Advice for 1st live NL tournament?

[paulrq]

I'm going to be playing in my first live NL tournament this weekend in AC at the Trop on Fri night. Buy-in is $100, and I can't wait.

Is there any advice anyone could offer for someone going into their first live NL tournament. I've played plenty of NL tournaments online, and have won a couple big multi-tables with buyins of $5, $10, and $20. This is the first time I'll be playing NL without a mouse and a slide bar, though, and I'm not prepared to make a donation to the winners' circle. Any advice anyone could offer would be really appreciated.

To put it another way, what do you wish someone had told you before your first live NL experience?

Thanks,
Paul

[Myrtle]

For my first NL tournament? I wish someone had told me:

- You can't win the tournament at the 1st table/in the first hour.

- Unless it's a rebuy tournament, you can't go back into your pocket for $$, so don't play marginal edge hands early on.

- Don't try to take it ALL in the first time. There's too much going on. Focus on one or two players at a time.

- Assuming that you know no one at the table, get a fix on starting hands/position play of the players. This info will become extremely valuable to you as the tournament progresses.

Good Luck!!!

[Greg (FossilMan)]

Take an extra second or two for every decision, even the blatantly obvious ones.

While the dealer is shuffling the cards, think about what you might/should do if everyone folds to you. Sometimes you will realize that the blinds are so tight that you should raise with any two cards as it will be a +EV play.

When you find yourself facing a really tough decision, take plenty of time. What I like to do is think through the hand, imagine somebody else posted it here on 2+2, and then decide what I would write if I were replying to them. Then I do it.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[paulrq]

Great posts so far...some of this would probably help me out in even my online games.

One other question...how will the competition at the Trop in AC in the Fri night, $100 buyin NL event compare to the competition in an online NL tournament with low buyins of $10 or $20? Should I expect people to play mediocre hands? Should I expect the usual couple of allins early on from people trying to build up a stack? I usually profit in the online games heavily by calling players who go allin preflop with marginal hands (in an effort to win the blinds). What sort of preflop betting strategy should I concentrate on, and what sort of hands should I be willing to go allin on?

This question might be too broad, but if anyone has anything they think might help, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Paul

[sdplayerb]

I sometimes too make calls online to big allins after somebody has done it a few times.
This will not likely work in a bigger tourney, nor is it likely to even come up early.

I don't know the blinds structure, but don't play marginal hands early just hoping to steal the blinds, as the risk is to big for the reward.

One thing I like to do is not look at my cards until it is my turn and before I look make up in my mind what I will do with different possible hands i could have, then follow that.

I agree with Greg on stealing later with any two cards. If you are in late position with no play and you know there are two rocks without huge stacks, make a play for it. Especially if this can add 20%+ to your stack.

One more is if you are last to act on the river and have a hand that will likely win, just check. you are likely in a position where he will only call if he has you beat, so trying to force him out has negative EV as you will win nothing but could lose a lot.

Good luck!

SD

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Don't drink too much water, soda, coffee, etc in the two hours before the tournament starts. It's tough to concentrate with a full bladder. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I just played my first two live tournaments this week; the weekly NL tourneys at Foxwoods and Mohegan. These are rebuy structures, so it was helpful that I already had learned (here on 2+2) to be aware that the style of play will change after the first break. One thing I tried to do was see if I could identify the pecking order at the table. One thing that you can pick up on is how people react to being short-stacked. With some you can literally see the wind come out of their sales. Others you can see buckle down and play better.

I'm still new to this, but I made the money in both events (12th at FW, 9th at Mohegan), and I'm aware enough to know that one final table doesn't make me Doyle Brunson.

Trust your abilities and you'll be fine. Q'PlaGH

[Moose]

Sometimes, you will be stared at for over a minute, people trying to probe a reaction out of you. Have something set to do when it becomes obvious that your opponent is waiting for you to tip your hand.

For instance, find a chip in the pot and stare at it, and keep reading the words on the outside, or think of the lyrics to your favorite song, or better yet, replay how the hand went, try and figure out what your opponent might have and what he would do with those hands. Keep doing this until your opponent makes their action - the dealer will alert you when this happens, so no worries.

Have a good pat answer if anyone asks you about what your hand is. Even I flubbed up when someone guessed my exact hole cards. Now, all questions get answered with some variant on "Wouldn't *you* like to know?"

Finally, try betting the same way. Have a script. Imagine that making a bet was some arcane five-step procedure that a foreign diplomat would follow as closely as possible to avoid insulting his host.

"Deception through consistency" is a good starting strategy for a beginning NL player, and probably one that many advanced players use too!

M.

[KDF]

Don't forget to verbally anounce your raises and the amount. Don't just put your stacks out without saying anything, it really irritates people and you'll get warned by the dealer or floor if you keep doing it.

If it helps, bring a computer mouse along and keep it on the table infront of you. When you want to see the rest of the hand for free start clicking it madly and say, "come on!...please!, not with these cards...disconnected again!...oh well, I guess I'm all in". After the hand is over, then check with the floor to reset your all-ins. If anything, this will create a 'myterious' image.

[Moose]

At the last NL tourney I played at, I mused over how it must be a divine gift to be able to call out the amount of a raise before making it, since many players who have been playing for years and years seemed incapable of doing so.

I like the "disconnect all-in" idea, maybe instead you could just fake a complete neural breakdown and collapse face-first in a limp heap on the table. If I keel over dead in the middle of a hand, my buddies are under strict instructions to make a side pot, "just in case"...

M.