts back. PPH is the way I am measuring my performance. Last month my PPH was just over $20.00, a significant drop from January. But I was still profitable and I continue to slowly build my bankroll.

Why did my PPH drop? Probably because I didn't play enough last month for variance to balance out. The fewer number of sit n go's you play in a specific time period the higher potential for greater variance. Over time, variance will tend to even out and reflect your skill level. That's just how it works.

Regardless, I have been profitable 8 months straight now. And with my profit from February I am about $400 away from my goal to earn $5,000 starting with $50. I expect to hit my goal this month.

One last note... I continue to receive feedback from readers of the SitNGoTraining.com site about how applying the strategies outlined have helped their game. I appreciate the feedback. It is great to know that the sit and go strategies work for others as well as myself. I also frequently get asked when I plan to finish the lessons. Don't worry, I will get to them. But I haven't had much time to work on writing the last couple of months do to other commitments.

That's it for now. Good luck at the tables!

Playing Negative EV Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:04:00 +0000

I received a question from one of the SitNGoTraining.com lesson readers. She asked:

In the EV chart you are referring to, there are also negative numbers. Does this mean that I should never play those hands?

That is a great question. Starting hands with negative EV scores are hands that the typical player has historically lost money playing. As a general rule, during a sit 'n go single table tournament, you should avoid playing these hands.

However, as I will cover in the advanced studies, there are times when you should play hands regardless of their EV. In these situations you are playing the player and not your cards. For example, if you observe that when you are on the button the big blind and small blind always fold to a raise unless they have a premium hand, if you are first to open, you should raise with almost any two cards. They will fold enough times to make this move profitable for you.

To sumarize, unless you have a read on your opponents that would otherwise support changing the basic strategy, in a single table sit and go just throw negative EV hands into the muck.

Profitable Month / ROI vs PPH

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:25:00 +0000

I haven't had much time to play or write about poker in the last couple of months. I have been working on a project over seas and it has consumed a large portion of my time. However, the project is now in the close out phase, so I hope to get back to playing and writing again soon.

As for last month, I ended up making about $38 profit per hour from poker, which is lower than I would like to see, but acceptable given the amount of focus I was able to give to the game. You will note in this post and in future posts I will talk about profit per hour (PPI) as opposed to return on investment (ROI). If you have read through my previous posts you will see that I typically measured my performance in ROI. However, as I progress as a player and adjust the buy-in level and number of tables that I play at, ROI becomes a meaningless number. Ultimately, the number that matters is the amount of money you make per hour of play--your profit per hour (PPH).

Here's an example.

(Before I get into the example, thanks to Alex for identifing a calculation error in my original post!)

Let's say that you are playing at the $5 buy-in level for sit 'n go's and you only play single tables. You are very good at this level and as a result are able to maintain a 36% total ROI (which is different than average ROI--more on that in a future post!).

The formula to calculate total ROI is (Payout-(Stake+Rake))/(Stake+Rake).

So in the example lets say you play one sit and go per day or 30 per month. And for easy calculations we'll say you either finish first 1/3rd of the time (10 times) and do not cash the rest. Here's the numbers:

Payout=225
Stake=150
Rake=15

Based on this information your total ROI would be 36% for the month. Is that good? Many would LOVE a ROI of 36%, especially if they could maintain it. However, when we switch to looking at the profit per hour (PPH), it paints a slightly different story.

Using the same numbers, let's assume you spend 20 hours playing your 30 sit n go tournaments. The formula to calculate PPH is (Payout-(Stake+Rake))/(Hours Played).

Based on the forumla, your PPH is $3.00

ROI = 36% and PPH = $3.00

So how do you use this information to help you measure performance changes in your game.

Well, let's say you decide to play two sit n go's at the same time, but as a result, you are unable to focus as well and as a result you win 10% fewer tournaments (9 on each table instead of 10 on a single table). How will this affect your ROI??

Your ROI would drop to 23%. Many who look at ROI as their measure of performance might say to themselves, my ROI is suffering, therefore I should return to playing single tables. However, in this scenario your PPH increases from $3 to $3.75.

So even though your ROI drops, your actual profit per hour increases. And ultimately we are playing for profit, not ROI. In this scenario, moving from one table to two tables, even through ROI dropped, was a profitable move.

How about looking at this scenario from the perspective of moving up in stakes. Let's assume that as a result of moving up your two-table win rate remained the same (9 wins per table). Was this a profitable move??

ROI would still be 23%, no improvement there. So does this mean that you are doing the same at the $10 level than the $5 level? Not when you look at it from a PPH perspective. In this scenario PPH would double to $7.50. A good profitable move for this player.

For those readers that are getting frustrated over the small sample size of 30 games (or 60 for the two-tabling), yes, I agree with you. A much larger sample size must be used to measure your performance. This is intended as a simple example of how to use PPH to measure performance instead of the typical ROI measurement. I hope you get the point.

