Carl “The Dean” Sampson.

 

 

This is one of those $64,000 questions that when people ask me, I always struggle to find an answer. The fact is that there are no definite answers as there is so much that is player specific. I have argued many times that cash game poker does not always suit the personality and character of many people.

 

Tournament poker is the same but for different reasons. This is before we even discuss the differences in the varying time frames between cash games and tournaments from SNG’s etc.

 

When I first started playing online then I was and still am a cash game player. But what I am about to say is not aimed at the thousands of cash game players out there who are successful online. What I have to say is geared towards the millions of players who for whatever reason cannot make the game pay in whatever capacity.

 

There are numerous reasons behind why players lose but the two biggest ones are a lack of ability and a lack of discipline. This is why I am going to suggest to these people a way to make money online…..not vast amounts of money…..but money all the same.

 

The best way for players to win money online who are not already doing so is to play lowstakes SNG’s. You can survive and thrive in this environment without the need for software, huge amounts of discipline and also tremendous ability and knowledge.

 

Low-stakes SNG’s up to the $20 level are still soft and you don’t need ICM (independent chip modelling) knowledge in order to beat them either. A solid and steady player should really get a 10% return on turnover at the least and this means $2 for every $20 SNG that you play on average.

 

This may not sound a lot but if you multi-table these things and play say four an hour then you are looking at $8 an hour. Then when you consider rakeback then this would easily take it to $10 an hour. My sponsors website Cake Poker have one of the best deals out there at this moment in time with a whopping 33% rakeback.

 

In fact as you build up your skill level and your bankroll then there is nothing whatsoever to stop you from multi-tabling more SNG’s and playing as many as six or even eight at a time.

 

So what do you need to play successful SNG’s? Well a good strong disciplined system of play for starters and that is really all you need at the low levels. The higher stakes SNG’s at the $50 level and above are considerably tougher and you would need completely different skill sets in order to survive including good table selection policies and a good strong grasp of ICM.

 

But I am one hundred percent serious when I say that low-stakes SNG’s are the best method for novice players to extract money from online poker in as small a time frame as possible. $10,000-$20,000 a year is easily achievable and that may not sound like much but you try saying that to the millions of players who are either recycling money all year or literally doing their brains in.

 

I don’t play SNG’s anymore but I did play them full time a couple of years ago for about six months up to and including the $200+$15 level. The strategies that I used at those levels no longer work but they are still powerful in low-stakes SNG’s. This is why I am telling you this now because earning $10k-$20k a year online hardly fills me with glee.

 

The great thing about SNG’s is that they don’t require the player to sit behind a big stack and play deep stacked poker. This is the most complex part of the game and one where having poor personal discipline and bankroll management will cruelly exploit.

 

It is also an avenue of poker where you are not under anywhere near the same level of disadvantage by not using software. As you move higher up the SNG food chain then you will need to learn ICM and probably use something like Sharkscope too if you want to be successful. But compare this to cash game players who do not use tracking software whose opponents are using it against them and there lays the difference.

 

So the bottom line is this, if you are a losing player online and you simply cannot crack cash game poker. Or you find that whatever you do in large MTT, you simply cannot seriously cash then remember what I have just said and remember it well.