Should a newbi play Turbo SnG or Regular at PS ? (50-100 BR) - Need Advice.

Hi , I've been playing Texas Holdem for more then a year (half a year at sites like Absolute Poker , FT and PS) and usually I deposit 50$ win some by playing cash games (6max) and then lose all.

I've decided not while ago to stop being half a donk and start a BRM procedure so I could not only enjoy the game and earn some money but also won't have to keep depositing (I might have made some grammer mistakes here... lol...).

Now , I guess I will be playing mainly on PS because there are many SnG there.

I was wandering , which tourneys are best to be played ? I've lost the last 6-7 tournys (360 players turbo , 10c buy in , first place 8~$) around 80-70 places where the blinds are high (and I play tight so I usually med - short stack) and when I push all in with AK/AQ preflop i lose either to pocket pairs or some connecters which hit the flop.

So... after all this whinning , what would you recommand me to do ? (or before start playing , I should go read more about position , SnG , pod odds and etc... )

thank you for your patience .

Your spelling is worse than your grammar. All kidding aside, of course you should learn all you can about position, pot odds, etc. (any book will tell you that 22 is favored over your AQ). A lot will come with experience, but it can be a costly one. Knowledge + experience is the best combo. Experience will teach you a lot of the intangibles, like getting reads on your opponents. And will they fold to your AK based upon 1) those reads) 2) position 3) stack size if tourney, etc.

I'm far from an expert, probably average in NLHE, but will say this. I'm fairly certain that any turbo for a fairly new (and tight) player is a bad idea.

Thank you all.
I'm watching all tv series about poker , wsop , EPT , High Stakes (But not Poker after dark.. thats boring IMHO).

I think one of the most important things I should learn is being able to estimates all my outs in any given position and by that knowing if I have pot odds doing some calls (appears KQ isn't so good when flop comes AJ4 and someone put a big bet )

So , If i'm playing very tight , and I have starting BR of 100$ for example , this means that if I want to play cash , I should sit on 6max/FR tables (2-3) and bet when I have rank group 1,2 (sklansky) hands pre flop and position unless I feel there are limpers and the players arent very strong and then I can try to semi bluff with Ax suited ? (just an example)

thank you again for the support and patience .

Cheers.

alophind said:

Thank you all.
I'm watching all tv series about poker , WSOP , EPT , High Stakes (But not Poker after dark.. thats boring IMHO).

bet when I have rank group 1,2 (sklansky) Cheers.

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Hell, you've done a lot more reading than me. Not to brag, but math has always come more than naturally to me. I'm not Rainman (idiot savant), but it has. So I don't have any odds calculator tricks, but I'm good at 'eyeballing' - although could always improve especially with pot odds. bluffing and position are a whole new bag.

Not sure the TV stuff holds much water as there is SO much editing. As much as it's entertaining to watch, I've neevr felt I've learned much. If anything, it's 'what not to do' in hopes of donking out.

Divebitch said:

Hell, you've done a lot more reading than me. Not to brag, but math has always come more than naturally to me. I'm not Rainman (idiot savant), but it has. So I don't have any odds calculator tricks, but I'm good at 'eyeballing' - although could always improve especially with pot odds. Bluffing and position are a whole new bag.

Not sure the TV stuff holds much water as there is SO much editing. As much as it's entertaining to watch, I've neevr felt I've learned much. If anything, it's 'what not to do' in hopes of donking out.

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In that case... what should I do before going and spending my BR ;-)

the only thing I would tell you to do is play.
you could read every poker book on the planet, watch every tv show and read every blog. you could be a member of poker x factor or card runner. the only thing you need is experience .every pro player I've read about says they are still learning after years or decades of play. imo

I've just played a tourny in PS for steps (100 players, 1 get step 2 entry and 9 get step 1 ticket) when 14 players left and blinds were 400/800 I was mid position short stack with 8k chips (place 12). I got QQ pre flop and UDG shove all in (I was not comited to the pot) and I thought he either have two pictures or low pocket so I decided to call (he was place 14) he had AA and I remained crippled (next hand pushed with K8 suited and lost to 77). So , was my call right or wrong to the all in ?

keep off the 10 cents 360 tournys,,,its not poker on them its as bad as play money..u should play 1 to 2 dllrs 18 27 seater sng comps....get a feel for winningin a small comp..also u should play 1 table and practice on hu comps ov which u can buy in for 2 buks..gd practice for wen u winni a comp an do manage to get heads up in the comp....i wudd keep off cash tables tho,, theres a lot ov very gdplayers even at micro cash games who prey on fish

I'd say that turbo wouldn't help to develop your skills as much as regular would. Turbos just turn into push fests.

Personally, whenever I first started playing I went over my head and my experience. I would always play high stakes table and use my whole bankroll for buy in. I now start slow and progress. If i only have 100 inmy bankroll I will only play a $10 sit in go. maybe .50/1 tables. You just have to try and see what works best for you and if you see your not winning. Turn off the computer!

TIGERSTUMP said:

keep off the 10 cents 360 tournys,,,its not poker on them its as bad as play money..u should play 1 to 2 dllrs 18 27 seater sng comps....get a feel for winningin a small comp..also u should play 1 table and practice on hu comps ov which u can buy in for 2 buks..gd practice for wen u winni a comp an do manage to get heads up in the comp....i wudd keep off cash tables tho,, theres a lot ov very gdplayers even at micro cash games who prey on fish

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Please explain , Why should I play heads up ?