Anyway, my PPH last month from poker was about $38.00, which was profitable, but not where I want it to be. Your PPH target will vary depending on how you view poker. Is it a hobby? Or is it a source of income? Is it income that you depend on? or just some extra splashing around money? My recommendation for any player is to track your PPH and then make adjustments to the buy-in level and number of tables until you find your sweet spot (most profitable combination). By doing so you will make poker the most profitable for your skill level.

I'M BACK (But a little rusty!)!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:15:00 +0000

Happy New Year! I haven't been playing sit n go's for a few months now. I have been focusing on cash games to help improve my middle game. I have been doing very well in the cash games, but I find them rather boring. Cash game play is more like one, continuous, never ending tournament where the blinds do not increase and you can rebuy as many times as you want. Hey, that is exactly what a cash game is! Well, I really miss the "result" of a tournament or sit and go. In other words, I like to win something other than just money.

So I decided to switch back to playing sit and go's last night. I must admit, I am a little rusty on sit n go strategy. They definitely require a different approach than cash games. I will need to go back through my training to brush up on strategy! But more importantly, I need to figure out how to incorporate the lessons I have learned during my cash game play into the middle game for sit n go's.

Last night I played four sit n go's and started thinking about middle game strategy changes. One of the key differences I saw immediately is that I did not have the same volume of information about my opponents as I have been able to accumulate over my cash game opponents. I will need to change my data mining tools to focus on sit n go tourneys, now that I am switching back. I will post more on that in the future.

For now, good luck to you in 2008!

Middle Game--Good Results

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:41:00 +0000

As I mentioned previously, I have been focusing on shorthanded cash game play in order to improve my sit 'n go middle game. If you are interested, I have been tracking my learning process at CashGameStrategy.com.

So far the focus on cash has greatly helped my sit 'n go game. I have been playing the basic strategy during the low blind levels and then once the game gets to 50/100 or 6 players, I kick it into short game cash mode. I have cashed in my last 4 tourneys, two of which I finished first place.

The last one I played was rather interesting. I was about even in chips when I arrived at the 50/100 level and switched on the cash mode. Within three rounds I was the chip leader by at least twice the next opponent. This allowed me to continue to "beat up" the table and steal blinds when the situation was right.

By the time we were at the bubble I had three times my next opponent. The bubble could not have been set up any better. On my right was the next highest in chips, on my left the next, and to his left, the short stack. This allowed me to continue to steal each time the person on my right opened-folded. In a situation like this, the person to my left, with the 2nd shortest stack, can't call my shoves because he is waiting for the short stack to go out. And the short stack can not call my pushes without a premium hand. So every time I was on the button I shoved with any two cards and continued to steal the blinds. I was eventually called by the short stack and my hand held up.

I continued the aggression once inside the money, but was more selective, thinking that the other two would open their ranges. It wasn't long before we were heads up and I eventually took down my final opponent.

It is too soon to tell if the lessons I have learned playing cash can be applied consistently to improve sit 'n go results. However, the results are promising.

Focusing on Shorthanded Play

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:01:00 +0000

A few posts back I mentioned that I needed to improve my middle game--basically shorthanded play. For the last week I have not been playing any sit 'n go's. Instead I have been playing 6-handed cash games and learning as much as I can about shorthanded play. If you are interested, I am blogging my shorthanded cash journey.

So far I have learned that in shorthanded play, you can't wait around for cards. The blinds move too quickly to wait for premium hands. I have also learned that because the stacks are so deep, the real skill in shorthanded play is after the flop. So I have been playing fairly loose with the intention of seeing more flops and practicing my reads.

I am going to continue playing the shorthanded cash games until such time as I feel I have mastered it. That might take a while. But ultimately I believe that mastering shorthanded play will greatly improve my sit 'n go play because every sit 'n go ends up shorthanded!

For now, I am putting my sit 'n go journey on hold. But I will be back!

Knockout Bounty Tournaments

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kennedy) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:00:00 +0000

I came across a new feature at Full Tilt Poker. They have added what are called Knockout Bounty Tournaments. Here's the marketing blurb from their site...

Everyone loves to knock another player out of a tournament. Now you can get paid for it. Here's how it works - Knockout Bounty tournaments will follow the same rules as standard tournaments, except that the buy-in will be split between contributing to the prize pool and creating a bounty on each player. For example, a Knockout Bounty tournament with a buy-in of $10+$1 will have $8 going to the prize pool and $2 as a bounty on each player. When you knock a player out of a tournament, the bounty money will be immediately credited to your account and the following message will appear:

All you have to do is look out for tournaments with the K symbol next to them in the Tournament Lobby:

Take extra pleasure in knocking out your opponents. Play in a Knockout Bounty tournament and get paid for more than just finishing in the money. Go for a knockout blow today!

OK, it's me again. Note, I haven't seen these for sit 'n go's yet, but I will let you know if I do.