what's SPR and IO?

also I'm playing on merge, does minted still exist and should I switch there for fun steps? I am finding step 2 a little hard to beat as I am always in the bubble but I play so tight so I don't many chips when the other 3 guys have a big stack lead and I either shove or fold

at step 3 it's usually very tight in the beginning, should I open my range up more to start with to gain a stack advantage?

and thanks, hoping to finally start building a BR again after busting it away!

SPR is stack to pot ratio. So the ratio of the smallest stack involved to the amount in the pot. When it's 2 or less your big pairs are monsters. When it's super high (like early levels) you have to have fold capabilitiy (and also get a lot of value from set mining or suited connectors from those that CAN'T fold over pairs)

IO is implied odds. Basically odds beyond immediate odds. So like a flush draw on the turn if your opponent gives you better than 4:1 to call then you should, but if they only give you 3:1 but you know they'll still fire again despite river completing draws, you have implied odds.

Yeah I haven't played steps in awhile but 1 you can almost sit out and/or only play QQ+. 3 You can actually play some poker. But 2 is in between. You'll find out soon the true idiots and the true nits. You just have to find the tendencies of those in between. But yeah 3 I'd play TAG to start out. Maybe open top 10% of hands and wider the later the position (dependent on who is left and who is in the blinds). A few pages back there is a discussion on the free HUD. It'll help you a lot in separating who is tight, who is loose, passive aggressive and preflop verses post, how often they showdown etc. Anyway, no matter how good your game is it'll take time. Good luck.

Finding it hard to beat fun step 2 when I play so tight and get shortstacked at the bubble when it's push/fold for me. Any advice for hand ranges?

Also are there any good strategy guides/books/videos on 2p2 or elsewhere?

where can one play the fun step tournaments? can't find them in any of the lobbies.

oh fwiw, started about 2 weeks ago playing freerolls, now have 4$ from grinding the 11 cent turbos after a min cash. I plan to switch to LHE after I have 300 big bets (12$) and grind from there, maybe add some sit n gos and such later. gl everyone

Sit N Go Strategy by Moshman applies well to the steps.

It will probably tell you in exactly what ways you are playing too tight during mid blinds.

:P

The steps are play money SNGs with a buyin of "free" and you get tickets through the Promotions menu.

awesome I just started reading that book, thanks for the suggestion

I'm also currently playing on pokerhost. I was wondering if SNG Wizard is useful and can import hands from there. I just got a trial for it, but not sure how to use it to its full potential.

Getting way better at step 2s, currently have 10 of those and 6 step 3s. Still having trouble in the bubble at step 3s and wish I could import my poker host hands into sng wizard.

be careful not to let your tickets expire

Yeah, thanks

I'm currently playing on poker host would it be possible to transfer all my tournament coupons to Carbon? I want to make the switch so I can use sng wizard

I have no idea about that. Worth checking out. It might not be worth it, if you're getting rakeback though. Because currently I'm getting 0 back from Carbon. Does anyone else know what's going on? Is it completely gone or just being paid monthly instead?

I don't think there is rakeback on the merge network anymore. You should double check that though as I'm not sure if that is for certain.

Just won my first step 3!!!!! What should I do with this? DoN? or try to keep grinding on the fun steps?

what's the usual progression?

Congratulations!

There's no standard next move; what you do depends on your tolerance for risk and what games you like best. I liked continuing with single table SNGs and started playing the .60 games when I got up to about 5 bucks. Some people like the 11 cent hyper turbos. I think you could even take an unbelievably underrolled shot at Limit HE cash.

How difficult are the 11c hypers or the 60c games? I started out as a 6max cash player and fun steps are really the only experience I have with SNGs, although I seem to be getting the hang of em reading moshman's book.

Are they comparable to step 3s? I'm not at home but will need to check the prize structures as well. thanks!

