In the money distribution

[SuitedSixes]

I have the same number of 1sts 2nds and 3rds. Is this pretty typical based on the Party SNG structure?

[OrcaDK]

I would prefer to have fewer second finishes, and more thirds and/or fourths. It might be a sign of too weak play on the bubble.

[Shanemex]

I have more 1st and a lot more thirds than seconds, but I only have a sample size of 190 right now. 24 firsts, 17 seconds, 42 thirds.

[SuitedSixes]

Could you elaborate? I would think it would be the other way aroud. I would thing that you want more seconds since that is showing that you are being aggressive when everyone else has tightened up. I think that 4ths would be the last thing that you want.

[OrcaDK]

Often when i'm down to 4 people - on the bubble - i become extremely aggressive. The result is that most of the time i'm very successful at stealing the blinds, and as a result i gain a respectable stack when the bubble bursts. Because of this respectable stack i can afford to continue being aggresive. As a result of this aggressiveness i might end up in both the 4th and the 3rd spot. I rarely get the 2nd spot because i play so aggresive. Usually i either burst out in 3rd place, or i doble up, ending up with a large stack for the HU play.

[jedi]

[ QUOTE ]
Could you elaborate? I would think it would be the other way aroud. I would thing that you want more seconds since that is showing that you are being aggressive when everyone else has tightened up. I think that 4ths would be the last thing that you want.

[/ QUOTE ]

You'd want to be more heavy in 1st AND 3rds than 2nds. You're being more agressive when everyone else has tightened up, but you'll occasionally bust out when someone wakes up with a hand. More 2nd place finishes means you're playing and surviving for 2nd place, which might be okay, but most people here play to win. 4th place would be acceptable in a 2 table SnG.

[poboys]

I have seen the lots of 1sts and 3rds philosophy repeated many times, but, honestly, I don't get it. I took a look at how my distribution of 1st-3rds has changed over time. I am a moderately successful low-limit SnG'er, ROI ~25% currently, a shade above 18% overall (since Feb). I've played about 1000 SnGs, not a tremendous number, but my ROI has trended upward over time (of course with the occasional bumps).

As my ROI has increased, the distribution of my finishes has changed too. This is to be expected, of course, but my first place finishes has risen substantially, but so has my second place finishes too. In the past two months I have more 1sts than 2nds and more 2nds than thirds. My ITM has actually dropped over time, but when I am ITM I am more likely in 1st or 2nd.

I'll have to pull up the spreadsheet and post the results. Of course, I am only one data point, but it seems logical that as your ROI increases (meaning you are getting 'better') you would trend toward more 1st and 2nd finishes and less 3rds.

Has anyone found a good article about these distributions -- rather than just stating the "1st/3rd place rule"?

[MikeR]

What is a good sample size for sngs? I didn't see a faq for this section.

[Degen]

'typical' for a losing player...you should have more 1st than 2nd's or 3rds and more 3rds than seconds.

Degen

[Degen]

1k plus

Degen

[Degen]

you want less seconds because when it is 3-handed you should be going for 1st...not second...this will lead you to bust more often, but when you don't it will put you in damn fine position to coast to victory

Degen

[Degen]

ditto

[MikeR]

Holy crap! That's like a year's worth of sngs. Even 5 a day, that's like 200 days. Wowzas.

[Irieguy]

[ QUOTE ]
'typical' for a losing player...you should have more 1st than 2nd's or 3rds and more 3rds than seconds.

Degen

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a funny quote. Losing players do not typically have an equal distribution of 1sts-3rds, and most players with an equal distribution are not losing.

Looking at almost 3000 SNGs, my partner and I have similar ROIs. But his ITM is higher, and my 1st place percentage is higher.

It doesn't really matter, and it's just noise for thousands of trials anyways. You want to win more than your fair share of HU matches, after considering stack sizes. Good luck with that calculation.

Bottom line, your results are fine.

Irieguy

[Scuba Chuck]

MikeR, I average 400 a month. That's about 80 hours of my time. Or, better said, my hobby takes a little less than 20 hours a week of my time. Does that change your opinion of 1,000?

For example, thus far this year, I have played:
January: 537 (yikes)
February: 308 (on vacation for 8 days)
March: 273 (through March 16th)
Total: 1,118

And I'm sure others could beat my numbers by some magnitude.

[david050173]

[ QUOTE ]
Holy crap! That's like a year's worth of sngs. Even 5 a day, that's like 200 days. Wowzas.

[/ QUOTE ]

5 a day is only a hour of playing if you are 4 tabling.