AkrAtos said:

because its more poker and less pushing and all-in every hand.

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Heads Up tournament or Heads Up cash ? ;-)

If you are on a losing streak do you review your hands AFTER the tournament? If you don't you need to. All the hands are stored in your computer somewhere. By looking at your hand history you will discover 'how you think' you play and 'how you actually' play can be quite different. You may not be as tight as you think you are.

Not trying to put you down or anything. When I first did that, I nearly threw up on what I was doing. I couldn't believe I played that way!! So I made a few adjustments and the results and my decision making improved 100%.

if your still a "newbi"..... , then u should stick to turbos and 9 person tables. those take less skill because the blinds get so high it usually comes down to a flip. U dont have enough time to get money. and 9 person tables have more all ins and stuff. so turbos and 9 person table stuff is what u should do

With a smallish bankroll? Being a noob player too? Clearly the better choice would be to select non-turbos. Especially if you dont comprehend the end game strategys for turbos, basically you must push most cards when its folded to you after like... 20 minutes. They are very high variance.

If you select non-turbos you will have a chance to get better cards and play tag poker as you said you play fairly tight, i would recommend this choice. You will have 45 min++ before the situation becomes push and pray.

if you can last the first break on the .10 360turbo you can usually get into the money. I don't particularly like turbos, but they are good if you like to play a little looser. 25-30% flops seen or so. I try and stay around 15-23.

My favorite tournament is the 4 +.40 180 SnGs on Stars, or the 2 +.20 90 SnG. I am not a big fan of the small buy-intournaments with 4000+ entrants. Too many donkeys to suck out on you, and too hard to navigate.

I'd stick with the SnGs personally, and do the regular ones, not the turbos.

LizzyJ said:

If you are on a losing streak do you review your hands AFTER the tournament? If you don't you need to. All the hands are stored in your computer somewhere. By looking at your hand history you will discover 'how you think' you play and 'how you actually' play can be quite different. You may not be as tight as you think you are.

Not trying to put you down or anything. When I first did that, I nearly threw up on what I was doing. I couldn't believe I played that way!! So I made a few adjustments and the results and my decision making improved 100%.

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Did you use any program to analyze your hands?

the real answer is to ignore everyone in this thread and play a variety of games to start and stick with whatever you prefer. when you're playing a game you don't really enjoy for microstakes, well, it can be quite soul-destroying.

maybe you prefer the fact that 1-table turbo SNGs are over in 45 minutes and you like playing basic push-fold poker and not really having to think too much most of the time. maybe you like testing your mettle against bigger fields for potentially bigger prizes and enjoy having the increased edge that a slower structure provides. hey, everyone's different.

as you build your BR you will tend to want to worry about winrate more, and thus would tend to gravitate more to turbo SNGs than regular SNGs, and more to bigger MTTs than smaller MTTs (all other things being equal and as long as you can handle the increased variance of turbo SNGs and big MTTs), and for maximum profit (with some hard work!) you may ultimately want to delve into cash and ditch tourneys altogether.

Dorkus Malorkus said:

the real answer is to ignore everyone in this thread and play a variety of games to start and stick with whatever you prefer. when you're playing a game you don't really enjoy for microstakes, well, it can be quite soul-destroying.

maybe you prefer the fact that 1-table turbo SNGs are over in 45 minutes and you like playing basic push-fold poker and not really having to think too much most of the time. maybe you like testing your mettle against bigger fields for potentially bigger prizes and enjoy having the increased edge that a slower structure provides. hey, everyone's different.

as you build your BR you will tend to want to worry about winrate more, and thus would tend to gravitate more to turbo SNGs than regular SNGs, and more to bigger MTTs than smaller MTTs (all other things being equal and as long as you can handle the increased variance of turbo SNGs and big MTTs), and for maximum profit (with some hard work!) you may ultimately want to delve into cash and ditch tourneys altogether.

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Thank you.
Turbo SnG is good to play only if I play couple of tournys on the same time ? Beucase once the blinds go up , it starts to be a BINGO game (89s push all in.. go figure)

i would say, its all based on your playing style.
like me i'm tight and agressive. which in some aspects turbo's are about 50/50 when i play them. reguar trnys i fair much better in for the longer blinds.

Isn't 0.5/1 too high for 100 bankroll? It means that 100BB are your whole BR ...

alophind said:

Isn't 0.5/1 too high for 100 bankroll? It means that 100BB are your whole BR ...

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Yes.... yes it is.

With $100, you should play 10nl.

alophind said:

Thank you.
Turbo SnG is good to play only if I play couple of tournys on the same time ? Beucase once the blinds go up , it starts to be a BINGO game (89s push all in.. go figure)

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high blinds play is far from a bingo game. pushing / folding / calling the correct hands takes a lot of skill actually. Of course in the short run the result will be dominated by the luck of cards, but the $EV of your decisions are very different and some people make a lot of money in the long run by taking the right decisions again and again.

Check out Moshmann's book and the SNGWiz software for more.

BelgoSuisse said:

high blinds play is far from a bingo game. pushing / folding / calling the correct hands takes a lot of skill actually. Of course in the short run the result will be dominated by the luck of cards, but the $EV of your decisions are very different and some people make a lot of money in the long run by taking the right decisions again and again.

Check out Moshmann's book and the SNGWiz software for more.

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Did you use it ?
Is it really good ?

alophind said:

Did you use it ?
Is it really good ?

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yes and yes.