Impressions of Ultimate Bet SNGs

[Tosh]

Well I decided to give this SNG month a go by adding 2 UB tables in Mini view with the rest of my games. Just been playing $10 games till I get used to the different games but I think its a good promotion. No rush to clear the bonus dollars afetrwards either.

General observations so far though.
1) The blind structure is less optimal than other sites in terms of hourly rate.
2) The play is nuts till there are 3-5 left, at which point the blinds are normally 20/40 and its real hard work. Feels more like the WPT than a $10 SNG.
3) The play with 3-5 left is actually decent, but they have no clue headsup.
4) I can't win with Kings. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

What does everyone else think in general of the UB games ? I hadn't played there till yesterday.

[mackthefork]

[ QUOTE ]
4) I can't win with Kings.
/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

At least that something we got in common. lol /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I downloaded the software but i aint got an account yet, i guess i should maybe get one now and give it a go. How does the blind structure work, and how many chips you get.

Regards ML

[Tosh]

1000 and they go up every 8 minutes. 5/10, 10/20, 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 50/100 etc.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
1) The blind structure is less optimal than other sites in terms of hourly rate.

[/ QUOTE ]

The blind structure, especially when it gets shorthanded, favors the better players since it's a 'timed' blind escalation rather than 'per # of hands' escalation. In comparison to Party, that is. Party, the blinds go up every 9-10 hands regardless of how many players. On UB, you can sometimes get 20 hands in when it's s/h.

b

[Tosh]

[ QUOTE ]

The blind structure, especially when it gets shorthanded, favors the better players since it's a 'timed' blind escalation rather than 'per # of hands' escalation. In comparison to Party, that is. Party, the blinds go up every 9-10 hands regardless of how many players. On UB, you can sometimes get 20 hands in when it's s/h.

b

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes but Party allows you to get more in. Someone on recently said that they thought the Party blind structure was pretty close to optimal for hourly rate, I agree.

[edge]

Just cashed out of Stars, and I'm moving everything to UB for this bonus. Sounds like the structure is similar to Stars, which is good for me.

I'm going to have a problem clearing the bonus money though, since I'm terrible at both limit and NL ring games.

[BradleyT]

Yeah it's suprising to be ITM at 20/40 blinds and to finish at 30/60 blinds but I like it.

[AtlBrvs4Life]

If that's true, then I'm depositing on ub tomorrow. You can practically fold your way into the money

[Doc]

Admittedly this was at the smallest SNG buy in, but I did see a guy not there make it to top 3 tonight. (I made a horrible boneheaded play, but we won't talk about that. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[SumZero]

I mainly play the $5+.5 SNG and only play on UB so I don't know about your point 1.

I think your point 2 and 3 are both true for the $5 SNG.

As for Kings I've started to really slow play them in early blind levels, and fold whenever an Ace shows, and I find I'm either losing 10 or 20 chips or knocking someone out. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Tosh]

What I've found is its down to 4 or 5 as early as 20/40 but then it becomes quite tough, even at a $10 level. Real hard work for the rest of the game, I've played against some very strong players. Amazing to see them at that level.

[soah]

I tried some UB SNGs anywhere from $5-$30 and found them all to be at least as hard as a typical Party $50 -- perhaps harder. Maybe I just got unlucky, but every table I sat down at I felt that more than half the table really knew how to play. It's really depressing to get outplayed at a $5 buy-in. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Tosh]

The games I've played today seem especially tough. They're still beatable but I'd say the play is roughly comparable with Party 100s. If they stay like this its not really worth the trouble. Some have been very soft as well though so we'll see.

[Lazymeatball]

After 10 $10+1 SnG's I find that it's easy to play tight until it's about 6 handed, at which point the crazies are gone and the blinds are around 30-60. At this point a bit of aggression makes it real easy to steal the blinds repeatedly.
Even if your shortstacked, people tend to not play back at you if they know that you're likely to push. Of course this strategy is only effective until you get called by someone's KK, so use caution in tricky spots, but don't be afraid to bubble if there's a good chance of moving up in the money.

[Cosimo]

Since all you 2+2 people jumped into these SNGs, the tables have gotten tougher. I'm not finding that many crazies. A few months ago, these were a lot easier, but I'm having a tough time this month.

Probably in part because I suck, but that aside, I still found myself doing better before. I've seen tables go 60 hands and only lose a couple people. Maybe it's just extra-tight this weekend...

[MercTec]

Have I run into any of you yet? I have the same name on UB, MercTec. I generally just play in the 5s and 10s.

