Make your OWN STEPS!

[Cleveland Guy]

Okay - if you like the steps structure - just make your OWN STEPS.

It's really pretty simple. Say you want to start at $10 +1.

Give yourself say 10 buy ins for this. So that's $110 of your bank roll.

Move up according to where you place in each tournament - and the money in your bankroll.

Example

$10 +1 - you get second for $30.

You now get to move up to the $20+2, and you have an extra $8 in your account.

You get 2nd in your $20 +2 = $60, +$8 you have aside.

You can now skip the $30's and move to the $50's if you want. If you don't, you can move up to the $30's.

Lets say you play the $33, and don't place. You now have $35 left in your account - so even by placing 4th-10th- you have still earned a freeroll into another $30.

This time you place 2nd. Now you have your $90 winnings, plus your $2 left over.

You move up to a $50. But you don't place - back down to the $30.

If you lose again, down to the $20.

Win, and up to the $50.

And so on and so forth.


This seems like a better structure, as you can "earn" freerolls no matter where you place, and you can cashout or stop at any time.

If there is a flaw - someone please let me know.

[Freudian]

The obvious downside is that at some step the other players will be better than you, and it would be more profitable for you to play at lower levels where you hopefully are better than the other players.

Furthermore, the switch from 33 to 55 may be problematic since the stack sizes (and thus strategy) changes.

[Cleveland Guy]

[ QUOTE ]
The obvious downside is that at some step the other players will be better than you, and it would be more profitable for you to play at lower levels where you hopefully are better than the other players.

Furthermore, the switch from 33 to 55 may be problematic since the stack sizes (and thus strategy) changes.

[/ QUOTE ]

How is this different from the Steps, where the good people just buy in directly to the higher levels?

[Phil Van Sexton]

[ QUOTE ]
If there is a flaw - someone please let me know.

[/ QUOTE ]

You'd also make more rakeback in your plan (while rakeback still exists).

The flaw is that no one actually has the discipline to your follow this plan. They'd either jump a level by not setting money aside, or they'd wimp out after winning a couple times and cash out.

The party steps force you to stay the course. They must charge something extra for this "help", but I have no idea how much.

[rohjoh]

[ QUOTE ]
The obvious downside is that at some step the other players will be better than you, and it would be more profitable for you to play at lower levels where you hopefully are better than the other players.

Furthermore, the switch from 33 to 55 may be problematic since the stack sizes (and thus strategy) changes.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a perfect arguement for why not to play the Steps. At least if you made your own Steps you can take your money at any time. In the steps you move up to better and better competition, until you reach the point of step 5, and the competition is the best on PP. You also trasition from an 800 chip stack in level 1, to a 1000 in level two. So your arguement supports not playing Steps if you are not at the highest level, and if you are that level just buy into Step 5.

[Scuba Chuck]

[ QUOTE ]
You'd also make more rakeback in your plan (while rakeback still exists).


[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong. The phantom rake, if you will, still accumulates towards your rakeback arrangement.

[ QUOTE ]
The party steps force you to stay the course.

[/ QUOTE ]

Huh, first vote for the STEP by you.

[ QUOTE ]
They must charge something extra for this "help", but I have no idea how much.

[/ QUOTE ]

By my math, it's the same. Try this. Apply your finish distribution statistics to a STEP 4. Make an example of 100 buyins. Keep running the distribution statistics with the rerolls as well.

I did this with the ministeps. My math reflects that the sum total of your 100 buyins at STEP 4 will lead to about 39 STEP 5 freerolls (maybe more). Which turns out to be about the same cost as the 100 STEP 4 buyins.
STEP 4 buyin - $165
100 x $165 = $16,500
STEP 5 buyin - $430
39 x $430 = $16,770

[Freudian]

[ QUOTE ]

This is a perfect arguement for why not to play the Steps. At least if you made your own Steps you can take your money at any time. In the steps you move up to better and better competition, until you reach the point of step 5, and the competition is the best on PP. You also trasition from an 800 chip stack in level 1, to a 1000 in level two. So your arguement supports not playing Steps if you are not at the highest level, and if you are that level just buy into Step 5.

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct. I think Steps is a poor idea, no matter if its Partys version or your own home-made one.

[Pokerscott]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The obvious downside is that at some step the other players will be better than you, and it would be more profitable for you to play at lower levels where you hopefully are better than the other players.

Furthermore, the switch from 33 to 55 may be problematic since the stack sizes (and thus strategy) changes.

[/ QUOTE ]

How is this different from the Steps, where the good people just buy in directly to the higher levels?

[/ QUOTE ]

It is a matter of degree. Most of the players at 50+5 table are 50+5 players. However, a much larger % of players at step 2 are winners from step 1 (and are more like 10+1).

Similarly for step 3. A step 3 would have weaker competition on average than a typical 200+15 because of the larger proportion of lower stakes players that have 'won' their way into the step 3.

It doesn't necessarily turn into a huge +ROI to go after the lower steps because the good players are definitely waiting in step 5.

Pokerscott

[xPuns1her]

The steps are a joke. It defeats the entire purpose of playing the level of sit n gos that you CAN beat and makes you lose more money at ones you cantin the higher levels.

[dfscott]

[ QUOTE ]
The steps are a joke. It defeats the entire purpose of playing the level of sit n gos that you CAN beat and makes you lose more money at ones you cantin the higher levels.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is one of the best explanations of why they suck.

[Misfire]

Sounds like a great way to go broke.

BTW, if you're gonna play steps, Prima's are a rake shelter rather than a rake trap. They're still a losing bet, but the risk vs. reward is more reasonable. And yes, I play the WSOP steps, but I play them for the fun and for the longshot prize, not because I expect to make money...that's what normal SNG's are for /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[chaosuk]

Prima it is fantastic value. They give you your rake back at each level, til the top unlike Party: Plus you don't have to climb the steps, unlike party:

Party Poker: not a rake trap

prima: a rake haven

[1C5]

I like this idea. I will give it a try sometime.

[astarck]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The steps are a joke. It defeats the entire purpose of playing the level of sit n gos that you CAN beat and makes you lose more money at ones you cantin the higher levels.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is one of the best explanations of why they suck.

[/ QUOTE ]

So simple, yet so true. Probably is the best explanation of them yet.

[Dan Mezick]

I dont like this, since you are bouncing around and the skill levels vary considerably from $11 to $55.....

Why not focus...and keep playing at the current level until you have over 30 buyins, and every time you have over 30 buyins you play at the next level?

30 buyins is safe for any level you are playing SnG.

Or play every Nth table at the next-higher level. For example if you have 40 buyins at $11 then every 4th or 5th table you play a $22. This has the effect of moving you up to a "synthetic" level of

($11 * 4) + ($22 * 1) = $66

$66 cost/5 SnG tables = "synthetic" SnG level of $13.2

$13.2 * 30 buyins = $396 needed to play $11's with a $22 every 5th SnG.


Anytime the roll gets below ($11 * 30) = $363 you play $11's only.

This removes alot of volatility while still taking shots as you develop the bankroll over 40 buyins or so.

This risk management scheme works at any SnG level you currently play.