ub 1 + .1s worth playing?

[jakeduke]

First post...be gentle...

Anyone play these? I'm playing microlimit ring, but I'm also interested in playing SnGs. Does anyone have experience with them to say whether or not they'd be a useful learning tool while (slowly) building my BR? Most other sites I've seen have 5 + .5 as their lowest level, and my paltry BR isn't ready for those yet. Thanks!

[mason55]

I can't comment on the UBB $1 + $.1's but I started with the $2 + $.2's on pacific poker and they were actually really nice. the competition was really really easy and it's a 20 person tournament, so if you win you pick up $14. Even if you take fifth you get your money back. I was finishing ITM around 90% of the time and I won like 5 or 6 in a row at one point. I made $50 in about a week without any risk basically. I'm sure that's not a great return for most of the people on this site, but for me it was a nice way to start (that was my very first week of playing SnG's). Now I'm playing the $5 + $.50's and they're almost as easier. Actually I would say they're even easier cause the blinds increase more slowly which means you can play a little tigheter and it's less of a crapshoot. Don't know how well that applies to you but i thought i'd throw it out.

[betgo]

Party has play money SNGs. They are a little more meaningful than play money ring games, where everyone plays like they are gambling with play money.

[spacemonkey57]

They're useful if you don't have the bankroll. I've played a couple when tilting or when running bad and the level of competition isn't that much worse than the 5+.50 level.

[chill888]

UB also has a slower S&G structure (games last longer) so skill is worth a bit more than at Party. I think it is thus a better place to learn .


good luck

[jakeduke]

Thanks for the responses! Mason - I think I like your idea of the Pacific SnGs. I've been playin ring there and things have gone well, so I may give it a shot. Did you have a different strategy there than in a 1 table? Not that I'd know enough to really apply a ton of it yet, but I'm curious.

[The Yugoslavian]

I'm not sure it is entirely accurate to say that 'skill' is worth more in the slower SNG structure of UB than the faster structure of Party. I believe I know what you mean but since I have seen this comment many times, I feel that the difference in SNG structure can be talked about in a more accurate way.

Since Party's structure is faster, skill may very well be *worth* more because your $/hr can be higher. Additionally, I think a slower structure benefits a certain style of play while a faster structure benefits a different style of play. Both styles may demonstrate a high level of skill. For instance, you have commented that you are very tight (relative to many posters) while Jason Strasser has commented that he is quite loose (relative to many posters). While one of you may indeed be more 'skilled' than the other, if such a thing could be definitively determined, I would guess his style is worth more on Party Poker while your style is worth more on Ultimate Bet.

I'd say what may make UB a better place to start learning (rather than the slower structure) is that you can play cheaper SNGs (from what I understand) with a lower rake since Party Poker's cheapest SNG is 5/1 where the 20% rake seems to be excessive.

[chill888]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure it is entirely accurate to say that 'skill' is worth more in the slower SNG structure of UB than the faster structure of Party. I believe I know what you mean but since I have seen this comment many times, I feel that the difference in SNG structure can be talked about in a more accurate way.

Since Party's structure is faster, skill may very well be *worth* more because your $/hr can be higher. Additionally, I think a slower structure benefits a certain style of play while a faster structure benefits a different style of play. Both styles may demonstrate a high level of skill. For instance, you have commented that you are very tight (relative to many posters) while Jason Strasser has commented that he is quite loose (relative to many posters). While one of you may indeed be more 'skilled' than the other, if such a thing could be definitively determined, I would guess his style is worth more on Party Poker while your style is worth more on Ultimate Bet.

I'd say what may make UB a better place to start learning (rather than the slower structure) is that you can play cheaper SNGs (from what I understand) with a lower rake since Party Poker's cheapest SNG is 5/1 where the 20% rake seems to be excessive.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good post. Pretty much agree with everything you say. Although assume S&Gs that had the same structure as the World Series. I believe a rookie would have NO chance and world class players would dominate.

