Detailed Overview Of Double Or Nothing (DoN) Sit N Go Tournaments On Stars And Beyond
Double or Nothing SNGs are not a new phenomenon – however the introduction of these games to PokerStars lead to a surge of interest in these games in which half of the field get paid double their buy-in.
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Here at SNG Planet we believe that Double or Nothing Sit N Goes have excellent potential for bankroll building - and would recommend these to those players willing to ‘grind out’ a reasonable volume at the low to mid-limits for precisely this purpose.
This is the first of 2 articles covering Double or Nothing SNGs. This one is based on the 'DON' SNGs at Pokerstars and covers the facts and figures, along with an explanation of why these games can be very profitable. Part #2 – covers Double or Nothing SNG Strategy, taking each stage of the tournament and highlighting the most effective ways of exploiting the errors of your opponents. While we recommend Stars we also highlight some other sites which feature (often very soft) double or nothing sit n goes at the end of this article.
Double Or Nothing SNGs – How Do They Work?
These single-table tournaments start with 10 players and stop when there are 5 players remaining. At this point the 5 remaining players get double their buy-in, while the 5 eliminated players get nothing.
Turbo (5 minute) and Standard (10 minute) blinds are available with small antes kicking in at level 3 (25 / 50).
Double Or Nothing SNGs – What Buyins Are Available What Are The Fees?
Buy-ins are identical for the standard and turbo versions – however the rake (fee) is slightly lower for the turbo versions reflecting the speed of the game and smaller potential reward (the structure being closer to a heads-up poker SNG. Note: The list of buy-in levels below has changed somewhat now Stars have stopped their DoN SNGs - you will find some great alternatives for US and non-US readers at the end of this page.
Standard Blinds Buy-ins: $1+15c, then $5+40c, $10+80c, $20+$1.60c, $50+$4, and $100+$8.
Turbo Blinds Buy-ins: $1+10c, $5+20c, $10+40c, $20+80c, $50+$2 and $100+4
Game volumes are lower once we hit the $20 versions, however multi-tabling these games is very easy, especially at peak times.
Double Or Nothing SNGs – Why Are These Great Bankroll Builders?
To answer this question fully we need to take a high-level overview of poker strategy for these games. We explore this in part #2 of this series (double or nothing SNG Strategy), however the basic ideas are two-fold:
- You only need 2 or 3 players in each game who do not adjust correctly to these games and bust early to make you big profits over time – and most games will have more than this number!
- The optimal poker decisions against most opponents are very straightforward – you will be folding most of the time, those hands you do play will be usually be decided pre-flop.
This means that it is possible to play several tables at once, increasing your hourly rate – and thus your poker bankroll. Double or Nothing Sit N Goes are actually much faster than ‘normal’ 1-table tournaments, with the turbo games averaging 25 to 30 minutes, this increases your earning power even more.
A simplified example would be that a competent player 1-tabling the standard blinds qat the $10+80c level might be able to cash 75% of the time. Switching to turbo blinds and playing 4 tables at once might reduce this player’s edge to 65% - however we are now paying lower rake (40c instead of 80c per game) and can play 8 games per hour, making the a significant difference to your overall profit as outlined below:
What is more – since the volatility in these games is low (you are less likely to have a long run without cashing due to the half / half payout structure), they can be played with a lower bankroll. We suggest 20 buy-ins should be more than enough while you are building up your bankroll at the lower levels.
Double Or Nothing SNGs - What Are The Best Alternatives To Pokerstars For Double Or Nothing SNGs?
Pokerstars decided to drop their Double or Nothing SNGs back in 2011 - replacing them with the Fifty 50 Sit n Go format. There are still several sites running pure Double or Nothings, and the good news is that these games feature fewer 'grinders' making them even more profitable than the old Stars games! Below are my recommendations for US and Non-US Players - for more detailed information you can read our dedicated article on the Best DoN SNGs at the major poker sites.
Titan are the 3rd largest poker site worldwide, though not currently open to US players. Their reputation is for some seriously soft games - as well as generous bonuses and a VIP club with excellent benefits. Titan make a great place to start for those looking to play smaller buy-in Double or Nothings with PLO games available as well as No Limit Holdem. SNG Planet readers will get $20 in free cash (min-deposit $30, I'll ensure this is paid direct to your account within 48 hours) in addition to 200% on your first deposit up to $2000 - use bonus code SNGPLANET to grab this awesome offer while you check out the world's fishiest poker site for yourself - see the, Titan Poker Website now! for yourself!!