Congratulations. I had TERRIBLE luck with the 11c. You won't have quite enough for DoN because of the fee. So best bet is the Fast Fifty. But there's still a decent amount of variance there. It's like a Step 2 or 3 all over again (beatable but variance with only one shot).

What I did (and it's more than understandable if you don't have the patience) is wait until I won 6 Steps (I think my goal was 4 and then playing out all my leftovers I ended up winning a couple more). That's excessive, but even as a winning player I didn't cash until my 3rd fast fifty (and even then it was min cash).

You can easily play a fast fifty right away and if you lose still have enough for 3 bumblebee rooms, but I'd recommend winning 1 or 2 more Step 3s first just so you can play a solid game and not worry about only having one chance. Even the softest game (i.e., Step 1) is far from a lock, as I'm sure you know. So suck as it might, it might be best to wait before taking the leap.

But you've invested nothing so at the end of the day, do as you please and have fun.

A fast fifty is just full ring correct, top 3 get prizes? Just wondering since I have no idea why its called fast fifty.

Will try to grind the rest of my fun steps as well as playing a fast fifty later on. Thanks for the advice!

Fast because it's over in 75 hands or whatever. Fifty because that's the buyin in cents (plus ten cents rake). It's 9 seats and pays 50/30/20 for first through third. Your Step 3 strategy should play OK in the Fast Fifty but be sure you're taking notes on everybody.

I think I'll be giving this another go. I cashed out a couple months ago because I needed the money and didn't know how much I could trust merge. The cash out went smoothly other than the bs $15 charge but I've been missing playing. This should be a good way to get back in with no risk.

Day 1 had mixed results:
10 steps 1s -> 3 step 2s -> 0
~25/3500 in the $50 freeroll for $0.40

Day 2 had much better results at the steps:
10 step 1s -> 6 step 2s

I'm saving the step 2s for now. I realize they expire in a week so I'll probably use them Friday. As for the money won in the freeroll I'm going to wait until I have a little more before playing any real money games.

It's been over a month since an update. I've been averaging about a game a day. On Spring Break now, though, so have upped my volume. I was bouncing around $18 to $24 playing $1 Double Ups. Now I've moved to the higher risk, higher reward Dollar Dazzler. Have been bouncing between $25 and $30. Go on a heater then bust several in a row to bad beats. The usual.

BR $26.81

Nice. I've won three Step 3s so far but busted all of it so far. My plan is to get that $1, play lhe, and then hit the nlhe tables when I have the min buyin and play super tight ABC poker.

hi everyone im going to join your challenge.i played alot before black friday and after years of playing i decided i was going to take my playing much more serious.i was building a good bankroll and reading/watching as much as i could to get better.then black friday hit and i have only played on occasion at the casinos.now im back and gonna see what kind of bankroll i can build from scratch. i have one month off till work starts back up.how do you guys play the fun steps? play all step 1 then play all step 2 wins then allstep 3 tickets?same day? save them up for the week? ive got my hud working and my pre black friday poker desk/baller room set up .the mini fridge is stocked and im ready to play. this thread has inspired me.good luck see you at the tables.im playing my first games starting today 2/10/13.here i go zero to ???

Unless you are just dying to play ring games, I think it would be better for your bankroll to approach the beginning of BR building with Sit n Go instead.

Sounds exciting. If you're all about grinding you can easily multi table Step 1s. Play 10 a day if you've the time (which it sounds like you do now). What I was doing towards the end was 4 tabling Step 1s and just adding new ones on as others were ending. Then I'd have on average 5 Step 2s. I was pretty comfortable 2 tabling those (you can probably do more as a multitabler HUD-bot, seeing as I'm somewhat of a micromanager). And then If you have any Step 3s (which 1 or 2 a day is quite reasonable) play them last after your other games have been a "warm up". Any of your Step 3 2nd or 3rd places you can lump in with the next day's Step 2s and 3s. It's so much easier to see productivity on this early part when you have a month of time to just put in a few hours every day. Good luck.