[jojobinks]

true dat. i constantly see guys at step 1/2 that are trying to win every chip on the table.

[JoseRijo]

Hey JoJo, is this an open thread?

Played 2 step 1's last night. Won the first and was cruising in the second until this 3-handed train wreck:

Poker Stars, $7 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Tournament, 100/200 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Bert165 (CO): 2,220
Gentle Kong (BTN): 1,630
Dockman777 (SB): 970
JoseRijo (BB): 5,105
jrspin (UTG): 1,345
**** Four (MP): 2,230

Pre-Flop: (300) Qs Kh dealt to JoseRijo (BB)
4 folds, Dockman777 raises to 970 and is All-In, JoseRijo calls 770

Flop: (1,940) 2c Ks 2s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: (1,940) 3c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (1,940) 9c (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 1,940 Pot
Dockman777 showed 9d 9s (a full house, Nines full of Deuces) and WON 1,940 (+970 NET)
JoseRijo showed Qs Kh (two pair, Kings and Deuces) and LOST (-970 NET)


Bert165 (MP): 2,220
Gentle Kong (CO): 1,630
Dockman777 (BTN): 1,940
JoseRijo (SB): 4,135
jrspin (BB): 1,345
**** Four (UTG): 2,230

Pre-Flop: (300) Td Qh dealt to JoseRijo (SB)
4 folds, JoseRijo raises to 600, jrspin folds

Results: 400 Pot
JoseRijo mucked Td Qh and WON 400 (+200 NET)


Bert165 (UTG): 2,220
Gentle Kong (MP): 1,630
Dockman777 (CO): 1,940
JoseRijo (BTN): 4,335
jrspin (SB): 1,145
**** Four (BB): 2,230

Pre-Flop: (300) Qd Qc dealt to JoseRijo (BTN)
Bert165 folds, Gentle Kong raises to 1,630 and is All-In, Dockman777 folds, JoseRijo calls 1,630, 2 folds

Flop: (3,560) As 4s 6h (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: (3,560) Td (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (3,560) 2s (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 3,560 Pot
Gentle Kong showed 4c 4d (three of a kind, Fours) and WON 3,560 (+1,930 NET)
JoseRijo showed Qd Qc (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-1,630 NET)

[imthatguy]

You played just fine Jose, but this is teh EASIETS wayz to go the WSOP evar. There's no rhyme or reason to the moves people make in Step 1/2. I've stopped caring and am focused solely on winning enough tickets in the early stages to never have to play them again.

[dktoller]

but this is teh EASIETS wayz to go the WSOP evar

Probably the cheapest buyin... I started thinking about this structure and ran some numbers (assuming you are 'average' player):
- Chance of winning with a single step one entry: 2.4 in 10,000
- Chance of winning real money, single entry: 1.4 in 1000
- Average rake over the lifetime of a step one entry: $3.09
=> Stars ultimately gets nearly half of that $7.50 entry by the time you figure in the higher steps

I hate the rake here. With the steps structure you pay for every game, and you're locked in until you win or bust. If you're good go find a nice mtt satellite so you don't get charged 6+ times. You might have a larger edge (+80% mtt vs. +10% stt) on the competition anyhow.

One more: for ever 1000 Step One games they fill, Stars runs about 1400 games at various levels and rakes in $23k.

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by dktoller

Probably the cheapest buyin... I started thinking about this structure and ran some numbers (assuming you are 'average' player):
- Chance of winning with a single step one entry: 2.4 in 10,000
- Chance of winning real money, single entry: 1.4 in 1000
- Average rake over the lifetime of a step one entry: $3.09
=> Stars ultimately gets nearly half of that $7.50 entry by the time you figure in the higher steps

I hate the rake here. With the steps structure you pay for every game, and you're locked in until you win or bust. If you're good go find a nice mtt satellite so you don't get charged 6+ times. You might have a larger edge (+80% mtt vs. +10% stt) on the competition anyhow.

One more: for ever 1000 Step One games they fill, Stars runs about 1400 games at various levels and rakes in $23k.

Maybe I'm dumb, and I don't get what you're saying, but the only rake you're paying is the initial Step 1 rake. Every rake/buyin after that is tecnically imaginary monies, as you're paying the buyin with a ticket that isn't valid for anything but the SnG you just entered.

[littlebu]

for ish and giggles I just scoped the only two people signed up to play the Step 4. One is down more than 17k over 3k sngs the other has only played 9 sngs. I'm hoping some more good candidates sign up soon.

[dktoller]

Originally Posted by imthatguy

I don't get what you're saying

Yeah, you only pay once, that's true. But they're bleeding ~6-8% off of the aggregate prize pool at each step. So your potential winnings/win-rate is somewhat smaller than it should be, compared to a single MTT for instance.

That's all. Just have to be good enough to beat the rake consistently.

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by dktoller

Yeah, you only pay once, that's true. But they're bleeding ~6-8% off of the aggregate prize pool at each step. So your potential winnings/win-rate is somewhat smaller than it should be, compared to a single MTT for instance.

That's all. Just have to be good enough to beat the rake consistently.

Thanks for helping me. I'm a little slow sometimes.

[FSU88]

Uneventful Step 2 - on to 3.

[mac40k]

Decided to give this a try. I stacked someone early with pocket QQ and just hung on from there. At the end there was one guy that had most of the chips and two of us with around 2k. The guy with the chips kept stealing the blinds and playing like he was going for the win. Fortunately for me, the other low stack was willing to play back at him and I just stayed out of the way until he busted. On to step 2.

Step 2 was a completely difference experience. At Step 1 there were a lot of donkeys that were willing to put their stack in with A-little off-suit or call an all-in with KJs pre-flop. In Step 2, there was a lot more limping and calling. Never caught cards and before I knew it the blinds were up to 150/300 and we still had 8 in. Made a move, got pot committed and went out 8th.