Update:

Last 25 $22s…Total $22s (75)

1st…….……6……………13
2nd…….…..2……………7
3rd…….……4……………12
4th…….…...2…….…..…9
5th…….…...1………..…12
6th………....3………..…7
7th………....3………..…7
8th………....1………..…3
9th………...0………..…1
10th…….…3………..…4

ITM………48%...........42.67%
ROI…….....60%......33.5%
W/(L)…....$330………..$545.35
Bankroll……………..…..$785.35

Well, to be honest I think I’m going to get very little out of this quest. I’m simply putting way too much time between sets of 25. I can’t really make much of a comparison of the levels when I put 1-2 months between them. And I’m sure if anybody even reads this it’ll be pretty boring too. I continue to find other things to occupy my time (black jack whoring most recently, but can’t really complain about making an extra $1,500 bucks…).

I have one more set of 25 $22s and then I move to the $33s. I’d rather not just blow my roll of $785 by stepping up in competition while not being focused. If I can play through the $33s by the end of August then I’ll continue on with this through the next levels. If not, then I’ll end this.

Ran very well over this set of 25. I’ve really dominated in my heads-up play. I’ve also run very well on and near the bubble. I did manage to bust out 10th three times this set and two of those were just stupid early pushes on my part with JJ and QQ. Really unnecessary. The other was my AKo vs. JJ in the middle of the 3rd level. I’ve run into a few of those that have gone late into the 3rd level and early into the 4th without dropping anyone.

Oh, and I took EP’s advice and took a look at the SnG Powertools. I went through the demo and must say I was VERY impressed! I think it cost $79 bucks but I’m pretty sure I’m going to cough up the money and buy this thing. I can see me spending hours running scenarios and such.

Ok, hopefully my next update won’t be in 6 weeks…

Thanks dsierpin!

Update:

Last 25 $22s…Total $22s (100)

1st…….……4……………17
2nd…….…..3……………10
3rd…….……1……………13
4th…….…...5…….…..…14
5th…….…...5………..…17
6th………....2………..…9
7th………....3………..…10
8th………....1………..…4
9th………...0………..…1
10th…….…1………..…5

ITM………32%...........40%
ROI……..12.73%......27.97%
W/(L)…....$70….……..$615.35
Bankroll……………..…..$855.35

Finished the $22s! The last set went ok. I busted out quite a few times in 4th and 5th but I also had a good amount of top finishes. Overall I’m busting out in 8th – 10th at a 10% clip. At the $11s I was busting out in this range at 19%. I’m glad to finally settle down but I still really need to pay attention to that. Several of them have been big hands getting cracked early and super tight tables that end up still full at the 3rd level.

I feel pretty good about the $33s now that I’m through the $22s and things went well. It’s funny to think what a small sample size 100 games are. On the surface 100 games sounds like a bunch, but when you look at the effect of just a 5 game OOTM streak affects ROI it becomes pretty clear. Look at my results in the $22s vs. the $11s:

Games Played =100….$11s…………….$22s
ITM…………………………..34%..................40%
ROI…………….…………...-5.45%..............27.97%
W/(L)…………….…………-$60……………….$615.35

Only a 6% difference in my ITM finishes yet look at the drastic difference in ROI. And does this mean that the $22s are much easier than the $11s? Certainly not. Additionally, even after 100 games you can’t say for certain if you can beat a level or not. Another great reason why having a proper bankroll is so important.

Ok, $33s here we go…

Update:

Last 25 $33s

1st…….……7
2nd…….…..2
3rd…….……4
4th…….…...5
5th…….…...2
6th………....1
7th………....1
8th………....3
9th………...0
10th…….…0

ITM………52%
ROI……..78.18%
W/(L)…....$645
Bankroll…$1,500.35

All I can say is poker is soooooo easy when you are running hot! I took 1st in 3 of my first 4 games at the $33s and really never looked back. And the funny thing is, I have noticed a bit of tougher play at the $33s. I’ve just been hitting my hands at the right times and push/folding very well late. I do have a high amount of 4th places, but I think most of that was just tough bubble spots.

I also went out and bought the SnG Power Tools and started studying it. It’s a pretty cool tool and it’s already showing some dividends I think.

Here were my last 2 4th places bust outs. I don’t know, bad pushes? I thought they were ok but meh.

