Thanks for this very measured response @FeelGroggy.
I am looking for a way to increase volume and as these Turbo SNG's don't take long, thought I would explore this avenue.
I agree, that playing $10 SNG's is tiresome and there is not a lot of profit to be made, however I was "hoping" it would be a stepping stone to perhaps higher stakes, like before.
I can probably pick up about $1K cashback/bonuses in a month with reasonable volume and the various promos, so was also considering this. Although I would need to get my average buy in up to $25 to achieve this.
I could probably manage this on top of my usual Sky schedule, so even it I only broke even on the games, it would be a welcome $1K a month, albeit there may be an easier method to achieve this.
The truth is my MTT ROI is dropping from what was about 50% back in 2012 to probably 20%, Poker is my sole income, so unless I can get my ROI up, I need to increase volume.
I have had family things going on an have probably only staked an average of $300 per day for the last year or so, as many days I didn't play.
You can do the maths, I am sure, however that ROI, with that small volume has meant digging in to savings, for living costs, so I want to put a stop to that.
I feel like, as a full time Poker player, I am facing and existential threat, unless I can find a way forward. The expression, "It's a tough way for an easy living", springs to mind.
I have tried cash, but I don't enjoy it, it doesn't suit me. I play now and again and do OK, but I really want to go down the SNG, MTT route.
I must admit, it is proving tough though, probably for the reasons you mentioned, which are very valid.
I will persevere for the next few days, but may well shelve it, unless things change significantly.
1. I am sure you are a better player than you were in 2012. But the games have got way harder. A $10 SNG on Stars is almost certainly tougher than a $100 one in 2012
2. Game selection is absolutely vital. If your main aim is profit, do not play these particular games on Stars. They are Reg-fests, and probably the hardest $10 games around, on any site.
It is increasingly difficult to make a living playing poker. I believe that, in 2012, it was relatively easy to make a full-time income playing poker part-time. Now? For many, at least online, it is more like making a part-time income playing poker full-time.
Maybe try spin n go's if playing them stakes on stars, they attract alot of recreationals with being very quick and the possibility of spinning a big payout and at $10 the ratio of good regs to amount of games running makes them very beatable with a bit of work imo and you can get huge volume and rakeback in with them. However they're very high variance so you'll need a large sample of a good few thousand games before concluding whether you're beating them or not, plenty of high level study content for them around as well. I think whatever games you're deciding to play focusing on short term results isn't going to help and puts more pressure on yourself. Study hard, have confidence in your game and get the volume in then if after that you're not winning in whichever games you choose then maybe its time to work with a coach, stable or or get in the lab etc etc. Good luck
I don't think I'd bother with these games, as there are too many specialists. I don't know what rakeback you get from chests, but think it only takes one good MTT bink to go from 40% to 10% (personal experience), so I wouldn't assume you will always get 40% if that is on offer now. Even when I was on that, they set the target at a volume level higher than you are currently at, so often found myelf playing negative EV games to get the volume up (so effective RB was never really 40%?).
Think working on your game is probably better, but there can't be many making decent livings for the UK anymore. Your game has got better over the years, but there just aren't big enough daily comps to support the number of pros they used to be. Outside of a Sunday, are there any regular comps with a 5 figure first prize for instance? So outside of big festivals, sundays, not many are even having 4 figure days. And you need the 4 figure days to make 4/5k a month?
People used to say switch to mixed games, but even they are in real trouble. I can see from my history that a lot of tournaments have halved in size in no time at all, and most of those left are not the type to give you positive ROI.
So I'd prioritise working on your game over playing STTs, but think ever reducing returns are inevitable without more study. The only positive I see is that there doesn't seem to be the same collapse in big live MTTs (GUKPT, WSOP etc.). I struggle to get out, but might be a better way for those that can.
Comments
I am looking for a way to increase volume and as these Turbo SNG's don't take long, thought I would explore this avenue.
I agree, that playing $10 SNG's is tiresome and there is not a lot of profit to be made, however I was "hoping" it would be a stepping stone to perhaps higher stakes, like before.
I can probably pick up about $1K cashback/bonuses in a month with reasonable volume and the various promos, so was also considering this. Although I would need to get my average buy in up to $25 to achieve this.
I could probably manage this on top of my usual Sky schedule, so even it I only broke even on the games, it would be a welcome $1K a month, albeit there may be an easier method to achieve this.
The truth is my MTT ROI is dropping from what was about 50% back in 2012 to probably 20%,
Poker is my sole income, so unless I can get my ROI up, I need to increase volume.
I have had family things going on an have probably only staked an average of $300 per day for the last year or so, as many days I didn't play.
You can do the maths, I am sure, however that ROI, with that small volume has meant digging in to savings, for living costs, so I want to put a stop to that.
I feel like, as a full time Poker player, I am facing and existential threat, unless I can find a way forward. The expression, "It's a tough way for an easy living", springs to mind.
I have tried cash, but I don't enjoy it, it doesn't suit me. I play now and again and do OK, but I really want to go down the SNG, MTT route.
I must admit, it is proving tough though, probably for the reasons you mentioned, which are very valid.
I will persevere for the next few days, but may well shelve it, unless things change significantly.
Thanks, as always, for your feedback.
The 2 key points, IMHO, are these.
1. I am sure you are a better player than you were in 2012. But the games have got way harder. A $10 SNG on Stars is almost certainly tougher than a $100 one in 2012
2. Game selection is absolutely vital. If your main aim is profit, do not play these particular games on Stars. They are Reg-fests, and probably the hardest $10 games around, on any site.
It is increasingly difficult to make a living playing poker. I believe that, in 2012, it was relatively easy to make a full-time income playing poker part-time. Now? For many, at least online, it is more like making a part-time income playing poker full-time.
Best of luck.
Phil
Think working on your game is probably better, but there can't be many making decent livings for the UK anymore. Your game has got better over the years, but there just aren't big enough daily comps to support the number of pros they used to be. Outside of a Sunday, are there any regular comps with a 5 figure first prize for instance? So outside of big festivals, sundays, not many are even having 4 figure days. And you need the 4 figure days to make 4/5k a month?
People used to say switch to mixed games, but even they are in real trouble. I can see from my history that a lot of tournaments have halved in size in no time at all, and most of those left are not the type to give you positive ROI.
So I'd prioritise working on your game over playing STTs, but think ever reducing returns are inevitable without more study. The only positive I see is that there doesn't seem to be the same collapse in big live MTTs (GUKPT, WSOP etc.). I struggle to get out, but might be a better way for those that can.