More logical choice for bankroll?

Hello,

I use to cruise this site a while back, not really active poster but loved to read to improve my game. I put down poker for a year due to schooling, and now I'm picking it back up to supplement some income. I have an account at Full Tilt, and have made close to 100 dollars in a little over a week. I'm not stupid in that I play the big tournaments to win big right away, but I've got one or two questions about building my bankroll. I've read some FAQ's and posts around here, and didn't necessarily find my answers, but if there is a topic that helps me answer my questions, I apologize in advance.

First off, I mainly play 5 dollar SnG that are 6 handed. I figure that while the bubble is higher (top two pay out) I think it takes less time to complete a tournament on average, and the top place pays pretty well (I think). My question is, are SnG's the way to go for earning money consistently? I like SnG's because I've been playing big tournaments for a long time (starting with 1-2 years of playing a ton of freerolls) and I feel I have a good grip on basic and somewhat next level tournament strategy. However, I'm not sure if I should stick with SnG's or suck it up and multi-table ring games. I find that 75-85% of the time I land in the money in a SnG, I make first place.

So my questions are as follows:

1) Are 6 handed SnG's more profitable in the long run compared to 9 table in terms of $/hour?
2) Are SnG's still about as profitable as ring games if I can master SnG's? I feel I have a big boost in starting to come to grips with them considering my multi-table tourny experience. Even though SnG's aren't the same as a big, multi-table game, I feel they are very comparable (but feel free to tell me I'm wrong =P)
3) If I were to avoid buying poker HUD's for a bit (until I see I can make it in terms of making real money with poker) what is the maximum table count I should maintain to maximize profit and still function well at the tables (Both in terms of ring games and SnG's). I realize I have to work my way up to that skill level of multi-tabling, but I'd like a ceiling so I dont get too cocky and push my limits without software.

Thanks for any replies, I appreciate all points of view and advice I can get

Most of what you are asking is personal preference. I think with 6 handed SNG's you can expect more volatility. As you stated they are over quick. People play much more aggressive than ring games.

You stated $100 in just over a week..how many hours of play, how many tables? I think you may be jumping the gun by even bringing up the idea about buying poker HUD's. I could be wrong, maybe you are already multi-tabling like a mad man.

you will go broke in no time playing 5 dollar sngs with only a hundred dollars. you need to move down as far as you can go and build you BR up. it takes time and patience. naturaly variance will eat you alive playing those limits with your BR. trust me.

After losing a majority of my br in ring games, making most back and then losing most of it again over the course of a couple months i decided to take a break from NL hold em ring games. I still play some PL Omaha cash tables, but for the most part i only play the $2+.25 6 man Omaha's and HA's. It hasn't been long since making the switch but i have noticed a constant daily profit from this change.

When i play ring i get too greedy and always stay at a table for longer than i should eventually losing whatever profit i have made at the table, and this is the main reason i made the switch. But it's really up to you to decide what's best.

drizzt said:

So my questions are as follows:

1) Are 6 handed SnG's more profitable in the long run compared to 9 table in terms of $/hour?

Difficult to answer and definately a personal thing. Usually in 6max games there a lot more variance in them compared to FR. Theoretically you will get more 6 max games in /hour compared to FR so yes possibly in terms of $/hour it could be more profitable. But I think this is a style issue more than anything.

2) Are SnG's still about as profitable as ring games if I can master SnG's? I feel I have a big boost in starting to come to grips with them considering my multi-table tourny experience. Even though SnG's aren't the same as a big, multi-table game, I feel they are very comparable (but feel free to tell me I'm wrong =P)

Again a personal thing. Sng's can be more profitable than cash but the same can be said about cash. There appears to be more variance in sng's than in cash games. The problem with sng's nowadays are that your opponents are getting wise to ICM (independant chip model). so every one you play nearly always plays a perfect sng strategy. This makes it less profitable in the long run. You will see that most sng players have now turned to cash games as a result. You also mention above that you finish in the money around 75%. Well I can gaurantee that wont last. If you make the money around 44% of the time you will be playing really well.

3) If I were to avoid buying poker HUD's for a bit (until I see I can make it in terms of making real money with poker) what is the maximum table count I should maintain to maximize profit and still function well at the tables (Both in terms of ring games and SnG's). I realize I have to work my way up to that skill level of multi-tabling, but I'd like a ceiling so I dont get too cocky and push my limits without software.

I personally don't think having a HUD would make that much difference playing SNG's because basically your using ICM. I certainly didn't have a HUD whilst building my BR playing sng's and I was 12-16 tabling. It's most definatley advisable for cash though.

Thanks for any replies, I appreciate all points of view and advice I can get

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Good luck with this but I think after a while you will end up tranferring to cash games, as the variance in sng's is really hard to handle. Your BR is around 20 x buy ins at the moment. That is really the bare minimum for BRM purposes. Dont be in a rush to jump up to the next level until you have at least that and preferably more. If you go on a d/swing be ready to move down in levels pretty sharpish or you will be kissing goodbye to that roll.

Thanks for all replies =)

I dont play too often, and I do tend to swing up and down a bit. Some days I made 5-10, some I broke even, one day (my best) was a 50 buck profit. I can't imagine this luck holding up, so I'm being very cautious about it all.

I think I mistyped when I said I win 75% of the time (definitely mistyped =P). I win probably 25-30 percent on average, but that fluctuates widely. One day I won 100% of my heads up SnGs, while about 10-15 percent of my 6 man SnG's. I play one 6 man SnG at a time and occasionally mix it up and have a shoot out heads up game going at the same time. I dont want to buy a HUD if i really dont have to, as I'm cash strapped as it is. The only reason I started low on bankroll is because I had 34 bucks left on my account after some up and downs a year earlier, and essentially it was dead money to me (I couldn't get any of it out unless I got over 100 for the check) so I got a bit reckless with game choice. Now I have a semblance of a bank roll, and think it's time to mature and play it smart.

I think I get the jist of what you all are saying, I'll go read up on some more, as I sadly have not heard of ICM.

Thanks a bunch for replies