I was wondering what the thoughts were on bankroll size for the party Steps. Maybe Fox has some input here too since he's written quite a bit about BR managment. I think Fox's recommendation of 45 buyin's for a protected status while playing sng's is a good number but what about these step tournaments? Is this still a good guideline for these tournaments? Does it need to be more or less? Do you have some reasoning to support your opinion?

The problem I see running into is that when you win you really don't add anything to your bankroll until you cash at the last step. So you could actually win and show a pretty good % of winning but still end up going broke because you either don't cash on the last step or you bust out before the last step. On the other hand it could be like Ground Hog's day because you keep playing the same step or 2 over and over again.

Also, what are the thoughts on the best steps to play and also the best step to start playing at (step 1, 2, etc.)? i.e Mini, Regular, Step Higher. Very first time I played the steps I played step higher and made it all the way to step 5 from step 1 and only replayed 1 step but didn't cash when I got to level 5. That was awhile ago and played a few times since but not much. Was wondering what people thought who play these on a regular basis.

Yeah there is but I can't get to the party Website right now (blocked from work). Can anyone else post the link?

Here's the info page on step tourneys. I always had it open when I was playing them.

http://www.partypoker.com/news/event...teps_main.html

Depending on where you buy-in the variance will be different. I always bought in at the third level, and variance isn't all that bad from there, no worse than a big field MTT I would think. I haven't done all hte math, but I would want 50 buy-ins for a 3rd level step at least. If I were going to play them for a living that is. Paying close attention to where the payout spots are and how your opponents are playing because of that is the key to doing well in them.

From the first level you might need hundreds of buy-ins to get past the variance monster, and you are paying house fees on each level as well, so starting a little higher is generally better.

Here's my experience. If you are a competent Sit and go player, you should be able to master Step's. My preference is for the Mini Steps.

I recently bought in for 200 mini 1's, and played them all until I turned them into mini 2's, then played them all and turned them into 3's etc. Bottom Line, I managed to turn 200 mini 1's into
31 mini 5's. That was probably better than expected, I was aiming for 20, so a 10 to 1 rate.

The reason I prefer mini's and starting at mini 1, is despite the winner of 1 only getting promoted to mini 2, places 2nd to 5th get repeat mini 1's. The repeats are much more widely available in mini's than regular steps.

I'd suggest that you plan on assuming between 10 and 15 mini 1 investments for every mini 5 achieved, which is where the cash is

I prefer to build up a stack of 5's rather than get one and play one, I personally feel more pressure if its the only mini 5 I have got, whereas I think I play better when I have a stack of them, and dont feel like losing a mini 5 is a disaster.

As said, Mini 1 and 2 are idiot festivals and can be tough to avoid races. If you can start at this level, you need some patience, and gotta learn to accept suckouts. Also, be prepared, you might raise 4 or 5 times bb with a hand, and you shouldn't be suprised to get 5 or 6 callers at this level.

Mini 3 appears to be where the skill level improves.. Mini 1 and 3 are the toughest, mini 3 because you need to be in the top 4 not to get demoted to mini 2.

good luck, see you at the mini tables.
OhToBe.

I';ve played 11 of the 31 Mini 5's, I still have 20 left. I am starting from the bottom again, mini 1's to try more mini 5's. As an aide, I set myself a goal of getting a minimum of 100 mini 5's stored up for a rainy day. (ie when I get laid off from work).

My results so far for mini 5

1st= 1
2nd = 4
3rd = 0
4th = 4
5th = 1
10th = 1

I'm overjoyed so far, parlayed my 1200 bucks into $7400 in cash, and I still have $8600 worth of step 5 freerolls.

Personally, one of the things I like about starting at mini 1, is turning $6 into $2k, whch I have done once. I find mini 4 and mini 5 easier than lower levels, but as you can see, my HU rate is pretty poor.. not sure if that is nerves, or poor judgement, or just I need to practice more. Still, I think steps are a great way to make $$$, and given I can work and play at home at the same time, and so time is not a great issue, its great practice. I've really improved my game and results in the last year by working on steps.

good luck.

Yep, the downside is, a lot of hours.. but for me, thats not important, because I have a full time
job and poker is fun (for the moment)..

I only have a small laptop, and so I prefer to play max 3 at a time, otherwise I can't keep up.
Other folks, I play with play up to 9 or 10 at a time.. they pretty much ignore each game til the blinds are 50/100 or even 100/200.

As with most sit and go's, the motto is, "you can lose it early on, but you can't win it early"
I tend to aim to keep at 2k stack til the blinds are 100/200 or when there are only five people left, and then get very agressive.. works well.

Trick with these, remember that for mini 1, prize for 2nd is the same as the prize for 5th..

If you want a good laugh...go play the party steps. They sent me like $50 so I jumped right in to level 2. Well, a couple tournies later I am at step 5. We are in the 3rd level, and I hadnt played a hand. The blinds are 30-60 and I raise to 180 with......u know....AA (in like seat 7), well the guy after me goes all in. LOL. Its the third level with 30-60 blinds. Well, being the fool that I am, I call with the loosing hand (pocket AA), to his 77 that was good enough for an all in. TURN IS A 7. GG me.

-Great play with the 7s dude!

Here are my stats

200 mini 1's became
129 mini 2's became
84 mini 3's became
57 mini 4's became
31 mini 5's.

including all repeats, and beatdowns (ie mini 3 down to mini 1 etc)

OhToBe