Battle of the planets.

Ok, so I saw that Tony didn't even know this existed, while every sng player should. So I'll make a post about it explaining the strategy behind it.

It is explained in full at http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/battle/ but I'll summarize it here:

All the sng's are divided into orbits (tiers), that consist of a range of buyins, e.g. $1-$2.99 is the lowest tier that we have.

Every player playing sng's with 6-27 players (so 4max, HU, 45man and 180 man sngs don't count) in that tier earns points for every ITM finish.

Top 10 of every tier get a ticket to the monthly shootout, a freeroll with a prizepool of $50,000 and usually about 500 players entering.

Players play (in the 'low orbit') in blocks of 20 games, meaning that the first 20 games you play in every tier is a block, and then game 21-40, 41-60 etc. This means that you not only need to run semi godlike, you need to run it in 20 adjacent games, AND you need those games to be in the same block! Needless to say, being good is not enough, not even on the lowest levels (I tried).

Luckily there is also another division in each tier, that of the 'high orbit', where each block consists of 100 games. (mind you, every block has the same rules as the low orbit).
Only the first 5 blocks count in the low orbit, but there are unlimited blocks in the high orbit. (should you be boku87 or RaSZi...)

This high orbit gives skill a bit more chance, since even Usain Bolt doesn't run thát good. You still need some run good sauce to make it to the highest positions, though.

Is there any strategy involved in these things, or should you just hope for a good run?

- For the low orbit, there's no real strategy, you just need to stay focussed and never give up on a sng because you're low on chips, also, you want to play for the win, not some itm style, even though it looks more important.

So the high orbit is skill dominated?

- Not really, luck is still a big factor (we all know sample size is important, and 100 is nothing), but skill is definitely needed to make the top10. (well unless you're in the highest orbit, where simply getting enough action for 100 games is an accomplishment in it's own.)

Any specific games to play?

- Yes, 6handed and 9handed sng's just don't give enough points to make it, sure you can get in the lower positions, but the top 10 is where the real money is, and 18 or 27 man sng's are the way to go for those.

High orbit is just too much, I'll never finish 100 sng's in a week!

- Well, then don't think about the BoP, every now and then you'll get yourself a bonus from the low orbit, and that's great. Just don't expect those results on a regular basis.

Any questions asked by any of you will be added to this post, feel free to ask.

Excellent post, RB.

great post RB, i was aware of the battle of the planets, but knew very little about it, when i saw a $20 credit in my Account from BOP I had no idea it was Battle of the planets, Now im fully aware of it im gonna try my best to make the leader board each week

TonyAceYa wrote:

Now im fully aware of it im gonna try my best to make the leader board each week

Just play your best, don't think about the low orbit, see it as a nice surprise every now and then. (maybe check the summary at the end of the week to see if you only have a couple of sng's left, might as well finish the block, eh?

the high orbit if you make that leaderboard how much $ do they credit you with?

just found this article http://www.poker-prop.net/tournament/pokerstars-sng-tlb.html alot of useful information

that looks sexy, I might just have a go at the high orbit!