About Your MTT ROI (Return on Invesment)

In MTTs most people use the formula ROI to determine their success and profitability.  Your ROI is calculated by averaging your net MTT profit, divided by your entry fees, x 100 to give a percentage.  For example, if you’ve played 10x$10 buy-in MTTs, and made a total profit of $50, then your total ROI is (50/100)*100 = 50%.  There are also many free tools to calculate your MTT ROI automatically, try www.sharkscope.com for example.

What is a Good MTT ROI?

This is quite a debtatable topic, because some poker players will be happier with lower or bigger ROIs than others.  General poker forums and communities say an average of 20%+ is a good MTT ROI. A big point to remember is that your ROI is very subjective to how many games you play, and you’ll need a reasonably big sample of MTTs to give an accurate picture i.e. over 100 MTTs completed. 

Here’s some guidance on what qualifies as a “good MTT ROI”:

MTT ROI’s:

• <0% Very Bad.  A negative ROI means you’re actually losing money in the long run.  This bad, and you’re probably doing something wrong and need to catch up on MTT Strategy.
• 0% Bad.  Although you’re earning back your entry fees on average, you’re still not getting paid for the time your putting in to play tournaments.
• 10% OK.  This is an acceptable figure for a newish player.   On average, it means you’ll be making about $1 profit for every $10 MTT you play.  Regardless of profit however, a 10% ROI signifies plenty of room for improvement.
• 20% Good.  At this level you’re making a decent return on your invesment compared to what players make in cash games and SNGs.
• 35%  Very Good.  These players will know their MTT strategy inside out and probably have alot of experience in online poker.
• 50 - 100% Pro’s.  Most professional poker players will aim to make over 50% MTT ROIs – and the best will aim for 100% ROI to make it worth their while.  Generally most regular players won’t be able to get near above 50%; professional MTT players at this level will be extremely well attuned to tournament strategy and will play over a large enough period to guarantee a high MTT ROI.

How to Improve Your MTT ROI Significantly: If you’re looking to increase your MTT ROI quickly, the best way is to sign up to a room offering easier tournaments.  We suggest trying Carbon Poker, who offer the best range of guaranteed daily tournaments with the softest competition.  You can sign up to carbon poker here with a 100% up to $600 bonus.

ROI Isn’t an Exact Measure of Profitability:

Although ROI gives you an accurate tool for calculating how profitable you are, it doesn’t really paint a true picture of how much money you’re actually making. For example, earning 30% ROI in a $40 MTT is much more profitable then earning 50% ROI in a $5 MTT. Beware of this fact because it’s important to find a balance between a good ROI rate and tournament buy-in that suits your bankroll and level of ability.

About ITM (In the Money Percentage) Is ITM% Important?

ITM%, also known as “In the Money“, is the amount of times you manage to finish a tournament cashing out. Personally, I actually find this figure much more useful for measuring success in Sit n Go’s than large MTTs. In large MTTs such as a 1000 person $100 MTT, you might get a consolation payoff of $3 for finishing highly in the event. However this doesn’t cover your buy-in, so even a 100% ITM% might still be losing you alot of money if the payoff isn’t greater than the entry fee you paid.

In smaller Sit N Gos however, the ITM percentage is a very useful tool for judging how competent you are at the level and just how profitable you’re playing. For example, in a 9 person Sit n Go, where the top 3 people get paid, you’d naturally expect nothing less than a 33% ITM%. Anything less than this, and you’d be losing money on average.

What is a Good ITM Percentage to Aim For?

Ultimately there is no definitive answer, however just like the above example you should be able to calculate when you’re the pathetic nit at the table losing all the money. In a 9 man Sit n Go like suggested above, I would suggest a 50% payoff is an amicable sign of competence. Anything above 60% is very good as you’re effectively beating every 2 players in the tournament.  Like I said, I wouldn’t want to use an ITM% for massive tournaments which you can receive 100% ITMs in and still make a loss.

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