Pokerstars Sit and Go Tourneys

[The_Model]

Hi,

I started playing on Pokerstars and have built a $250 bankroll from $50 playing 5 dollar sngs....(it would be high but I dabble in MTTS as well)...Anyway, I'm wondering what people think about the competition at the 10 dollar level...is it harder? Much harder? Am I ready to make the jump?

Advice appreciated

[pokerlaw]

hey,
the skill level doesnt change much, even if you venture up to the $20s. give it a try, as it seems that you have a good feel for the pokerstarz format.

[Sidekick]

Personally I would wait until you have $330 (30 buy ins) before moving up.

I personally use the 50 buy in rule, but 30 is the general rule of thumb.

The competition at the $10 level is harder, but only moderately so.

As to whether you are ready to make the jump, only you can decide that. Some questions to ask yourself might be:
How many SNGs has it taken me to increase my bankroll from $50 to $250?
Am I comfortable putting $11s on the table every time I start up a tournament?
If I move up to the $11s and have a bad run will it bother me to move back down and rebuild or will I start changing my game trying to 'win back' my lost money?
If I move up to the $11s and the competition is better than me can I move back down and work on improving my game or will I insist that I can beat these yahoos and lose my bankroll?

Without having seen numerous hands that you have played in various situations, no one except yourself can really answer the question of whether you are ready to move up in levels.

[UMTerp]

[ QUOTE ]
Personally I would wait until you have $330 (30 buy ins) before moving up.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good rule of thumb, but I've started modifying it a bit in order to help myself move up more quickly, I use something like this:

Say you're trying to move up from the $5.50's to the $11's.

30 buy-ins for the $5.50's = $165.
30 buy-ins for the $11's = $330.

Assuming you're playing 1 at a time,

- If I had $200 or less, I'd play the $5.50's.

- If I had between $200 and $265, I'd play one $11 for every two $5.50's.

- If I had between $265 and $330, I'd play two $11's for every one $5.50.

- Once I hit $330, I'd play the $11's exclusively.

Or something along those lines. I find it a good way to ease yourself into the next limit, get over the fear of the higher buy-in, and build your bankroll a little more quickly at the same time with minimial risk of going broke. You'll be doing a lot of "mixing" for a little while, but assuming you're truly a winning player, it won't take long to get up to to the higher level for good. Then once you reach $450 or so, you can do the same thing with the $11's and $22's.

[J-Lo]

You can also try dabbling in the turbos, the $6+.50's and the $15+1's...

the $6+.50 is fishier than the $5

[Costanza]

I just went from the $5.50's to the $11's. I still think there's a difference once you get down to 4-5 left in the tourney, but the opening rounds are about the same. I've seen more agressive play and what I have to think are bluffs early, but that just means you're more likely to double up when you catch a hand.

As for the bankroll, I think we're in pretty much the same place also. I waited until I had won $165. I didn't have $330 in my account because I had blown about $50 of it playing MTT's and limit ring games, but I was prepared to add that to my bankroll if I went on a losing streak when I started.

I had also been keeping records. I knew that I had gone from a slightly negative ROI over my first 100 tournaments (I started reading this board after I had played about 30 tournaments) to a >50% ITM and ~ 35% ROI on my last 100 tournaments. I know -- probably not enough to be truly statistically significant. But I could also look at enough points of my game where I knew I was making better decisions because of what I've learned here that I felt comfortable saying I was winning more because I was playing better.

I went OTM my first 4 $10+1 SnG's, losing with AQ, QQ, KK and AA in the final hands. I wouldn't have paused to think twice about this if it had happened in $5+0.50's, but somehow seeing that string of ($11.00)'s in the net column in my database got into my head. I thought about moving back down, but, since I was comfortable with my bankroll and confident I could get it back at the $5.50's if need be, I decided to stick with the $11's a little while longer. Once I won my first $11 SnG all the doubts went away and I seem to be doing just as well at the $11's now as I was at the $5.50's.

So, in short, if you're confident you're beating the $5.50's you should be able to beat the $11's. Just make sure you have a plan for what you're going to do if you start out with a bad streak.