Sitting Regs in HU SNGs

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I want to talk a bit about sitting regs in HU SNGs, particularly in HU super turbos.  A lot of regs say that it isn't worth sitting other regs in super turbos because the edges are so small to begin with.  However, these are usually the same regs that are being exploited by other regs.  Due to the average duration of a super turbo, a small edge game against a reg can still be quite profitable in terms of your hourly rate, especially when you factor a high rakeback percentage.  I laugh when regs point out that sitting a lot of regs is why I have a smaller ROI.  Well, that's true to a degree, but I know that, and I don't care.  I've never been one to want to have the biggest ROI to brag to people about.  I care about making money.  However, there's other reasons my Merge ROI is smaller than other regs.  For one, most of my HU games have been played 4-6 tabling.  The volume I got in more than made up for my lower edge.  I also have a higher average HU stake than the people telling me this.  The higher your stake the lower your average ROI will be.  While if you only bumhunt, I'd say that statement is a lot less true than in other games, but if you sit a lot of regs the average reg as you move up in levels gets a lot better.  Lastly, some people seem to be incapable of using the advanced search on sharkscope.  If you search all of my games you will be including about 5,000 games of 6 man STs where I had an average stake of about $50, a - $3% avg. ROI, and lost over $9,400.  We won't get into any specifics of those stats because most HU regs are completely ignorant to the variance of 6 man SNGs, but the point is, do you really care about a person's 6 man SNG stats if you are playing HU?  You shouldn't.  Some of the best HU SNG players in the world would get crushed in 6 mans and some of the best 6 man SNG players in the world would get crushed in HU.  I also here that I'm just a luckbox because of the huge upswing I had.  I'm not an idiot.  I'm well aware of my EV.  The fact of the matter is that even if I had ran at neutral EV I would still have a nice lead on the merge total profit leaderboard, so if you're going to hate at least come up with a better argument.  Also, if these are your thoughts then I advise you to keep rematching me.  

Anyways, I got off track there responding to idiot regs who should just be ignored.  I've gone through stretches where I sit less regs.  Usually this was because the action was really good or I was studying a lot, so I would just study if I was waiting for games.  I also used to sit many of the regs I was friendly with.  However, as the action has dried up a little at the high stakes I can't be as picky.  This was kind of silly to begin with.  Unless we're good friends in real life I shouldn't feel bad about sitting someone.  Likewise, you shouldn't take it personal if I sit you.  It doesn't mean I don't like you.  In fact, some of the regs I sit seem like pretty cool guys.  It doesn't mean I don't think you play well.  I just don't think you play well enough against me.  Certain players struggle against certain styles.  I'm not going to be impressed just because somebody bumhunts fish and has a 6% ROI.  These are usually the same players who struggle against other regs.  They play regs so rarely that they're completely out of their comfort zone when they do play.  While they clearly are very good at playing fish, that doesn't mean that I shouldn't them.  Some players seem to think they deserve the right to sit first and be left alone by other regs simply because they have had a lot of success.  The right to sit first and be left alone by other regs needs to be earned by playing well against those other regs, not simply playing well against fish.  Some regs I may have previously found aren't worth playing.  However, as I improve, I may start sitting them again.  They might show me that they still aren't worth playing, or I might find that I now have a pretty good edge on them.  Regardless, I'm not afraid of the challenge.  I'm not a variance nit like many of the whining bumhunters are.

It certainly isn't about ego as many regs seem to think.  In fact, when I played 6 man SNGs there probably wasn't a bigger advocator of table selecting than myself.  However, HU SNGs are a lot different than 6 man SNGs.  I think it's a lot easier to exploit another reg in the HU format.  The number of fish in HU SNGs is decreasing, while the number of regs is increasing.  This is certainly the case on Merge, especially at high stakes.  Regs who used to only play $90s & less now have a bigger bankroll on the site and are open sitting $250s.  I think this just makes it more important to be less picky about who you play.  As long as you have an edge, sitting regs will decrease wait times, increase volume, increase hourly rate, improve you as a player, and simply make the games more fun.  Would you rather 3 table a reg you have a small edge on or sit and jerk off registered in every $100+ lobby while a bunch of other regs are doing the same, just hoping that the next fish picks them instead of the other 3 regs that are sitting the same games?  The leader in HU total profit on Merge this year won't be a bumhunter and it won't be next year either.  It will be somebody who is able to sit other regs and profit, which in turn will greatly increase their volume and improve them as a player, because they're forced to think about difficult situations a lot more.

