Wednesday, April 14, 2010

New SnG game on Pokerstars: Knockout!

Pokerstars is now offering single table SnGs in which you pay a bit extra on top of the normal buyin and fee. The extra cash is a bounty that you get for knocking out other players. I was curious if these would be more profitable or less profitable than the regular SnG. I played one last night and I ran some numbers on it this morning. Here is what I have found.

A regular 3.40 single table sng has the following payout structure in terms of ROI:
1st = $ 13.50 = 297 % ROI
2nd = $ 8.10 = 138 % ROI
3rd = $ 5.40 = 59 % ROI

A knockout 3.40 + .75 bounty sng looks like this before considering the bounties you win:
1st = $ 13.50 = 229 % ROI
2nd = $ 8.10 = 98 % ROI
3rd = $ 5.40 = 32 % ROI

Thus far the knockouts don't look too appetizing. Now how many bounties do you need to win to make these tourneys more profitable than the regular? Essentially the bounties increase the prize pool without increasing the fees. I have run the numbers and...
1st + 4 bounties = 302 % ROI
2nd + 3 bounties = 152 % ROI
3rd + 2 bounties = 68 % ROI

So the question now becomes: Is it realistic to win enough bounties on average to make these more profitable? I have only played 1 game thus far so I'm not sure. However, if you win, you are guaranteed at least two bounties. 1 from the 2nd place guy and your own. In addition, you may win a bounty but place outside the money. This reduces your loss from by 18% for each bounty.

If you play any of these, it would be great if you posted the number of bounties you won and if you noticed any difference in play.

I took 1st and won 5 bounties for a 321 % ROI.

Roland

Knockout Hand History

2 comments:

  1. Interesting! Thanks for pointing out, trying out and posting your comments on the new bounty structure, Roland. I haven't had a chance to look at the replay but here are my initial thoughts on the format. (1) Since none of the bounty money goes to the poker site, it must be a good thing for good players and a bad thing for bad players. (2) Even though bounties will benefit all good players, LAGs will profit more than TAGs. (3) The key to whether they're worth playing isn't so much how it affects your ROI but whether your hourly rate goes up. You only need to win one bounty to break even and two bounties to make a profit. So if, on average, you win 1+ bounties, your profit per SNG (and per hour) goes up even if your ROI goes down. (4) Being good at HU play is more important than ever, as now two bounties are being added to the winner-take-all pot. (5) Play will likely be more aggressive against short stacks as there is the added incentive of winning the bonus.

    Sounds like Budapest was a worthwhile trip! Not sure if I can make it Sunday but I'll try.

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  2. Excellent input Benko! I'll post a better reply later tonight :)

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