Expected performance on small stake NL Single table SNG?

I've been playing single table SNG tournaments for a little while now and most of the time I am coming 4th/3rd and have come 2nd once.

I'm still on the £1.00 tables (lowest level).

Now - can people make a decent side income from playing SNG's (obviously at higher limits), or can consistent money only really be made playing ring games?

I like the aspect of a single table SNG that I put my stake in, wait for 9 other people to join, and then play. The game has a definite start and end point and you have to rank in the remaining 3 players to get paid. This sounds better than a ring game where I would find it harder to define start and end points, and wouldn't know when to give up.

I just wonder though, am I wasting my time learning the single table SNG game? Should I stick to learning how to do well in multi table tournaments where there are more entrants and obviously much higher payouts? Should I move to a low stake ring game? Or is it really a case of "find what you think you are good at and stick with it"?

I'm quite happy on my £1.00 SNG's for the time being so don't get me wrong, i've read all the articles on this website and am halfway through "Harrington on hold'em" (and I only got it 12 hours ago). I don't expect to become rich overnight, or even ever, but it would be nice to know which direction I should head in if there is an optimal one.

Please don't flame me, this is the beginners circle after all

Thanks!

Originally Posted by satan1974

Now - can people make a decent side income from playing SNG's (obviously at higher limits), or can consistent money only really be made playing ring games?

I'm a nothin'noob, but I believe AOK and DavSimon play SnG's for real income, and plenty of other players make regular money playing multi table tounaments.

Originally Posted by satan1974

I like the aspect of a single table SNG that I put my stake in, wait for 9 other people to join, and then play. The game has a definite start and end point and you have to rank in the remaining 3 players to get paid. This sounds better than a ring game where I would find it harder to define start and end points, and wouldn't know when to give up.

I think sng's are a GREAT place to learn to play. SNG's usually reward a tighter play style (a profitable style to learn), and one gets to play SNG's a long time for low money, even when one is not a winner. And just an occasional hit ITM will keep you going even longer. GREAT place to learn.

Originally Posted by satan1974

I just wonder though, am I wasting my time learning the single table SNG game? Should I stick to learning how to do well in multi table tournaments where there are more entrants and obviously much higher payouts? Should I move to a low stake ring game? Or is it really a case of "find what you think you are good at and stick with it"?

They are different games, yes....but not THAT different. You might eventually be better at ring games than at tournament play, and you might even do better in ring games right now, but it certainly isn't a waste of time to play tournaments. For someone currently losing money at poker, however slowly, your concern about wasting time is kind of like a 3rd grader saying, "Am I wasting time learning my multiplication tables when the real money in math is in engineering, or is it computer science?" (With all encouragement intended by me ), you are likely not learning the fine arts of tournament NLH right now, you are more likely learning the building blocks of all poker that can be applied in many areas of play.

Originally Posted by satan1974

I'm quite happy on my £1.00 SNG's for the time being so don't get me wrong, i've read all the articles on this website and am halfway through "Harrington on hold'em" (and I only got it 12 hours ago). I don't expect to become rich overnight, or even ever, but it would be nice to know which direction I should head in if there is an optimal one.

Please don't flame me, this is the beginners circle after all

Thanks!

Message heard. You are trying to improve play in the most efficient way. I think the same way. It sounds to me like you are making good progress and may want to branch out to different play types someday when your win rate improves to a profitable level. Keep goin'!

Ill add a cent or two here.
First get in every possible freerole you can. Experience is essential!
2nd do your homework (you can tick this off. your reading harrington and you signed up here)
3rd imho, play the lowest sngs possible which i think your doing. Use strategies and tips you pick up, but not all at once. Hopefully you start to make profit, it doesnt have to be a significant amount just a definate % profit.
4th When you begin to see how these smaller tourneys work start entering low mtts, just a couple of $1 buy ins. Use the skills you've learnt at sngs. Hopefully you now know about position etc and can use it effectivly.
5th Study your game and take it to small cash games (6 max lowest limits) where you can be a touch more bold and begin to understand how your game works against others over a long period rather than in pressure situations such as sng or mtt.

This is what i did simply because at sng and mtt you get a lot of hands for a fixed price. At cash tables if you make an error it costs you alot more and until you know what an error is you wont be able to afford the cost at a cash table.
Maybe others will disagree but this was how i tried to learn.

Thanks guys

You should earn 20 euro cents at the very min every tounry (in the long run). So if you play 18 a day.. You've made 3.60.

If you move up to 5 tournies, you could quintuple that winrate assuming you can maintain the very reasonable and aquirable winrate of 20 ROI

At the 215s I ended with an 8 ROI and was earning 17 bucks with every tounry I played. So yes, you can make some nice scratch playing X tounries per day.

-'rilla

how many did u end up playing at the 215s?

Last time i heard you had played like 6 =P

Originally Posted by vqchuang

how many did u end up playing at the 215s?

Last time i heard you had played like 6 =P

I played 200.

-'rilla

Originally Posted by a500lbgorilla

Originally Posted by vqchuang

how many did u end up playing at the 215s?

Last time i heard you had played like 6 =P

I played 200.

-'rilla

Weren't you quadtabling them at one point?

Originally Posted by andr3w321

Originally Posted by a500lbgorilla

Originally Posted by vqchuang

how many did u end up playing at the 215s?

Last time i heard you had played like 6 =P

I played 200.

-'rilla

Weren't you quadtabling them at one point?

For a little bit. I've never played a lot of poker. It's my weakness, I struggle to play 2 hrs a day.

-'rilla

Maybe it's because you're on this forum 24/7. :P

Rilla 4 tables FTR