Why You Need SNGEGT

Numerous independent chip modeling (ICM) calculators exist in the marketplace. Teaching you the strategies to dominate the later stages of sit and go tournaments, Sit and Go End Game Tools (SNGEGT for short) is one of the top programs to have in your arsenal. The best part is that it’s completely free, making for an affordable piece of software that’s actually useful. Once a spokesperson for SNGEGT, PokerSoftware.com’s very own Chris “Fox” Wallace told us why having a program like SNGEGTis so important for being a successful online poker player.

PokerSoftware.com: Explain why poker players need an ICM calculator like SNGEGT. How will it improve their game?

Wallace: The vast majority of what you can learn from them is not from all of the bells and whistles. When you learn something, it’s by understanding why things are the way they are. You can’t memorize all of the situations you could possibly come across, but you can learn how to evaluate them. The quizzes that some programs have are neat, but they don’t teach you any more about how the game works than SNGEGT does. I also have my students do the calculations manually. Then, you really learn to assess the situation rather than just memorize.

PokerSoftware.com: Some poker players would question whether a free software tool could actually be worthwhile. Where does SNGEGT stand?

Wallace: If your goal is to be a great sit and go player who is going to be crushing $200 buy-ins and higher, you should probably have this and SNG Wizard or WizHUD. You should also do some manual calculations. If you’re just getting started, the free version of SNGEGT does a fine job. It’s only free because PokerStars made the premium version illegal on the site. It’s the same product you used to pay $50 for, but it’s now completely free.

PokerSoftware.com: Compare a program like SNGEGT to SNG Wizard.

Wallace: SNGEGT has the math you need, but it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles that SNG Wizard does. That program has the great quiz function and a bunch of add-ons. SNG Wizard is something you can discuss in online poker forums and other people will know what you’re talking about. If SNGEGT were a car, it’d be a Honda Civic. SNG Wizard would be an Infiniti G35. Both will get you there, but one is a little flashier.

PokerSoftware.com: You’re one of the top poker coaches in the game. How do you use SNGEGT with your students?

Wallace: I use it with my students while we’re analyzing hands. I talk about what they should have done in a certain situation. My students are doing themselves a huge favor and I encourage them to show up with tough spots to analyze. When they do that, we use SNGEGT along with a manual calculator to come up with answers to these questions. When you understand what SNGEGT tells you to do, you understand how good players at your table will act. When the blinds get high and you have two sharks at your tables, you know what they’re going to be doing because they’ll be playing exactly like SNGEGT has told you to play. You’ll know exactly what their range is. That’s one of the keys people forget about poker simulation software.

PokerSoftware.com: You’ve mentioned to us before that an ICM calculator like SNGEGT is critical for sit and gos with a buy-in of $30 or more. Why?

Wallace: Everyone else is so strong. When you play a $100 sit and go, there will be bad players, but they wont be bad enough for you to beat the good players and the rake at the same time. If you don’t have ICM skills, you’re costing yourself a ton of money. If you make a mistake at the $100 or $200 levels, it may cost you $10. At the $100 level, it costs you all of a good player’s expected profits. If you make one mistake, you’ve thrown away all of your profit even though you played perfectly otherwise.