Early WSoP tactics for Dead Money

[luvrhino]

I have a seat in the Main Event this year thanks to the generosity of EmpirePoker. However, i'm severely out of practice since i can't look at a computer screen long enough to play a Sit & Go, let alone a multi-table tourney. Even when in practice, the strategy i used to win the 248-player tourney to win a seat on EmpirePoker isn't tenable against players that know what they're doing. Early in the tourney, i played very tight. I made a lot of Limit-style bets when i did play, in part because i was comparatively more familiar with Limit, but also because i had such monster hands that i was afraid i wouldn't get any customers, otherwise. After getting called down or bluffed back at with these monsters early, i later was able to steal blinds and pots with small bets...my opponents being afraid what could lurk behind such small bets. If i was played back at, i could release my hand without having risked much. Needless to say, being able to successfully bluff with small bets an awesome position to be in, but that simply won't work among the non-clueless.

Thus, i need strategy advice for the WSoP. I've read and reviewed Mr. Sklansky's TPfAP and intend on reading Harrington on Hold'em. I still plan on being mostly quite tight, especially early. Along those lines, i know not to risk my stack to on small advantages.

However, if i have a big-time professional at my starting table, i'll know that he similarly doesn't want to risk his tourney early on coin-flips...especially with all this Dead Money out there. I think i should exploit this fact, given the opportunity. If heads-up against one of these pros, i think it'd be a good idea for me to raise All-in when it appears to be a toss-up, realizing that should muck.

Of course, it can be hard to determine when, exactly, it is a toss-up and that i know the Big Time Pro realizes this as well. Though, let's say on the first hand of the WSoP i have K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] out of one of the blinds, BTP limps from early position, and the flop comes J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I check-raise BTP and he re-raises to around t1500. At this point, i figure that there's no way i'm going to out-play a professional on the Turn and River while out of position on my ginormous draw and that, no matter what he has, he can't feel very secure about his hand, whether it be a set, two-pair, OESD, nut-flush draw, or whatever. Thus, i should just go All-in, since he really shouldn't call. In fact, i'd almost want to expose my hand (if legal(?)), to show him that even if he has a set, he's no more than a 57% or 58% favorite (i think) and that he should muck(?). Well, at least Phil Helmuth would muck...and then brag about this great laydown for the rest of his life.

The theory behind exposing being that i don't want a coin-flip either, but want to encourage him to fold a slight favorite. I wouldn't usually lose any equity, since there's no way a pro would call an All-in bet here without a set. However, there's a slight possibility that he'd call All-in with A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]X[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (especially 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] or 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]), when he would have folded otherwise, but that seems rather remote.

I realize that i couldn't try this gambit too often, because i'll run into a situation where i think it's a coin-flip and it turns out i'm a huge dog. However, i'm curious of the general opinion of such a play for pseudo-Dead Money vs. a solid professional?

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My other question is how does table break-ups work at the WSoP Main Event? How much in advance would i know that my table's being broken up, if at all? Also, do tables get adjusted at every opportunity to eliminate a table or do they do several at once?

I assume everyone's reshuffled before Day 2, but i also assume that i may be at the same table throughout Day 1?