"Steps" Satellites

zuutroy

Just wondering what people think of these as a WSOP qualifying route. I'm at step 3 at the moment. Seems like a very good route as, firstly, one bad beat doesnt kill your chances. If you just play solid poker you're very likely to at least reach the places where you can replay the current round. Secondly I think there's a huge amount of dead money for the lowest level which is like a few FPPs or $7 thats being passed up the pyramid, making it a very soft route overall. Opinions?

BIGMICKG

ye the 1st 3 steps are obviously very soft but after that things are a little different. steps 4-6 are full of excellent sng players! i still think its a great system though worth a go

The Al Lad

zuutroy wrote: »

Just wondering what people think of these as a WSOP qualifying route. I'm at step 3 at the moment. Seems like a very good route as, firstly, one bad beat doesnt kill your chances. If you just play solid poker you're very likely to at least reach the places where you can replay the current round. Secondly I think there's a huge amount of dead money for the lowest level which is like a few FPPs or $7 thats being passed up the pyramid, making it a very soft route overall. Opinions?

Seems like a good way alright, I'm on step 3 myself and am just trying it out as a kind of experiment at the minute, I'd say though the last 2-3 levels will be very tough and I have watched alot of the games in step 6. It seems to be full of the same online pro's nearly all the time Zangbezan24 (Sorel Mitsy) and busto_soon (another american online pro) and Deal444,
they probably see it as a nice touch, $2k to win $12.5k for a SnG
If you watch enough of them at that stage you will see the standard is not great, that might sound funny but you would be surprised at some of the bad plays and once it gets 4 handed it's pretty much all in or fold

gl with them anyway

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

shoutman

Pokerstars.

jimbling

decided to give these a go. Got to step 3 on my first attempt. came third in it so have another attempt just starting. Don't like the turbo aspect of it. I wouldn't mind the crapshoot on the first two levels, but it should stop for level 3.

CoD

jimbling wrote: »

decided to give these a go. Got to step 3 on my first attempt. came third in it so have another attempt just starting. Don't like the turbo aspect of it. I wouldn't mind the crapshoot on the first two levels, but it should stop for level 3.

Yeh, level 4's a whole different thing, 10min blinds much better, but you will have a couple of decent players buying in at that level but you still get a ton of fish thats fluked it up from level 1

ionapaul

Am I right in thinking that all buy-ins (cash or FPPs) at all levels are kept in the Steps system and only given out at Step 6? Seems like a great satellite system, like a black hole! Tried Step 1 last night for 500 FPP, very very soft, looking forward to Step 2 tonight - I do remember from a few years ago (on Stars or Party) that around Step 4 about half of the players are pretty decent and it gets much tougher. Would a Step 6 game get filled once a day or is all of the money floating around the lower levels at the moment?

zuutroy

ionapaul wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that all buy-ins (cash or FPPs) at all levels are kept in the Steps system and only given out at Step 6?

Yes, thats what makes it so soft imo...so much dead money in the system. In the other routes someone can win a seat in the $600 supersat but take the $W instead that means the dead money leaves the system. No idea how often the higher steps fill up. I went out in step 4 with QQ<KK early on, so was booted right off the pyramid..will defo play more though.

irishpokeronlin

i am playing these simply to cash out the 12k's
got as far as step 5.

rigged obv.

shoutman

Its rigged cause you ran QQ into AA?

With the blinds 10/20 and your push here you are probably only getting called by hands that beat you or maybe AKsooted.

ionapaul

How does the strategy for playing these differ from optimum standard STT strategy? Not that I'd know much about that given my STT skillz! Used my level 2 ticket last night and got to level 3 after going out 3rd in my 1st attempt (retry level 2) and winning at the 2nd attempt, so level 3 tonight.

I'm thinking that the prize structure in these rewards even tighter play during the earlier levels than the standard STTs. I felt that doubling up early on would not give a huge advantage with regard securing 1st or 2nd and so taking a 50 / 50 coin flip for your entire stack early on would not be optimum play. Getting as far as 4th / 5th (where you will get to retry the level if knocked out) and changing gears suddenly seems to work during the early Steps, but surely will not work so well in Steps 4-6 against better opponents?

jimbling

I was on step 3 for a while, kept winning another ticket for it. After the fourth attempt I got to step 4 tonight. There was a few decent players but some very poor ones too.
On my first attempt I was chip leader on 10k with 3 left. Lost JJ Vs A8, 1010 Vs 44 and 99 Vs 88 all in a row to go out and win another ticket :eek:
I did manage to get a ticket for step 5 on my second attempt. And that was despite losing a 4k pot with AA Vs JJ when down to 4.