Hand #1:

Party Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t200/t400
4 players


Stack sizes:
UTG: t4019
Button: t3180
Big_Leon: t2122
BB: t10679

Pre-flop: (4 players) Big_Leon is SB with
UTG raises to t1800, Button folds, Big_Leon raises all-in t1922, BB folds, UTG calls t322 (pot was t4122).

Flop: (t4644, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4644)


Turn: (t4644, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4644)


River: (t4644, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4644)


Results:
Final pot: t4644
UTG shows Js Jd
Big_Leon shows Kc Qs



Hand #2

Party Poker
No Limit Holdem Tournament
Blinds: t100/t200
4 players


Stack sizes:
UTG: t4456
Button: t8214
Big_Leon: t2079
BB: t5251

Pre-flop: (4 players) Big_Leon is SB with
UTG folds, Button raises to t400, Big_Leon raises all-in t1979, BB folds, Button calls t1679 (pot was t2579).

Flop: (t4358, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4358)


Turn: (t4358, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4358)


River: (t4358, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t4358)


Results:
Final pot: t4358
Button shows 5c 5s
Big_Leon shows Tc Jc

IF you can I would get my hands on that No LImit Hold Em Theory and Practice and read the bit where he talks about his pushing hands preflop with his Sklansky/Chukokokovkov (or watever the guys name is) numbers. Might help.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Yeah, I've looked at that KQ hand in SNGPT and it's a fold in that situation. I really had no idea that would be the case.

I've made up my mind that I'm definitely going to play this out until the end. I am considering taking out my original stake so that I don't actually lose anything and am just free-rolling it.

I'm not done with my next set of 25 but I'm still running extremely well. Last night I played a set of 4 and took down first in 3 of them. Crazy.

Update:

Last 25 $33s…Total $33s (75)

1st…….……3……………15
2nd…….…..2……………5
3rd…….……2……………6
4th…….…...2…….…..…9
5th…….…...4………..…12
6th………....4………..…7
7th………....2………..…9
8th………....1………..…6
9th………...4………..…8
10th…….…1………..…1

ITM………28.00%...........34.67%
ROI………(9.09)%......23.64%
W/(L)…....($75)….……..$585.00
Bankroll……………..…..$1,440.35


Continued to pile up the OOTM finishes. Ran into several games this set that went to the 4th and 5th blind level with 9 players. Lately I’ve been making some very questionable pushes that are killing my results and I’m also losing a majority of my coin flip situations so…

Overall I’m still pretty happy with my $33s. My ITM % is way low but my 1st place finishes makes my ROI pretty solid. One more set and then I move to the $55s. I think I should be able to find time to knock these out over the next week or so, depending on schedule. I’d like to find time to play when I can focus better than I have lately. And once I move to the $55s I really don’t want to play unless I’m at my best. The other thing I need to do before moving up is to really sit down for a couple of hours and do some serious study and review. I’ve really neglected that over the last month or so.

Final Update:

Last 13 $33s…Total $33s (88)

1st…….……0……………15
2nd…….…..3……………5
3rd…….……0……………6
4th…….…...3…….…..…12
5th…….…...0………..…12
6th………....1………..…8
7th………....2………..…11
8th………....1………..…7
9th………...2………..…7
10th…….…1………..…2

ITM………23.08%...........32.95%
ROI………(37.06%)......14.67%
W/(L)…....($159)….……..$426.00
Bankroll……………..…..$1,281.35


Well hell. Guess I’ll wrap this thing up since Party pulled the plug on the U.S. players. I’m really regretting not making this more of a priority because I really wanted to see if I could make it to the $109s. I managed to get 88 $33s finished. I actually played my last $33 about 3 weeks ago but was kind of waiting to see how all this crap was going to shake out and it shook out on the wrong side. Oh well. It was still pretty fun and a learning experience. As well as I did I realized just how much I need to work on my SNG game. I really suck when it gets to huge blinds and push/fold time on the bubble. Here’s a quick recap of each level played:

$11s (100 games)
ITM…….34%
ROI…….(5.54%)
W/(L)….($60)

$22s (100 games)
ITM…….40%
ROI…….27.97%
W/(L)….$615.35

$33s (88 games)
ITM…….32.95%
ROI…….14.67%
W/(L)….$426

I’m gonna miss you Party…