Prep Strategies for Live EPT Tourney in Monaco - Ideas?

Hi all,

Well I've won an entry into the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monaco. 90% of the poker I play is online, and I have 13 weeks to prepare to give this my best shot. I plan to play live no limit tournaments and to research the players that will be there. I also want to discover if I have tells, and how to defeat my tells. In addition to those items, what are some other steps I can take to ensure I can give it the best shot and maximize this opportunity?


Thanks for any feedback!

Cordially,
Pokernewbie

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I plan to play live no limit tournaments

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This will likely help a good deal, for various reasons.

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and to research the players that will be there.

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I wouldn't waste much of my time with this.

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I also want to discover if I have tells, and how to defeat my tells.

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There's certainly some value in this, but it takes time and practice -- I wouldn't make this my main focus (although I would spend some time on it).

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Other things:

- Buy/read Caro's Book of Poker Tells if you haven't already -- corrolary to studying your's/other's tells.

- If possible, arrive a few days early so you can get your sleep schedule on track and survey the casino where you'll be playing -- finding the restrooms and places where you can get some food/a drink, and more generally, feeling comfortable in and around the poker room/casino will help immensely. But I would make arriving a few days early (again, if possible) one of my first priorities -- it's easy to over-look getting a good night's rest/eating well, but in my experience, this is vitally important. Don't get drunk or play cash games late the night before the tournament begins. However, given that European casinos have different rules, playing chips, etc. it may help to familiarize yourself with such things if at all possible -- and I think the best way to do this is to get some live action in before the EPT event (but like I said, try to arrive early enough so that you won't be sacrificing sleep to do this); again, this is related to getting there early and feeling comfortable.

- Lastly, while it's understandable you'd like to maximize your opportunity, keep your expectations reasonable and don't forget to enjoy the periphery things (Monaco, for instance!) both before the tournament begins and after you get busted (assuming, of course, you don't win [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]).

No one likes going bust, and it would be easy to let a bad tournament experience ruin what would otherwise be an amazing trip to Monaco/Europe. Try not to let this happen, lest you let your frustration over the tournmant ruin your trip - which I think would be a real shame, and something you would likely come to regret later. This certainly isn't to say you will have a bad tournament experience - but should the worst occur in the tournament, don't let it sour the rest of your trip.

Awesome, very good comments, thank you.