Double or Nothing

Even though I'm not a big fan of Online Poker, I have found one thing that seems to be quite profitable for me. Someone in the CPMG was kind enough to point me towards the 'Double or Nothing' Sit-N-Gos on PokerStars.

On the surface, they would seem rather pointless. Ten players enter a $10+$1 tournament, and five of those players 'double up' to $20. That doesn't seem too difficult.

Well, they're not. In fact, they can be rather brainless. Which means you can play more than one at time without much problems.

Ya see, the way you make money in this is volume. You need to win about 60% to make these worth the time. These are high variance games. You need to win some coin flips, and avoid the terrible play that people do, especially on the Bubble.

Here are my numbers:
PokerStars: + $190.80
Total: 59% ~ 71/120
($10+.80) 76% ~ 22/29
($20+1.60) 52% ~ 43/82
($50+4) 67% ~ 6/9

Cake Poker: + $271 (with 33% Rakeback)
Total: 59% ~ 57/96
($10+.80) 68% ~ 17/25
($25+2) 55% ~ 33/60
($50+3.50) 64% ~ 7/11


Here are a few tips from my own experiences:

- Play More Aggressive with Less Chip.
Contrary to common sense, 'folding to the money' is not the right way to play these things. Yes, it will work sometimes, but not often enough to be making any profit. The main reason is because that's how most of the other players are playing. As you know, one of the basic concepts of Poker is, "Do the opposite of what the other players are doing."

The best strategy, in general, is to play more aggressive with less chips, and less aggressive with more chips. At the third level (25/50), start stealing blinds every chance you get. When your stack gets over 2000, then you can ease up on it a little. Over 3000, you can do a little blind stealing just to maintain your stack size. If you're lucky enough to get over 4000, then just play premium hands to knock out shorter stacks. Don't ever hit "Sit Out." You'll be missing out on opportunities to end the tournament.

- Just Play Pre-Flop
Since you start with the standard 1500 chips, you can splash around a little in the first two levels, 10/20 & 15/30. Just don't commit many chips without a 'real' hand after the flop.

From the third level on, only play preflop, just like you would at a Final Table. Raise with your quality hands. Steal blinds in late position. Watch out for the very short stacks, and the players who want to play every hand.

- Bubble Play
Without question, the worst play that I see is at the Bubble. When you get down to six handed, look at who's got the short stacks. There are usually one or two under 1000. If you're not one of them, or very close to them, then wait to see what they do. Usually they will wait until they absolutely have to go All-In. If nobody is under 1ooo, then keep stealing blinds so you don't get short stacked.

If the short stack shoves it in, don't be afraid to call with any two cards under the following conditions. A) You are not the only player calling the All-In. B) Calling the All-In won't leave you as the short stack if he wins.

Remember: It doesn't matter who wins the pot. It only matters who loses. - Always check it down, even if you got a strong hand.

It's not uncommon for some schmuck to bet in to the dry side pot, only to be a bluff. The All-In player then wins the pot, and someone else gets screwed. It happened to me tonight. I would have won the 3-way pot on the Bubble with just A J vs A T, but some moron shoves All-In on the River with just J 3, no pair. I had to fold, and the short stack now triples up with just A high. I was left with a crippled short stack, and end up as Bubble Boy of a $50 tournament.