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]
If that's true, then I'm depositing on ub tomorrow. You can practically fold your way into the money

[/ QUOTE ]


if you want to try this strategy then good luck to you.
i have done okay so far but overall i find these SNG's to be pretty tough and it is still debateable whether or not i will keep plugging away on the mth.


i played a $20 6-max today...and on our 171st hand we still had 4 players left. a couple of us sucked out when we needed to and stayed alive....but the competition was pretty impressive.


i can't get anywhere in the $20 SNG's but i have also taken a disproportionate number of tough beats.
i've done pretty well on the $10 6-maxes...but have gotten some lucky breaks there.
i've cleaned up on the handful of $5 SNG's i've played (both 6-player and 10)


i'm really enjoying playing these...but the competition is tough and i'm not as profitable as i would like.
getting the bonus-dollars helps of course....but i need to make money on the SNG's themselves to make it worthwhile.

i was concerned the competition would be too tough to make this a worthwhile usage of my time.....and so far it appears that i may, unfortunately, be correct.
i'm not giving up on it yet though because i'm having too much fun with it.

[Cosimo]

I'm in a $10 6-max right now. We're 140 hands in, and there's still 4 players. This is NOT soft poker. Average stack of just 10 big blinds. This is fairly typical of the games that I've been in.

And... I decided that I'm not good enough to beat the $10 yet. I'm getting killed. I can do fairly well when it gets down to 3-handed and I have a stack, but with so many people staying alive for so long, the blinds get to the point where each hand is nearly an all-in gamble. I had a string of 3 firsts and a 2nd in five games, followed shortly by five bubbles in a row.

3/3/6/9/7/11/3/2/0/1, first place to 10th. So it's easy to survive the first few people, but I can't beat this game after that. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[SumZero]

So are people playing a lot of the 6 handed SNG rather than the 10 handed? I can see that people trying to max out the bonus dollars might try that since the 6 handed likely are done faster. Anyone play a lot of both who can compare and contrast. I'm strictly a 10 person SNG myself.

[skaboomizzy]

haha man I'm so glad I managed to score a couple 6-player SNG wins before I cashed out of there about 3 weeks ago. It is BRUTAL poker after the LAGs get culled out early.

Y'all have fun, now.

[Tosh]

Hmmm I should have $300 of bonus dollars after playing the last few days, I don't know if its worth me really playing much more. My hourly rate is surely higher playing normal games. That said I do believe they're good practice so I may play the odd few for that.

[C M Burns]

I've been playing some of the 50's, mainly 10 handed a couple 6max which i think I may like better but doesn't fill as much.
Compared to the Party 50's the players are much better (but this promo may attract lesser players)and even better than stars but I haven't played many sngs there recently. Fairly tight and some are aggressive, but a few will still pay off with weaker hands, and u can be more patient with the blind structure. Also in the later portions there are a good number who fold a little too much so you can steal more.

I've had some wild swings as far as limits when u are in the money. I've played 10 handed with 50-100 and 3 handed with 30-60 and over 3k a peice. probably bb of 100-150 is average. If you like playing ring games there I think the promo makes it worth it.

[Dornkirk]

I don't know if it's the players or the amount of starting chips, but the UB SNGs seem to have stronger players than say PS. This works better for me personally since I can usually open up my play around the 30/60 or 50/100 blind level. The players will be more likely to respect your raises and this makes it eaiser to lay down the 2nd or 3rd nut hand to a re-raise and allows you to bluff more effectively when needed. My ROI and ITM %s are far higher on UB.

[scarr]

I found the UB S&Gs much tougher the last few days too. I have been playing them regularly since April, and showing a nice profit, however this new promototion has brought in many more tough players.

Been playing $5 mostly and have 2 wins, 1 second and 9 out of the money at that level.

I use to be the one trapping, now it is me who is unknowingly running into the big hands. I found I have to play much tighter and more cautiously.

I go by the same handle at UB. I found 'millerkc' and 'uberplair' to be very tough with a big stack. Also, a friend of mine who has done much better than me on the S&Gs at UB is finding the tables more difficult recently.

[Cosimo]

After spending all day at the $5+.5 SNGs instead, I'm having much better luck. Or, at least, more success. 53% in the money, 55% ROI over 17 entries.

I think you guys should play the 10+1. :P

[AtlBrvs4Life]

I was going to deposit on UB and do this, but if I have to play the $5 tournaments to consistently win, I think I'll stay on Party. Even with the bonus on UB, there is more money to be made on Party.

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]
Even with the bonus on UB, there is more money to be made on Party.

[/ QUOTE ]

i'm beginning to think you are right.
but i am still having a lot of fun with it so far...i'm not doing TOO badly (yet) and i think my SNG play is improving as i go along.


i played quite a few 20 6-maxes today.....and finished up just a few dollars on the day...i'm still down a little bit overall. hopefully the bonus-dollars will make up for that if the ring-games are reasonable.

maybe i should stick with the $10 6-maxes...
record today on those was 1/0/1/0

on the $20 6 maxes....
0/2/1/2/0/0/2/0/0/2/0/1
which really doesn't feel too shabby....but that 4 out of 5 stretch out of the money really drags down the numbers.


i'm not giving up on it yet.

