[Ulysses]

N,

I don't think you understood my point before. Let's say, for sake of argument, that I make $500/hr playing cash games. So, for me to enter a $10k tourney (including travel expenses let's say $12k), I have to play 24hrs of poker.

I am not a big fan of tournaments, but like to play them from time to time. However, 24 hours of my time (two weeks or more worth of poker for me) is not worth it for the value I personally would get from playing that tournament (combination of fun and EV).

But, if I can play that tournament by investing a few hundred dollars and a few hours in a satellite one evening, that's something I'm willing to do. Obviously, I only have an x% chance of winning, but that's fine. I either win and play or don't win and don't.

I only think your reasoning applies if someone is definitely going to play in the tournament and is going to keep playing satellites until they win a seat. In that case, it makes the most sense to play whatever option is the highest EV for you.