Differences when playing only STTs

While playing only STTs (single-table tournaments) while I do some bankroll building, I'm discovering that it changes a lot of things in my poker routine.

First, my hours don't have to be planned as carefully. When playing a large MTT (multitable tournament), I have to have a large block of time (5 hours or more) available.  Playing an STT, I can sit down and play any time I have about 90 minutes free.

Second, I play on PokerStars, so frequent player points (FPPs) come into play. When I play a tournament entry fee, most of that money goes into the tournament prize pool, but a small percentage (often around 10%, sometimes more or less than that) goes to PokerStars.  I don't want to get too detailed, but a percentage of what I pay PokerStars to play is returned to me in the form of FPPs.

FPPs can be used for a lot of things, from merchandise in the PokerStars store to cash rewards.  The key here is that STT players turn tables over (enter new tournaments) a lot faster than MTT players, so I'm getting a lot more points than I used to.  From studying the FPP system, I've learned that there are ways to maximize the number of FPPs you can get.

The PokerStars FPP system counts points by the month as well as by the year.  This determines your VIP level, which has an effect on your total amount of points.  For example, if you get 750 points in any one month, you get a multipler in the following month.  If I was to get 750 FPPs in February, my March points would be multiplied by 1.5, so my 750 FPPs would actually become 750 X 1.5 = 1,125 points.  So, it might pay for someone to spend one month doing a lot of studying, and another month mostly playing, so that he can hit a certain VIP level and increase the multiplier.  I've done the math, and figured out that if I did something like this, I could probably get 750 in a one-month shot if I spent 90% of my time playing, and saved up most of the studying and administrative work for the next month.

Income taxes are coming up, so having a playing-only month in February isn't realistic, but it's something to think about for the future.  Even as an MTT player, I might consider an STT-only month sometime in the future, just to get a quick infusion of points, plus the multiplier for the following month.

Even playing nothing but STTs for a month, I wouldn't get a huge number of points.  Points grow with the hours you put in, the number of simultaneous tables you can play, and the dollar amount you are paying to enter a tournament.  I don't play a lot of tables, and I'm only playing at the $1 level.

However, as the stakes get higher and/or you play more tables, the VIP rewards can get pretty interesting.  A few years ago Dario Minieri, a player from Italy, was the first to play enough high-stakes STTs in one year to win a free Porche.

I don't have aspriations like that, especially since I still plan to play mostly MTTs once I boost my bankroll a bit.  But still, while I'm playing STTs, it's a consideration.  I got two $10 bounuses last year, playing mostly at the $1 level and playing a mix of small and large tournaments, and I don't see any reason why I couldn't get  3 or 4 bonuses next year.  Even as an MTT specialist, smaller tournaments will probably always be a part of the mix, when I want to play and I don't have a 5-6 hour block of time available.