PokerStars 180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments Part #1 – 180 SNG Facts and Figures

Comprehensive Guide To PokerStars’ 180 Sit N Goes Including Payouts, Buy-Ins, Blinds And Time Taken

Since the original article was written the Pokerstars 180 Sit N Goes have become more popular then ever, with a range of buy-ins available and 'turbo' + rebuy versions too. Best of all, 180 Player SNGs are still a great way to grow your poker bankroll while building valuable tournament experience.

This article is in the form of a 180 SNG 'Frequently Asked Questions' - you will find links to 2 more detailed strategy articles + many other learning resources here - so don't forget to bookmark this page now!

Planet Mark's Thoughts: Some people have started to argue that there are now too many 'regulars' multi-tabling these games for them to be profitable. I understand this thinking, though on balance believe that the 180s are still a profitable game.

Yes, around 1/3rd of the field are playing several games at once. However at least half of these are barely better than break-even in profits. Add to this the predictable play which multi-tabler's often exibit - and I believe that the 180s are as great as ever for building both your bankroll and tournament experience level. As an aside the newer Progressive Bounty 180s ($11) are awesome, each player's bounty grows as they knock more players out.

 

PokerStars 180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments – FAQ

This article looks at the facts and figures for Pokerstars 180 Player SNGs. Part #2 to follow will look at 180 SNG strategy for these games and look at opponents tendencies during the different blind levels.

Firstly here are a few facts and figures concerning the Pokerstars 180 Player SNGs.

180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments - How Much Do They Cost?

There are a total of 8 buy-in levels, most of them are Turbo speed in 2016: 

  • Standard (15 Minute) blind levels: $1, $4.50c
  • Turbo (5 minute) blind levels: 50c, $2.50c, $3.50c (rebuys), $8
  • Hyper Turbo (2 minute) blind levels: $1

Progressive Knockouts: (Approximately half of the buy-in becomes an initial bounty, your bounty grows as you knock more players out) $30

3 of these are available on the main ‘current tournaments’ list on the main Poker Stars tournaments tab – ensuring that they fill very quickly. The $4.50c (non-turbo) and the $8 and $15 games... This front page placing makes a big (positive) difference to the number of recreational players vs regulars.

180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments - How Often Do They Run?

PokerStars 180 SNG  payouts

The biggest change in the latest update of these articles is the continued increase in the number of players at Pokerstars, who now have regular peaks of 225k simultaneous players. This means that 180 games are kicking off every couple of minutes at peak times, and only taking 5 to 10 minutes to fill outside of this. Many players multi-table these 12+ at a time, and with the volume of games increasing all the time there is always an opportunity to get a game running quickly.

180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments - How Long Do They Take?

You should allow for 4 hours per tournament for the non-turbo versions and around 2.5 hours hours for the turbos, obviously you will need to ensure you have the time available to reach the final table before signing up.

180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments - What Are The Payout Structures?

The top 27 get paid, the 19th to 27th place finishers receive their buy-in back with small addition while the winner receives almost 50 times their buy in. The final table payout for the $8 level is as follows. This changed from the old 18 player payouts in later 2013, and should help to reduce the variance (swings) in these games.

 

180 Player Sit And Go Tournaments - What About The Quality Of The Opposition?

This varies from very weak recreational players to low-stakes ‘pro’ players who use these tournaments as a means of building a SNG bankroll. My calculation is that there is anything from 40 to 80 'regulars' in any one game, around half of these 'regs' will be profitable - with the others break-even or small losers before VIP club benefits. Even those who are profitable often have huge leaks - one of the compromises they make by playing a lot of tables is to give up some value in reads and in post-flop play. There is a constant through-put here, the best regulars invariably move on to multi-table tournaments and new players discover these games and start to play them full time to fill their shoes.

As of 2016 the 180s are defintely beatable. These games might not be as 'juicy' as they were 3 years ago, though with 100+ recreational players in each one they are a safe place to learn and a fantastic place to grow your bankroll - the 180s can give you a springboard to success in other areas of poker, and will still be there to reload your funds if you ever need them.

180 Player SNG Tournaments - What Return On Investment Can A Good Player Expect to Make?

This, as always, depends on many factors including having a large enough sample size to draw conclusions from and how many tables are played simultaneously. The following are estimates for various skill levels of players.

  • Top 5% Skill Group vs Opposition: 80% ROI +
  • Top 20% Skill Group: 50% to 80% ROI +
  • Above Average Player (non specialist) 20% to 50% ROI +

There is the overview – part #2 of this series looks at many aspects of 180 Sit N Go Strategy to help you move to the most profitable skill group.

Planet Mark’s Rec: America’s Cardroom are crushing it for online poker tournament events that welcome both US and worldwide players. ‘The Venom’ tops the list, add to this the popular OSS events, PKO games and a packed regular schedule with guarantees that are growing all the time.

Best of all, you can get your bankroll off to a flying start with a huge 100% welcome deal using referral code SNGPLANET.

Check out the latest promos and tournament events for yourself now at www.americascardroom.eu!

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