Which SnG tourneys are more beatable, $1 buy in or $5 buy in?

[Martini]

If you wanted to increase your bankroll by the largest *percentage* possible, do you think it will be easier to do in a $1 or a $5 buy in sit and go? In each case you would be funded with enough money to buy in 100 times and the goal would be to get the biggest return on investment possible so if you doubled your bankroll in the $1 buy in to $200 and double your bankroll to $1000 in the $5 buy in then it would be a wash since in both cases you end up with 200% of your original stake. Which SnG tourneys do you think are easier to beat?

I wanted to break this topic out into its own thread though this was originally touched on in the monotone flop thread.

[Edit: fixed hyperlink]

[Detroitdad]

I have both, more frequency in the 1's and honestly IMO there isn't much difference. If I was forced to pick I would say the $5 SnG's, but only by a small margin.

B

[links_slayer]

Which SnG tourneys do you think are easier to beat?

The $5 variety...just my opinion.

I've stopped playing SNGs though.

[luckystraights]

Over a long period of time, your results in each might balance out, but for several weeks in the $1 Sit-N-Go's I've been faced with a very high level of reckless gamble, which increases my variance and makes these games harder to beat consistently when you are faced with such opponents, conversely if I have a run of opponents who at least try to play the game, then I have a large enough edge that I will cash in all, and win most, which has been the case previously.

In my experience I have a much lower variance when I play against opponents who can play the game, as they gamble less and base there plays or skill, allowing me to outplay them, rather then hope a stupid call doesn't suck out on me, and with 5 out of 9 people all gambling like crazy, its easy to rail even with a monster in the $1's during these times, I imagine that will be less so in higher limits.

[Dr. Neau]

In general, I'd say each player needs to find the right balance between too many donkeys and too many players that are better than them.

Too many donkeys and you might as well play Blackjack.
Too many players better than you and you might as well flush your money down the toilet.

[luckystraights]

Too many donkeys and you might as well play Blackjack.

I agree, some idiot just called a 4x pre-flop raise with Q3s, then lead out when he paired his 3 against the raiser

[Dr. Neau]

Too many donkeys and you might as well play Blackjack.

I agree, some idiot just called a 4x pre-flop raise with Q3s, then lead out when he paired his 3 against the raiser

Well, there's still a strategy against these clowns...never bet into them...let them do all the bluffing and just call them down.  Problem with a sit and go is you might run out of time before you get to use it.

[Dr. Neau]

I'll add.

The donk level is not tied to the dollar level.

For instance, there's a $50 sit and go at Canterbury.  Some might consider that a high amount....but in this case the blind schedule is so aggressive that you can't afford to sit back and wait, so everyone needs to be a LOT more aggressive.

[hizzamhock]

I have had success with 5 dollar sngs, but not the 1 dollar ones.  I did a sharkscope search just to verify but I lost money at the 1 dollar level with a roi of negative 8 percent.  But my roi for 5 dollar sngs is positive 32.5 percent.  Imho the 1 dollar ones are not even worth playing.  People just dont take them seriously and you will see some rediculous bad beats.  Maybe I didnt take them seriously either which may explain my results.  REallly who gives a crap about one dollar?   Back in the day I played 1 dollar turbo nl sngs at full tilt.  They were like crack.  Cheap entertainment and fun to play when you are drunk.  If you have at least 100 bucks, 20 buy ins for 5 dollar sngs, then play them.  The competition is not much better really.  I dont think you see a real increase in skill level until the 20 dollar level.

[TwoToGo-Grave]

I never play $1 sngs, and I have played many $5 ones (and $10 ones as well), but I would have to assume that $1 are easier to beat, just by common sense.  The lower the stakes, the worse the play, and while too many donkeys may cause some particular troubles, such players are more exploitable.  Personally, I would rather sit at a table full of morons than at one with seven morons and one good player.  If you struggle more at $1 sngs, I'm going to assume that focus may be a factor (less on the line and less to win), as well as a tendency to either get frustrated by or be unable to adjust to the bad players.  I could be wrong, but still...

[luckystraights]

I never play $1 sngs, and I have played many $5 ones (and $10 ones as well), but I would have to assume that $1 are easier to beat, just by common sense.  The lower the stakes, the worse the play, and while too many donkeys may cause some particular troubles, such players are more exploitable.  Personally, I would rather sit at a table full of morons than at one with seven morons and one good player.  If you struggle more at $1 sngs, I'm going to assume that focus may be a factor (less on the line and less to win), as well as a tendency to either get frustrated by or be unable to adjust to the bad players.  I could be wrong, but still...

I haven't played much since having a really bad run in the Sit-N-Go's as I've been plagued with illness after illness after returning, but you do have a point.

Self control is a huge factor in these games, as it is in any level, and thats an area I'm working on, and I'm finding the 'indifference approach' to be a great weapon, no more stress over 6:5 situations, let the cards fall, I no longer care, win or loss, it all evens out in the long run.

Also as you say, you have to adapt to play against your opponents. A pro who I bumped into online recently suggests many so called donkey's are actually skilled at there style of play and exploit the tight aggressive players, while I wouldn't support an idea that donkey's in these Sit-N-Go's are anything but donkey's who have no idea how to play, it does highlight a very important point, that you do have to be able to handle these type of players.

Expecting them to call your raise or re-raise with suited connectors for instance, rather then ending up all-in on a rag board with TPTK, and berating the donkey who called with 85s to flop two pair and bust you.

[LuckyDog Poker Art]

For me, the $5 sit-n-go's have a few more better players involved and, if you play well enough, you have a decent shot at making it into the money if not winning the darn thing.  The $1 games are just too crazy for me and basically just a crap shoot or a way to throw a dollar out the window. 

Let us know which you decide to tackle and how it goes.  Good luck!