Last year, Full Tilt Poker introduced a new type of Sit-and-Go tournament called Matrix tournaments. They received a decent amount of attention at the time as players tried them out, but after a while, interest faded. Now, there is not much traffic at the Matrix tables at all, especially at higher stakes. I have recently been dabbling in low stakes Matrix tourneys and, frankly, I like them, despite what the critics may say.
Before I continue, allow me to review what a Matrix tournament is for the uninitiated. A Matrix tournament is actually four Sit-and-Go’s at the same time, all four with the same players (although seats are randomly selected at each table). There is a single buy-in for the Matrix as a whole, with four-fifths of it going towards the standard, individual table prize pools and the remainder going towards the Matrix prize pool. All five prize pools are broken down the same way: 50 percent for first place, 30 percent for second, and 20 percent for third.
The individual table prizes are handed out just like in a regular tournament. Come in first, you win first prize, and so on for second and third. The Matrix prize pool is different. Here, players are ranked according to scores they accumulate at each of the four tables. For outlasting an opponent at a table, players receive one point. For knocking an opponent out, players receive two points, and for being the last player standing at a table, players receive a bonus two points. The three players who earn the most Matrix points win their portions of that extra Matrix prize pool.
Regular Sit-and-Go grinders tend not to like Matrix tournaments for a few reasons. First, they simply don’t like gimmicks. Give them their regular Sit-and-Go’s and just let them be. Second, they may dilute the standard Sit-and-Go pool as players start trying out the Matrix tourneys. Obviously, considering the low traffic, that point isn’t applicable anymore. Third, the players in the Matrix will be better, on average, than grinders in regular Sit-and-Go’s because they are attracted to the lower rake per table (“fish” wouldn’t notice or care) and they are more accustomed to/skilled at multi-tabling. Fourth, the four tables all count against your table allotment (Full Tilt does not allow you to play at an unlimited number of tables), which limits the number of tournaments a grinder can play. And fifth, a good Sit-and-Go player can earn more money playing individual tournaments, rather than Matrix tournaments.
There are some valid points there, but I would like to address and expand upon the last one. It is true that a good Sit-and-Go grinder, someone who makes a living playing them, can make more money just playing individual tourneys. Why? Mainly because he can play four times as many since each Matrix table counts against Full Tilt’s pre-set limit and individual Sit-and-Go’s can be played continuously – bust out of one, crank up another. But don’t fall into the pattern of incorrect thinking that some people do, that it is easier to win an equivalent amount of money in one regular Sit-and-Go than it is in a Matrix. Let me explain.
Take a $10 + $1 Sit-and-Go. Win it, and you win $45. Win one table of a $10 + $1 Matrix and you only win $9. You need to win all four tables to win at least $45 in a Matrix (you would actually win more because you would win the entire Matrix prize pool). Winning four tables is harder than winning one. But that math is not correct. A $10 + $1 Matrix is not the equivalent of one $10 + $1 Sit-and-Go. It is the equivalent of four $2 + $0.20 Sit-and-Go’s plus essentially a $2 + $0.20 sidebet. Knowing this, winning a Matrix table is the same as winning a regular table. But the upside to the Matrix is that you have that sidebet, the Matrix prize pool, as an added bonus if you do well. As such, should you place in the top three in the Matrix standings, you will actually make more money than if you had achieved the exact same results in comparable buy-in regular Sit-and-Go’s. It is even possible to place fourth at all four Matrix tables, an accomplishment that would win you nothing at regular tables, and still win some of the Matrix prize pool.
Some people argue that one’s strategy should change in a Matrix tourney, as it becomes more important to knock players out. In fact, many feel that Matrix tourneys help poor players because they will make looser calls in order to eliminate opponents and earn Matrix points. Inevitably, some of these players move up in the Matrix standings and win money, whereas solid players who play tight might just make the money at each table but suffer in the standings because they don’t focus on eliminations.
That is all true to some extent, but I have found that playing normal, solid Sit-and-Go strategy is still the best way to go. If you place in the top three at each table more often than not, you will usually win a share of the Matrix prize pool. You may not knock a ton of players out along the way, but you are bound to knock someone out here and there, and the points you earn from high finishes are usually enough. Of course, I say this after one of the worst players I have ever seen won the most Matrix points in a tourney tonight because he played any two cards, made terrible calls, and got lucky almost every time.
One situation where a change in strategy is called for is when you are an ultra-short stack with little realistic chance at doubling-up enough to make a serious run at winning the table. In a regular Sit-and-Go, you would just push with any two cards and hope for the best. In a Matrix tournament, it is probably a good idea to try to wait for a strong hand while keeping your fingers crossed that another player will be eliminated. If it is extremely unlikely that you would be able to move up in the standings on the merits of your own cards and your own play, you might as well wait and see if someone else will get knocked out, giving you an extra point towards the Matrix standings.
One very nice thing about Matrix tourneys is that they are lower in variance than regular ones. Why? Because of the Matrix prize pool. Think about it. If you do well in the Matrix, you will not only win the regular individual prize money but also likely win some of the Matrix pool, giving you an extra bankroll boost. If you do just “ok,” there is still a decent chance to place third in the Matrix and earn a little cash despite your mediocre performance. Do poorly, and it doesn’t matter anyway. Basically, that Matrix pool smoothes out your earnings and gives you a shot to always win at least a little bit of money, even if it doesn’t allow you to break even for that Matrix tournament.
On top of everything, I just find Matrix tournaments fun. They offer additional excitement and competition as everyone jockeys for position on the Matrix leaderboard. There is something very odd about rooting for the guy who just eliminated you to knock everyone else out in order to help you move up in the standings, but it’s a twist like that that makes the Matrix tournaments unique. I’m not going to play them to get rich (I’m not going to play any poker to get rich, to be quite honest), but there is nothing wrong with doing something a bit different and having some fun.
