Pick & Go registration strategy
Should you buy in early, late reg, or wait till your team goes 1-0 down? We ponder the most +EV Pick & Go strategies.
I think Pick & Go by GGPoker is a game changer. I was surprised it's last incarnation called Bet & Go, which was used during the World Cup, didn't become a regular fixture for big sporting events like the Champions League or SuperBowl.
I've been trying to decide what I think the best buy-in strategy is. Here are some musings.
In their opening game, Germany cost $8.77 to register at the start and Scotland were only $1.23. This is for a $10 MTT with a $10,000 prize pool. As we all know, Scotland got battered and went 2-0 down very quickly, at which point you could buy them for just $0.30.
Scotland seemed like a steal at just $0.30. We all knew they were going to lose, but they only needed to draw to stay in the Pick & Go tournament. That didn't seem insurmountable.
I played in the tournament and most of the Scotland stacks were either sat out or wildly gambling, because everyone had essentially given up playing normal poker on their side. With this in mind, it might have been better to register as Germany from the start. You would have a very easy tournament for the period where the Scotland stacks were YOLO-ing. Much better in this respect to register on time than to late register.
Smash and grab?
In terms of late reg, I suspect the most EV is in late registering a game that is 0-0 and hoping for a last minute goal. Even if you pick the favourite for the higher buy-in, seeing half the field disappear instantly is the ultimate ICM boost and you still got a reduced price. Anyone who did this with the last minute victory from Portugal would have been laughing.
The other interesting late reg possibility is to pick a team that is 1-0 down towards the end. You survive if your team draws and you get to buy-in for pennies.
My hunch is that if you are going to pick the favourite, register at the start to make the most of dead stacks/gamblers if they go ahead. If you are going to late register, do so for games where there is only a goal in it, because fortunes could change quickly and you get in at a reduced price.
What is Pick & Go?
GGPoker have brought back their game-changing poker and sports betting hybrid - Pick & Go.
There is a Pick & Go tournament for every match in the Euro 2024 fixture list. Each game is a $10 MTT with a $5,000 or greater guarantee.
Before you register you pick the team you think will win, then get a reduced buy-in based on their odds to win.
If you think France will win their next game it is $5.91 to enter. If you think the Netherlands will cause an upset it costs just $4.09 to register. The odds will change as the match progresses, so if the Netherlands take an early lead you can buy-in for for much less if you pick France.
The other crucial twist is that when the match is over, if your team loses, you are out of the tournament. Every player who picked the losing side is eliminated. If the match ends in a draw, everyone survives. The tournament then plays out like a regular MTT.
What is your Pick & Go strategy? Let us know in the comments:
