Ok. As most know already, I play mostly on RoyalVegas with a very limited BR. I usually haunt the .75/.25 SnG's trying to build my BR and I've been doing decent (slowly building up but not quick enough for me ). I recently noticed a $2/.20 MTT SnG that takes 15 people. I figured with the bigger payout and the fact that I had to only go through 5 more people (top 3 pay in both) to get into the money, it would be a better value for me.

The first one I played in, I freaked a little. Instead of being at a full 10 person table (or close, I figured with 15 people they would start a table with 8 and one with 7) I was at a table with 5 people. Unfortunately, this is my weakest game.

I do decent at full tables and fairly good short handed (3 or less) but with 5 people there and the bubble still far off, I wasn't sure how to play. Usually when I'm in a SnG, by the time it gets to 5 people, everybody is playing Bubble poker and it's fairly easy for a TA to loosen up and take some blinds and survive through the popping. That's not the case here.

I did fairly well in the first one I played (3rd place for $6), but I wasn't very comfortable. I've played several since and have been knocked out around 10th-6th every time. When I get low on money, I go back to the STT SnG's to build it back up.

My questions (I'm sure everybody has been waiting ):
1) Is this a normal format?
2) Is this format beatable consitantly?
3) What changes to a normal stratagy should be made to compensate for the fewer players. (The tables are always kept at 5 people or less).

I know that the Tourneys are not the best way to build a BR, but I have no where near enough to play at the ring tables and I've been down the road of playing ring with too small of a BR and lost it all.

Please keep in mind that right now, I play poker mainly for the entertainment value and real money tables are more fun the play money, but I don't have the money to invest in a real BR yet. I'm still a very novice player but I'm learning and I've seen my game improve 10fold since joining this forum and the everybody has been very helpful so far. Thanks in advance for any imput.

Yes, it's new.

Yes, it's consistently beatable -- anything is -- but it's not nearly as much so as a regular game. Still fun though.

Changes? It depends on the table. Most likely though, play is going to be fairly loose at the $2 level, and you can tighten up, since your big hands are likely to get paid off if you just wait for them.