Net I think skill is worth a little more at Stars than Party but I hear you when you say that this would (or could) be offset by higher $/hour due to shorter games at Party.

Saying all that ... I think a newbie will learn better in a slower structure as he will see reckless play punished a bit more often and (hopefully) learn less bad habits.

For learning puposes....optimally he would like a game full of reasonable players that costs nothing.

I'm guess a slower structure will get just a little bit closer to this.

[Shilly]

[ QUOTE ]
Party has play money SNGs. They are a little more meaningful than play money ring games, where everyone plays like they are gambling with play money.

[/ QUOTE ]

I played one of these the other day just for fun. Five players all-in PF on the first hand.

[KenProspero]

Party Poker/Empire Play Money SNG's

I agree re the Limit Holdem. By the time you get down to 5 or 6 players, most are at least trying. (However, you often have 1 or 2 who are blinding out, so you think of it as a 8 or 9 player game). I thought of it as a race, how long did it take me to turn 1000 chips into 2000, 5000, 10,000, etc.

I find the NL SNG's there to be a waste of time. Two or three are all-in on the first hand in nearly every game, and the only challenge is how long it takes you to wear down an idiot with a big stack.

[mason55]

As many other people have said, a lot of it is patience. In the pacific $2+$.2, the blinds go up pretty quick so you can't be too patient waiting for monster hands. The way people like to gamble you can let them knock each other out but you have to gamble a little too. I play a few more suited connectors than I normally would, especially because it's easy to get people to pay you off when you hit your flush. For example, yesterday I was watching my girlfriend play one and she hit 3 flushes before level 3 and all three of them paid off her all-in.

Be prepared to fold once the flop comes if it's not promising and don't gamble too much on your draws. Once a few people get knocked out at the first table you'll have to change gears and get a little more aggressive (I usually wait for all the maniacs and most of the LAGs to bust out). Once it gets down to 5 people you'll be reseated at one table and I usually tighten up again once this happens as there will be a few people short stacked making desparation moves (although you can take advantage of this if you hit good cards). Once it's down to 6-7 people will tighten up again cause they're close to being in the money. This is where I start to build a lot of chips so that once it gets down to 5 people you can really dominate.

I haven't played one of these in awhile, I play all $5+.5 and $10+1, but I doubt they've changed much.

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]

Anyone play these? I'm playing microlimit ring, but I'm also interested in playing SnGs. Does anyone have experience with them to say whether or not they'd be a useful learning tool while (slowly) building my BR? Most other sites I've seen have 5 + .5 as their lowest level, and my paltry BR isn't ready for those yet. Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]
Ultimate Bet has very frequent multi-table freerolls. You can play those for practice, too. The penny-ante NL tables are a good place to learn. There is a mixture of complete idiots and some surprisingly good players. You want to see why you should not keep betting the pot on each street with TPTK when the the pot is $3 rather than $100.

As for the $1 SNGs, I think you get a lot of experience for your dollar on UB. Again, there are some complete idiots, and some surprisingly good players. Don't expect to win just because the buy-in is low and a few people are maniacs. I think I lost my first 9 $1 SNGs while I multi-tabled larger SNGs during the Sit N Go Crazy promotion. You can often identify some big leaks in the other players' strategies, but you don't always get the chance to exploit them.

If you just want to win, there are softer microlimit SNGs on other sites. SNGs are a relatively safe way to build up your bankroll until you can start taking advantage of the Cryptologic bonuses. PokerStars bonuses are not as good as on many other sites, but you can clear their bonuses by playing SNGs.

[threadkiller]

I started playing the 1+.1s and the 200pts (e.g about $0.90+0) SnGs. My ITM rate through about 30 of them is around 50%. I'm now doing a short 10-event test on the 5+.50s, and it's significantly harder.

The 1+.1s the key is hand #60. That's where the blinds really start to kill you, and you've got to be in the top 2 by that point or you're in some trouble. For the first 40 hands, even if you're down to 500 chips you're ok, but then you have to make your move.