SNG vs MTT

[kdaam]

Can anyone summarize the key differences between SNGs and MTTs?

I feel a llitle lost playing MTTs at times. Playing 9 handed on the bubble is a little uncomfortable and I'm not even sure when we are on the bubble with over 100 tables in action.

Any advice?

[killcrazy]

Originally Posted by kdaam

Can anyone summarize the key differences between SNGs and MTTs?

I feel a llitle lost playing MTTs at times. Playing 9 handed on the bubble is a little uncomfortable and I'm not even sure when we are on the bubble with over 100 tables in action.

Any advice?

i'm assuming by sng you mean a standard single table tournament? sng and mtt overlap substantially. with that assumption made, and using a 9 player stt and 500 player mtt on stars as our examples:

10.8% of the field is paid in the mtt
each player in the money is guaranteed 0.5% of the prize pool
27% of the total prize pool is distributed when the bubble breaks
the last place paid receives 2.5x his buyin (excluding juice)
the winner receives 96x his buyin

33% of the field is paid in the stt
each player in the money is guaranteed 20% of the prize pool
60% of the total prize pool is distributed when the bubble breaks
the last place paid receives 1.8x his buyin
the winner receives 4.5x his buyin

so, in mtts the money is all at the top, our aim is to get to the final table, and ideally the top ~3 spots as often as possible. granted in having to go through 500 people to get there, "as often as possible" is still not going to be very often, but those occasional big scores together with the handful of final tables and the smattering of 13th and 26th place finishes will eventually add up to more than you're going to collect by playing to survive into the money, busting in 52nd place and occasionally if you get lucky catching a crazy run of cards to finish in 8th once in a blue moon.

in stts the reverse is true. our concern is getting into the money as often as possible and then worrying about which of us gets 1st or 2nd. it's far more important that we get to the money than how many chips we have when we get there. the value of a big stack is grossly diminished compared to a big stack in an mtt.

i've done some math demonstrating this before. that search button up there should help you out.

Kc

[kdaam]

So the bigger the field is the more aggresive I want to be.

If the pay outs are flatter I should be more cautious.

Also the MTTs on Stars have deeper stacks and slower structures than SNGs. I take it this allows me to speculate more early on due to implied odds whilst I should play tighter in SNGs.

[MiniKings]

Should you play an mtt like the start of a full table SNG? I see some people playing very loose and they build big stacks but when I do that I bust out.

[killcrazy]

Originally Posted by MiniKings

Should you play an mtt like the start of a full table SNG? I see some people playing very loose and they build big stacks but when I do that I bust out.

well, there are two things to consider here.

firstly, you remember the guy who plays loose and builds a huge stack. you don't remember the dozen or so guys who played loose and busted.

secondly, that guy who played loose and built a big stack may well have done so with an above average run of cards; he may not actually be playing as loose as you perceive him to be.

thirdly, there is a difference between simply playing a lot of hands, and being prepared to embrace marginally +EV situations.

i am aware that those are three things. it's one of those buy two get one free supermarket offers.

Kc