Multi-day Tournament Advise sought

[slamdunkpro]

Managed to snag a seat in the WPT Borgata open this weekend. It will be my first major; – multi day, 10k chips to start.

Other than don’t go all in on the first hand, any tips from seasoned multi day players out there?

[sawil]

Not that I am a seasoned tournement player by any stretch, but I think the key is PATIENCE. Early on the blinds will be quite small compared to your stack so you will want to play more starting hands if you expect to see the flop cheaply ( small, medium pairs, suited connectors and the like). Dont hesitate to fold to reraises preflop or if flop doesnt fit you well. Depending on table, you may want to consider setting a certain image early on that may help you in later stages (you will probably be playing with same players for quite a while). I plan to play the smaller tourneys there and if I do well maybe Ill see you in the big one. Good luck

[Greg (FossilMan)]

Don't be afraid to go broke early. When you're still so far from the money, make the same decision you would make if this were a cash NLH game. If that means calling all-in with a draw because you have more than sufficient pot odds, then don't be afraid to do it.

So, for example, when the flop comes 9h8h3d, the opponent who's almost got to have AA pushes all-in for way more than the pot, and you're sitting there holding JhTh, go for it. You're the favorite to win. Similarly, if a bunch of money went in preflop with your AsKs, and now you get bet into on the flop of QsJs4h and are getting 2:1 on the call of the all-in, it's a call you have to make. No way you're a 2:1 dog here.

Of course, you'd rather be the one making the bet that puts THEM to the decision, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Since you lack experience compared to the opposition, you need to make sure you don't avoid a situation with positive chip EV just because the variance is high. In fact, against superior opponents, you should be glad to have a series of EV neutral coin tosses for a lot of chips, as you will be more likely to win this way than by playing a lot of small pots against better opponents.

Play with no fear, and think only about maximizing your chip EV, and you'll have some chance to win.

Or, here's another thought. I've seen below-average players win plenty of NLH tourneys. However, they've never been tight-below-average players. They've typically been very-aggressive-but-below-average players, who didn't hesitate to put in lots of action. These players go broke fast on a bad day, but make it far on their good days.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[slamdunkpro]

Greg,

Just a quick results response;

I decided based on your advise that there were two ways to go; 1) Play tight and try to skate into the money or 2) Play agressive and go for the win (take more chances than I normally would).

The first day I started out with my normal tournament routine and was up and down . As the day wore on and the field began to shrink I found myself leaning more and more to your advise. LOL! I made it into the second day.

240 players down to 100. I'm in the middle of the chip count and not too far off the pace. Played for a couple of rounds until my all-in full house was beaten by 4 queens on the river. But... great experience - You were right on! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]