Big step backwards

After my miserable showing in my prop bet with Blazman and Rant2112 (10x$16 18 player SNGs), I decided to take a step back.

I played $10 in .25 tourneys and had a 50% ROI. It probably should have been higher, but once I was guaranteed profit I turned into a maniac. These things were sucking the life out of me when I was taking them seriously.

Now I've moved on to the next phase: 10 x $1.75 18 player SNGs. I'm going to concentrate on O8, but I may step over to something else to break up any monotony.

I played my first one last night, and took it down for $10.80 cash. I felt like I was on an entirely different level than most of the other players. I timed my bluffs well, made the right calls and laid down the 2nd best hand more than once.

I explained the payout structure for Poker Stars 18 player SNGs over at the Ante Up forums, but I'll break it down here.

Look at the payout as units. There are 10 units paid out:
1st=4 units
2nd=3 units
3rd=2 units
4th=1 unit

In the $1.50 + .25 that I'm playing now, each unit is worth $2.70. The rake is pretty brutal at this level, but you still only need to earn 7 units in 10 tournaments to show a profit. (At the higher levels, you can turn a profit with 6 units in 10 tourneys.)

I look at these as 4 different tournaments wrapped into one. Each tournament pays 1 unit. In the first tourney, it doesn't matter how many chips you have, you just need to place in the top 4. It progresses in this manner for each successive tournament.

The only advantage to having more chips is better positioning for the next event. This is obvious, but the subtle key to these is that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th tournaments are freerolls. You have to outlast 13 players in the first tournament to earn your buy-in back and a little more on top of it. Every place you move up saves you a buy-in and keeps you from having to deal with the field.

Here is the key to these tournaments, write it down and don't forget it: Do not plan your strategy on finishing first. Your strategy should always be to make it to the next level in the best position you can. If you're short stacked, tread water. Every time you outlast a person, you win more than you do for placing 4th, since you don't have to pay the buy-in.

Winning should be your ultimate goal, obviously. However, finishing 2nd and earning 3 units pays more than finishing 4th in 3 tournaments and earning the same 3 units. It's like a hybrid Double or Nothing. You need to worry more about outlasting people than building a big chip stack, but that big stack will earn you more.

Bonus info: DO NOT PLAY The $20 + 2 18 player SNGs. The $15 + 1 has a rake that is 6.66% versus the 10% in the $20. The $50 + 5 suffers from the same rake inequity, but at least it is a much higher buy in.

Z