first live tournament

im going to AC probably wed. to play nin my first live tournament. it will also be my first trip to AC or any casino. not sure where im going to play. Any advice on Ac or a live tourney?

I've never been to AC, but some tips for live play:

- Don't look at your cards until it's your turn to act.
- Make sure to pay attention to the action at the table and don't act out of turn.
- Listen to the house rules they'll go over briefly before it starts.
- Tip the dealer (5-10% is standard) if you make it into the money.
- Don't show your cards after you've won a pot unless it goes to showdown or you have another compelling reason, and don't let people get reads on what kind of player you are by chatting you up too much.

Have fun!

Live tourney advice- I've known a few people that get jittery when they're around a lot of people. Shaky hands, twitchy eyes, or just the way they talk. Take Ginko Biloba, it clears the mind and generally will calm a person down.

good luck dude!

this is me! I play live so much but I still shake for like the 1st couple hours when I play. Its the adrenaline pumping, plus the freaking casinos are always so cold to me.

i never noticed that, until u mentoined it. im glad u said that one, i would have been looking ta my cards right when i got them

got a funny story about this actully, was in the TAJ nightly turbo $35+$15 (lol look at that rake).

my buddie and I had drawn the exact same table so were were trash talking each other and play was horrible. I looked at my cards as soon as they were dealt real quick QQ.....

I grabbed a handful of chips no idea how much it was and threw them in middle and said I raise this much. Dealer counted them out and declared the raise and some dude shoved. I called saying I was calling you blind because I had a feeling. I flipped up my QQ and table exploded going crazy saying how crazy that was. NO ONE at table knew I looked at my cards, after hand some dude said you seriously didnt look to which I said of course I did im not a moron or something along those lines

good times.

One concept I don't understand is not looking at your cards before it's your turn. Now, mind you I've only played live against real strangers one time (and I looked when I got them), but when I play online I take the time before my action to evaluate the action in front of me and use my cards in consideration of what to do when it gets to me. If I were to look at them when it got to me I'm afraid I'd take too long to think about it and it may become a tell of some sort.

So, what is the point of looking at your cards when it's your turn?

Everyone is looking atyou, so they see you see your own cards.

because you want to see everyones reaction to their own cards, we dont care if they see us look at ours because we are good and wont react no matter what we hold.

most new or bad players can not control themselves its uncontrollable they will react to what they are holding.

hahaha

Yep, though there are some differences of opinion. The great majority of pros and good players say not to look at your cards until action is on you, but Joe Navarro (retired FBI guy and poker tells author) says it's better to look before all eyes are on you so your reaction can't be scrutinized as closely. I guess for individuals whose reactions are transparent, looking early could be best -- but if that's the case, you need to worry about all your other moves as well.

The Bishop's comments/structural analysis of AC tournaments here.

In theory, it's supposed to prevent you from sending subconscious (and unnoticeable) tells to people who are supposed to act before you. This way, those people will have decided what they want to do preflop without picking anything up from you (you can't have a tell if you don't know your cards).

From Gordon's Little Green Book (p.26):
"I never look at my cards before it is my turn to act. I find that if I look at my hand as soon as the cards are dealt, I am often uninterested in the action if I have a bad hand and overly interested if I have a good hand. Players who are paying attention can easily pick up this tell and use it against me when deciding if they should play their hands.
Waiting until it's my turn to act before looking at my cards also helps me to stay focused on what everyone els is doing. By concentrating on how each opponent acts before the flop, I often pick up valuable information that helps me later in the hand and in the game."

I can attest to the first paragraph for sure. In vegas there was a guy on my left (acting after me) who looked at his cards right away. You could easily tell if he was going to play or not. I was able to fold steals that I otherwise would have attempted, and basically got the button twice per round when I knew he was folding.

i went to AC, played at the taj mahal started with 5k in chips 65 people in it! i had a strategy i was going to play tigh and patient, wait for rally good hands and play them agressive and try n steal a few pots as SB or BB! i was nervous as hell for about 30-45 minutes! i got AA early on...won a big pot took out my first person live...... was up to 9k! i won blinds with 88! so here we are 2 hours in ive played 4 hands! i have about 7k left! blinds 300/600 ante 100! i look at my cards AA...wooohooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i raise up to 3k (i wanted 1 caller or take the pot here) i have 1 person thinbking about it, 2 others r ready to fold.......i thought i heard her says she raises..... i get excited andf announce all in..... she was just asking how much i raised......oops! she thinks some more and calls, other 2 fold! i fighuring she has KK or QQ! flop 2h 10h 8d.......i got almost half my chips in 2 hearts on baord... no k or Q.....all in! she calls instantly...................1010...turn n river no help! i go out at 30/65 i had fun and hell i had AA twice in my 1st tourney! that makes up for no good hands besides the 2 AA and 1 88....the next best hand i had was A8s

I have been playing live tournaments at the Borgata.

I find it to be a great place to play. There is lots of space, and great service.

I play the 11AM tournament. It has a $50 + 10 buyin with $50 addon after the third level (1 hr). The initial buyin is 5000 chips, and the addon also 5000. Seventy five percent of the persons starting participate in the add on.

When I played, there have been from 135 to 215 players. The 215 was during the week between Christmas and New Years.

I have played about five times. Twice during the week, and the rest on Sunday. I would say the play is a little better during the week.

Of course, five data points is not enough to make the statement I just made...

I have seen the poker room at the Taj. To me it felt tight. That is, there were a lot of people in a small space.

it felt a little tight to me.... I was going to play at borgata..... but i seen there was a big tournament there..... so i decided on the taj......i live 5 hours away so this was a once a year thing for me