As those reading my journal know, I'm clearing BoDog's 10% bonus by exclusively playing their turbos. A quick summary of my results:

36 SNGs (a mix of $6 and $16)
$552 winnings
$319.5 buy-in + fees
$232.5 net profit
ROI = 72.78% (short-term, definitely. completely unsustainable)

There's certainly more variance with turbos. Sometimes there will be 7 players left, you'll have 8x BB and have to push with AQs UTG only to be called by AK and 66. Still, turbos can be beaten just as consistently as regular SNGs. Here's why: your opponents do not push enough in the right situations.

The most important factor to determining whether you win turbos (and PP SNGs even) is staying tight early, and pushing more hands later. Camping on the premium hands when you're getting short-stacked is a sure loser. I know a lot of people are uncomfortable pushing all-in with 94o in the SB against the BB who has you covered, but sometimes it is the right play to make.

Why does this push-bot strategy work? It has everything to do with the nature of SNGs. Do you really want to take a coin-flip or 60/40 (2 live cards versus 2 live cards) for the rest of your chips, possibly knocking you out of the money? No, of course not! You want to be the one doing the pushing so you have the ENORMOUS fold equity that goes with it.

With the huge blinds and them rapidly increasing, every steal is gold. While everyone else is satisfied being blinded away waiting for the big hands, you're pushing with a LARGE variety of hands. Even if you're called, you're rarely worse than a 1.75:1 dog, except against overpairs or when you're dominated. Whoops, someone caught me pushing with T9s against his KQo! The flop pairs my 9 and I win. I was only a 1.75:1 underdog anyways. Let the losers berate you for your play. Next time you pick up KK - don't do anything fancy. Just push all-in again - play off your maniac image. I did this with AA recently and got someone to spite-call me with A5. Too bad for him!

Every steal you make is a cushion for when you need to push. You'll probably be called by a short-stack and lose at some point, but you still aren't in bad shape since you gained so many chips with the steals earlier.

You absolutely must play short-handed high-blinds from a theoretical angle. Yes, it might seem your pocket pairs always lose, but there is no luck with cards. In the long-run all the odds work out, so continue to push your small edges and you will win.

Push-botting is highly profitable and intense. I highly recommend reading up on ICM (see my post "Push EV and ICM" for more details) to improve the push-botting part of your game. I know it sounds terrible to be a push-botter and eliminate post-flop play, but you have to realize LATE in online SNGs the blinds typically are so enormous (compared to chip stacks) that making raises less than all-in often are -EV plays. Sure, when you have 30x BB and it's 3-handed, you can play some post-flop. But when you both have around 10-12x BB, it's push or fold. You cannot afford to be blinded away, and you cannot afford to raise a small amount, see an unfavorable flop, be faced with a big bet, and fold.

Always play from the theoretical perspective. I'm not saying disregard your intuitions, but I'm saying, don't start folding A5s when you're short-stacked out of fear of coin-flips or domination. The most likely result is you push all-in, everyone folds, and you pick up the blinds uncontested. Even when someone calls you and wins, don't double-guess yourself. You made the right push at the right time, someone just happened to pick up a good hand that time - and those hands don't come by often.

This post was a lot longer than I ever intended.

But I don't have a problem pushing there. Non-turbo tourneys give me plenty of time to build up my stack playing intelligent poker pre- and post-flop. I am doing my damndest to play almost exactly per HoH. If I wind up getting short-stacked via mistake or bad luck, when my "M" gets low, I'll push.

But a turbo is an entirely different animal. The blinds increase far too rapidly for antyhing to matter except pre-flop play. I think I'm plenty good post-flop. I think most others at the levels I play aren't. Turbos negate one of the big advantages I thinkI have.

If I want to play the lottery, I can certainly recognize an all-in worthy hand preflop and then push. Whatever happens, happens.

It's just uncomfortable to take that risk when I know there's an alternative that better matches my abilities.

The blinds increase far too rapidly for antyhing to matter except pre-flop play.

Somewhat. If you catch QQ-AA or AK early on, you'll be able to play some post-flop with it. Also, after a few limpers, you can play many more pocket pairs for set value early on. I don't even bother playing suited connectors early on - they do not make straights or flushes on the flop often enough. Pocket pairs are easy "set or forget" on the flop.

I think I'm plenty good post-flop. I think most others at the levels I play aren't. Turbos negate one of the big advantages I thinkI have.

Good point. I agree with the non-turbo tourneys a good player still has a larger advantage overall. With turbos your advantage comes from understanding what hands are worth pushing in what situations (depending on blinds, chip stacks, and opponent's calling ranges) and your opponents making terrible plays pre-flop and post-flop. Still, since turbos take about half the time, I think you can make the same profit (or more profit) per hour playing turbos than playing regulars - assuming you're good at playing both.

Just finished one. Came in third. With 5 left, I was done to 35 chips. The short stack that wouldn't die. Came within an eyelash of actually winning it all. At three, I was in the lead by a couple hundred chips, over 6K. It was wild. Knocked out with AK. Lot's of donkeys.

(Stay away from the rebuy MTTs.)

CJ

great discussion here, and I think it points out the importance of changing and adapting to the situation, as well as the different buy-in and blind structures...

Good stuff EP---and I will tell you this---Once you go over to Stars, you will wonder what took you so long!! The larger starting stacks in the hands of a winning player, well you figger it out!! LOL
GL all

Overall, I'm running hot on these turbos:

****************
***CUMULATIVE***
****************
62 SNGs
$870 winnings
$555 buy-in + fees
$315 net profit
ROI = 56.76%

Poooshy pooshy!

I wish BoDog's HH didn't suck so much - then I could post a session here as an example of my play.

Since I started playing PS $15 Turbos a couple of weeks back I've played 25 and am 75% ROI.

They are very well set up in that they finish fast but you still have a decent edge if you can read post-flop. Sure by the time of the final 3 or so there are a lot of pushes all in, but 'before the end game the gods have put the middle game' and if I have a huge stack I don''t mind the odd coin flip at the end. If I'm the better player I want to see a flop. Push botting is more useful the worse you are.

I'm 9 first places in those 25 which is where my big ROI comes from and even heads up on the end there seems to be a fair bit of play possible in the PS Turbo format.