A decent strategy for these, with regards roll management, might be to play one level a load of times. what I mean is, give yourself a few hundred to start with playing level 1s. Win as many tickets as you can for level 2 with that roll. Then move up a level and do the same again. Continue this, and hopefully you will end up with a good few buyins on the last level.
Not sure I will take this approach, but I would if I was still regular STT player.
What do ye reckon on that sort of angle?

On the play itself, I would be in agreement with you ionapaul. But I would change gears before the bubble. Especially on level 3/4. A lot of the players are happy enough to win the ticket again and will definitely not risk going out without a monster behind.
Ill update on my level 5 efforts tomorrow night if I get the chance to play it.

jimbling

god, just played Step 5 there. Played like a retarded monkey and didn't fold JJ when it was obviously behind. I wasn't going to play it tonight because I really wasn't feeling the poker... but then went and played the damn thing anyway.
So, back to the grindstone for me.

ionapaul

Back to FPP Step 1 for me as well, played Step 3 last night and came very close, unlucky to go out 3rd for another try, then played twice more this evening, 5th in the 1st for another try and 7th in the 2nd to go out of the system. That step is very very beatable though IMHO, I'd say Step 5 is very difficult to be fair. I'd love to see one or more of us win tickets this way going all the way to the WSOP on an investment of 500 FPPs or $7.50!

jimbling

ionapaul wrote: »

Back to FPP Step 1 for me as well, played Step 3 last night and came very close, unlucky to go out 3rd for another try, then played twice more this evening, 5th in the 1st for another try and 7th in the 2nd to go out of the system. That step is very very beatable though IMHO, I'd say Step 5 is very difficult to be fair. I'd love to see one or more of us win tickets this way going all the way to the WSOP on an investment of 500 FPPs or $7.50!

If I'm honest, I don't see myself actually going though. It's the problem with winning cash rather than a ticket. 10k is too much of my bankroll to consider putting it into one MTT. If I thought it would be a good investment, I'd buy in now. So really, I'm just seeing the steps as a relatively easy way to a big prizepool. So much dead money. Perhaps if I won a few of them I'd consider it.

Step 5 had a few top players. On my table last night there was 2 high stakes S&G players. Another guy who recently won the Million and so has jumped from $10 buy in games to $700 buy in games. I'd consider him an easy target. There was one extremely good mid-stakes s&g player, and the rest were average low-stakes players.
I didn't really have time to figure out how tough it was though. Didn't last long enough :rolleyes:

THEIRISHMOB

irishpokeronlin wrote: »

i am playing these simply to cash out the 12k's
got as far as step 5.

rigged obv.

you cant cash out .TICKET ONLY

THEIRISHMOB

Im addicted to these "steps" tournys for the WSOP and LAPT

CoD

THEIRISHMOB wrote: »

you cant cash out .TICKET ONLY

If you win, you get $12.5k cash. Up to you if you reg for WSOP or not.
If you win 2, the 2nd is paid in W$

jimbling

CoD wrote: »

If you win, you get $12.5k cash. Up to you if you reg for WSOP or not.
If you win 2, the 2nd is paid in W$

I did not know that the 2nd is paid in W$. Changes my perception a small bit. not that I'll even win one :rolleyes:

express79

CoD wrote: »

If you win, you get $12.5k cash. Up to you if you reg for WSOP or not.
If you win 2, the 2nd is paid in W$

Just after taking down step 6 and winning one of these packages:D The $2.5k was lodged to my account straight away but no sign of the $10k. Any idea of when or how I receive this?

NickyOD

I keep hitting a brick wall at step 4. From now on I'm going to wait until I'm sure I have the worst hand and get it all-in and see if that works.

jimbling

express79 wrote: »

Just after taking down step 6 and winning one of these packages:D The $2.5k was lodged to my account straight away but no sign of the $10k. Any idea of when or how I receive this?

n1... good result. no idea what the story with the 10k is. Send them an email, generally quick enough to respond.

CoD

express79 wrote: »

Just after taking down step 6 and winning one of these packages:D The $2.5k was lodged to my account straight away but no sign of the $10k. Any idea of when or how I receive this?

$10k takes a couple of days. You'll get it no probs, but their supports very good if you want to drop them an email.

ArmaniJeanss

express79 wrote: »

Just after taking down step 6 and winning one of these packages:D The $2.5k was lodged to my account straight away but no sign of the $10k. Any idea of when or how I receive this?

Brilliant. I see RoundTower on BBV thread has got his ticket via the Steps as well.
2 Boardsies after just a week.


(I've finally got around to opening a Stars account, just to have a go at these.)

Dub13

I got to level 6 last week....its soul destroying when you have to go back to the early levels but its a great way to hit a ticket IMO.

Russh

They're pretty soft for sure....!.....wait for a hand and stick the chips in the middle.....amazing what you get called with....!