PokerWorks

Details on my goal for the Bodog Poker SNG $5k Challenge can be found here.

I started this challenge Thursday, August 7th and was cruising along at just under 40% ROI through Day 6. But, before I get into the numbers this week, I’ll give you a good idea of how I approach these games during the first four levels.

Bodog Poker's Beginner SNG’s have mostly ABC players with some inexperienced players and calling stations added in. In general, the play is pretty tight / passive pre-flop in the first four levels (10/20-50/100) unless someone wakes up with a premium hand (e.g. A-A/K-K/Q-Q/A-K/A-Qs). If I’m up against someone I perceive as an ABC player, I’ll fold if I get reraised (3-bet) pre-flop unless I’m holding one of these primo hands in the early going. I’m trying to preserve chips while looking for good spots to double up. I’ll only call/reraise if the flop hits my hand hard or think I’m ahead. You’ll see a lot of min-bets and min-raising which can be exploited pretty easily. Just make sure you have some history and a good read on your opponents before you start getting fancy. I’ll discuss more about my approach in upcoming updates.

On to the numbers, the Bodog SNG Challenge started on Thursday August 7th. I jumped out of the gate cashing in ten of the twelve SNG’s I played on Day 1 with three 1st place finishes. This is the way I hoped to start this challenge. I ran about average the next several days.

After Day 6 I was sitting at 38.7% ROI (Return on Investment) and 70.4% ITM (In The Money finish) with my cumulative profit at $468.60 after 54 SNG’s. My first 54 SNG’s were comprised of 39 $17.60 buy-ins and 15 $35 buy-ins. After closer review, I noticed I only missed the top 5 payouts three times out of those first fifteen $35 SNG’s. My hourly rate of $12.96 for all 54 SNG’s was very low due to playing mostly $17.60 SNG’s during the first six days of the challenge.

SNG Challenge Summary after Day 6:
• #Tourneys / 54
• Total Entries / $1,211.40
• Total Prizes / $1,680.00
• Total SNG Profits / $468.60
• ROI / 38.7%
• ITM / 70.4%
• Hourly Rate / $12.96
• Avg Finish / 4.54

On Day 7 I decided to focus my efforts on the $35 buy-in SNG’s to try and raise my hourly rate along with my cumulative SNG profits.

Unfortunately, I ran horrible on Day 7. I ran nine $35 buy-in SNG’s and only cashed in two, a 2nd place and 5th place finish. I ran K-K into A-A a couple of times and lost several critical races short-handed prior to the bubble bursting. I also took a few bad beats along the way. Here are my numbers after my first complete week of the Challenge.

SNG Challenge Summary after Day 7:
• #Tourneys / 69
• Total Entries / $1,632.00
• Total Prizes / $1,920.00
• Total SNG Profits / $288.00
• ROI / 17.6%
• ITM / 63.8%
• Hourly Rate / $6.42
• Avg Finish / 4.86

I’m planning to average 15 SNG’s a day (3-tables concurrently) during the rest of the challenge to make up some ground. I expect to have more days like Day 7 and won’t let it discourage me from completing this challenge.

Wish me luck and check back for more updates.