[MicroBob]

well...i decided to stay up later and play with the insomniacs tonight and i'm very glad i did.

got some great cards and ran into a couple of real maniacs (haven't seen too many of those). i also think i am playing better and better (but it helps to get the occasional suck-out).


played 5 of the $10 6-maxes and took 1st in 3 of them (and i think i beat a 2+2'er in a long heads-up duel)
played 2 of the $20 6-maxes and won 1 of them.

i am actually in the black for this whole SNG thing now (finally)...
plus i have around $600 bonus-dollars total from all this play.

if this keeps up i'm going to become an SNG-a-holic pretty darn quick. lots of fun these things are.


anecdotes:
the guy that i suspected was a 2+2'er was pretty strong.
i was playing him heads-up on a $20 table...at the same time the two of us were also involved in a 3-way battle on a $10 table.
i won the $20 table but he knocked me out on the bubble on the $10 table a couple minutes later.


there was another $10 SNG where i had AA busted on the 2nd hand and i was down to 30 chips. i came back to win the whole thing.
2nd time i have made a comeback after being down to 30 chips or so. i'm awfully proud of those even though i know it takes an insane amount of luck to pull one of those things off.


okay.....feeling pretty good as i'm finally off to bed.
more SNG's await tomorrow.
maybe i'll try heading over to the 2+2 SNG's on stars so i can get my butt kicked back to reality!! lol

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Party 3-table SNGs are timed levels.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I like the 6-max SNGs at UB for a change of pace.

[Tuesday]

If you want to work on your bubble play, UB is where its at. The SNGs seems always to boil down to 3/4 tight players that end up battling for ages. Aggression really pays of in the $10 SNGs when on the bubble. Blind stealing is a piece of cake and it is usally quite easy to tell if you are up against a stronger hand.

[FloppedFlush]

[ QUOTE ]
on the $20 6 maxes....
0/2/1/2/0/0/2/0/0/2/0/1
which really doesn't feel too shabby....but that 4 out of 5 stretch out of the money really drags down the numbers.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know how you feel. I really hate those times I can't break into the top 6 on a 6-max table.

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]
can't break into the top 6 on a 6-max table.

[/ QUOTE ]

i can't tell if this is a typo or a weird joke.
obviously you ment top 2 to get ITM.


i've spent around $1300 on the SNG's....and am $30 in the black for an AWESOME 2.3% ROI.
Top That!!!!

of course, i also get the $650 bonus-cash too.

[FloppedFlush]

Sorry, just a weird joke. I was referring to the 8th and 10th place finishes on what was supposedly a six-handed table. I was in a weird mood yesterday. [ QUOTE ]
on the $20 6 maxes....
0/2/1/2/0/0/2/0/0/2/0/1

[/ QUOTE ]

But now looking at it closer, I see there's actually 12 numbers there, so I guess I just didn't understand what your notation meant.

[Cosimo]

He's using the notation "place/place/place/...", each number being a different tourney.

MicroBob: I think the standard notation is #1stPlace/#2ndPlace/#3rdPlace, etc. Hence my previous entry of 3/3/6/9/7/11/3/2/0/1, which means 3 first place finishes, 3 second, on down to no 9th and one tenth.

BTW I don't think 10-20 tourneys is a signifigant number. I've had runs of 5 out-of-the-money in my short amount of play so far, as well as a couple wins in a row or 5 of 6 in the money, etc.

But, again, I'm not that great a player. I'm learning and winning a bit; about 20% ROI. And that's at the $5 table.

[Frogger]

I have a pretty small sample so far from UB SnGs..

Played 4 6 Player 50+5 SNGs. Finished 1st twice, 4th once, and tied for 6th once. The tie for 6 was awful. I was UTG with QQ and raised it to 120. SB re-raised to 300 BB cold-calls and I push. SB has a 22 and the BB has an 99. 22 makes a set and is GUUD!

[MicroBob]

ah yes....then it was I who was in error...i apologize.

i looked at your results but didn't really LOOK at your results.

i do remember wondering about that 11th place finish you had in the middle there but i thought it might have been a couple of 1st place finishes and you forgot the slash.

anyway....the way that i showed is how i scribble it on my notepad.


my big comeback is continuing today....my play is better and better i think and i'm very pleased with my results.
i also won a late-game kind-of short-stack all-in with 22 against AA as the mighty deuce spiked on the river.
it takes true SKILL to pull something like that off.

[Tosh]

The $20 games are no easier than the $10 I've found but don't form a table so easily. I've kind of given up a bit though, only playing 1 or 2 a day.

[maddo]

Hi. All this talk of UB SNGs being quite tough has given me some confidence. I mostly play $5 an $10 Ten Seaters on UB. I've only been playing for about 6 months but fair ok, and have had lots of money finishes. In fact I get real disappointed now if I don't make the money! I must admit I got my ass kicked a bit when I first started playing them, but now I feel like I've sussed out how to play them. I'm going to start playing the $20 ones as soon as I have over $400 in my account (I have a personal rule that I need 20x the buy-in to play). I've never played on PP or PS, which it seems most 2+2s do. But anyway, if UB is quite tough then it can only help to make me a better player :-)