Main event "get chips early" logic skewed

[huntsky]

This is just my opinion, and it was my starategy. There was no need to rush out and try to establish a large stack early.

With the blinds going up every 1.75 hours, the number of hands seen was very large. Out of those hands, you are going to have the best of it, and with loose aggressive players, you will get paid. the tournament is so long, you have plenty of time to build a stack. Once the blinds get to 3000- 6000 with 1000 ante, things change and you can make a move for the final table. A few of the name pros in the top 20 started out strong, but if you look at their end of day 2 chip counts, you see they made moves on days 3 and 4.

Thoughts?

[TomCollins]

How many hands do you think you see in 1.75 hours? My best guess is 40 at most. Also, you think your opponents won't realize you haven't played a hand all day? then all of a sudden you raise? So you steal blinds and are barely even. You won't get paid most of the time.

[sekrah]

Not sure..

After Day 2 (4th Day actually), with 571 left. Everybody who reached the final table was in the top 1/2 in chip stacks, Half were in the Top 100 at this point of the tournament.

[burningyen]

I had read estimates that you see about 40 hands/hr.

[Matt R.]

I think the main reason pros like to build a big stack early or bust out is because of the side games. They stand to win more money in the side games then if they play patiently and try to maximize their tournament winnings. They're playing for the big score in the main event, not just to make the money -- otherwise they're actually losing money in terms of $/hour. If you're trying to just maximize your tournament winnings though, I think you're right about trying to be patient being the best strategy.

[Quicksilvre]

I would guess 35 hands/hr, for 60 hands (six orbits) per level.

[TomCollins]

You are WAY too high on your estimation. First, people will take 1-2 minutes on tough decisions. Second, I don't think B&M dealers can deal much above 30 hands per hour, even with the amount of blind stealing that happens. Then, accounting for the occasional long hand. If you have HDOG at your table, you could see as few as 10 hands per level.

[whiskeytown]

I sent an email early on in 2004 when I was setting up tournament software - hit a few pros -

general consensus is 30 hands/hr, I think at BEST... - some go real fast, some don't.

RB

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
You are WAY too high on your estimation. First, people will take 1-2 minutes on tough decisions. Second, I don't think B&M dealers can deal much above 30 hands per hour, even with the amount of blind stealing that happens. Then, accounting for the occasional long hand. If you have HDOG at your table, you could see as few as 10 hands per level.

[/ QUOTE ]

Didn't you play at the WSOP?

Can't someone (like, half of 2+2) who played in the WSOP comment on this.

I heard it was like 20 hands/hr max

[runnerunner]

The main reason for the "Get chips early" logic is that in the Main Event there are a lot of bad players who are going to do stupid things and dump chips. Good players want to play a lot of pots and have a chance to get these chips before the other good players have them and they become much harder to get.

The biggest mistake I saw bad players make in this year was getting too aggressive when they got short on chips. Pushing from MP with AJ when they still had enough for 10 rounds, for example. Pros generally target the two or three worse players at the table and will play a LOT of pots in position against them to try and get their money.