If you don't like it when other regs sit you don't sit and whine about it.  If anything, that will only make matters worse.  Either move down in buy-in levels or log off until the reg hunters are off.  If you think you're up for the challenge, say GL and play your best, and maybe you will convince them that you aren't worth playing.

I also have pro obligations with Lock where I need to play a certain amount each month.  This certainly hasn't been my reason for sitting any regs recently, but it has factored in during the past.

Also, if I sit you that doesn't mean I'm going to sit and play you forever.  I'll usually be registered for other games, and if a more profitable opportunity comes up, I'm going to decline you, whether we've played 1 game or 80 games.  For more on this, please read this post: http://jhubpoker.blogspot.com/2011/06/hit-run-accusations-in-poker-why-theyre.html

For what it's worth, when I first started HU SNGs I was one of those guys that thought regs just had an ego problem when they sat me.  This was partly because I was such an advocate of table selection in 6 man SNGs and was pretty ignorant to how the HU SNG world works.  I still rarely got sat by regs, but 2 regs in particular, rams85 and H2olga, hunted me like clockwork.  I would get so frustrated and sometimes say stuff in the chat.  I even timed down on H2olga a few times, which is pretty embarassing to say.  However, as I played more and improved, I started to get it.  They were absolutely correct to sit me because I had enough leaks that they could exploit.  I worked on my game and when I thought I was ready I rematched rams85 one day until he made a comment in the chat something along the lines of "well it's pretty clear you're a lot better now than you were 3 weeks ago."  He then stopped sitting me.  Well, H2olga was another story but that's not really the point, because there were only 3 other players he wouldn't sit at $1Ks, and maybe a couple more at $500s, not to mention I made the mistake of pissing him off by timing down on him as an ignorant HU n00b.  If somebody times down on me now, I'll just sit their life and maybe play an extra table, since that table is moving so slow.  Regardless, I started HU SNGs as the ignorant reg whining about other regs sitting him, but I did something about it.  Just a few weeks later I had started to sit other regs on Full Tilt.

I'll now describe how I manage the registration process.  Most of my HU games have been 4-6 tabling.  I monitored my win rate multitabling and the dropoff from only playing a couple tables to playing 6 wasn't nearly enough to offset the extra volume.  However, as I have moved up in stakes and my average opponent became more challenging, I found that when I have more than 3 tables running my winrate drops too much for the extra volume to be worth it.  Therefore, I started mostly 3 tabling about 5 days ago.  I think this will be the best path for me going forward.  However, just because it's best for me doesn't mean it's best for you.  Everyone is different.  Some players will maximize their hourly rate 2 tabling while others will maximize it 6 tabling.  It's up to you to figure it what's best for you.  Anyways, when I get on I'll usually open sit all available lobbies from $90 to $1K.  I then start to look at what regs are on.  I'll pick what I think is the most profitable game to sit a reg and I'll sit it.  This doesn't mean it's the weakest $90+ reg on, it just means that I feel my edge at that given stake is better than the other options.  Then I'll start to look at the games more and I might decide to sit a somewhat tougher reg if he's sitting 2-3 tables, rather than a weaker reg sitting one, or I might sit the weaker reg at 1 table, and the somewhat stronger reg at 2 tables, depending on how I feel.  I then usually still stay registered for at least some of the other lobbies I open sat, and if a fish sits me I'll decline one of the reg matches.  At the very least, I'm usually at least sitting all lobbies that are higher than my average stake running, and I'll pretty much always be registered for the $1K & $500 lobbies.  I also have certain rules.  If I have a $1K running I won't sit lower than $500.  If I have a $500 running I won't sit lower than $250.  If I have a $250 running I won't sit lower than $120.  I also don't sit referrals (players who signup for Lock through my links).  I know some pros that just tell their referrals they want the lobbies instead of sitting them (presumably on AIM or skype).  If I need to do that in the future I'll do it, and of course the referral would have the option to sit me, but currently I'm willing to share lobbies with my referrals.  There's also some regs I only sit if games are super dead and I want action.  Otherwise, there's probably only 2 regs that I never sit.

Hopefully this opens up the minds of some HU SNG players.  For the record, I still think most regs aren't ready to sit other regs.  However, that doesn't mean they can't work on their game and be ready down the road.  I certainly think players that are newer to HU should focus on beating fish for a while first.

Lastly, ask yourself this question: Over the same time period, would you rather have the sharkscope stats on the top or the bottom?  You decide.

Please click the image to enlarge.

small print disclaimer: stats on top are about $30K above EV



Thanks & GL,
Jared


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