My first live tournament!

Well I recently found out that a local bar was holding this poker tournament this coming Sunday http://www.lucorum.co.uk/poker_flyer.jpg

I've entered myself in it and am quite excited on the prospect of a potnetial big pay day!!

Some of the money is also going to charity so it's all for a good cause as well. Nothing like this has been arranged in my area before and I'm guessing there will be plenty of fish there that are new to the game

I consider myself to be a fairly competent online player however I have never played in a live tournament before!!!

Does anyone have any tips / advice for me going into the game??



G-man

In the early stages, play tight and try to get a sense of the other players playing styles. In the middle stages, adjust accordingly based on which players you are up against. In the final stages, get aggressive. Players always play tight in the later stages.

first time live.

Be prepared to be bored. You think it takes awhile to get a good hand playing online, it can be 1/2 hour to 45 min between really good starting hands. You will only see about 30-40 hands per hour vs 100-120 online. Adjust to the blind levels. If the blinds are 30 min, that is like 15 min blinds online.

Look at your cards on your turn.

Watch the 2 or 3 people to your left when they look at thier cards and see if you can tell if they will call/raise or fold. If you can tell, use it to help steal their blinds when you know they will fold.

Look at the 2-3 people to your right and see if you can tell when they have a good hand after the flop. They are the ones you will have position on and can outplay to win pots easier after the flop.

Bring a chip protector. As soon as your cards are dealt put something on your cards. When the others start to throw their cards in the middle you need to protect yours.

Wear sunglasses, ipod, and a hat pulled way down. Just cuase you will look cool. Just kidding. Just wear something comfortable becuase you can be there for 5-10 hours playing.

Eat something before you start. You don't know when you may get to eat something again.

Excellent advice titans and t1riel, I'm yet to play live even though I live a 5 minutes walk away from my local casino, will have to get the courage up for it. Good luck G-man, tell us how you get on!

before you play i have to say.. well don't play, my friend went to a bar for poker and is in jail for three months. besides that find the player giving away chips and take it from them. find a way to only turn over very strong hands.

make the other people at the table feel like they are at a home game, this will do two things. first lets you easily distinguish between the players there for a good time(looser mostly), and those there to win(tighter). second it creates camaraderie and that makes some of the weaker players feel bad for making moves from a psychological standpoint


goodluck

Watch the other people and pay attention the entire time. It's hard sometimes because the pace is far slower than online and it can get boring. The last time I played in a charity MTT there were 2 people at my table that had the worst tells. One smiled every time he got a hand and one guy would pick up his chips and act like he'd reraise when he didn't have a hand.

Remember weak = strong, and strong = weak. If they bet then lean on the table and glare at you they probably have a weak hand. If they bet then sit back, slump down and try to appear non threatening watch out.

Watch people PF when they get their cards. Many people look at their cards, prepare to muck them ( it's obvious ) then will play them when they can for cheap like in the SB.

Don't drink any alcohol while playing.

Be patient ! You'll go a LONG time in between playable hands because the pace is so much slower.

Well guy's, got back a few hours a go from the tournament and here is a summary of how it went!

Buy in £20
Entrants 40
Starting Chips 5000
Blinds Start 25/50
Blind's increase every 15 minutes
Rebuy one 5000 rebuy within 1st hour for £20

Summary:

Started off playing my usual game, tight / aggressive, got absoultely nothing for the 1st hour and a half while I watched donk after donk play from this guy who kept beating people with weak hands, calling everything down and amassing a huge chip lead, I re-bought just before the hour. Got down to about 3000 chips with blinds at 300/600 and went all in with A8, got called by calling station who had rags and doubled up. Shortly after a short stack went all in for about 3000 with KQ and I called holding KK and won the hand.

I now had about 9000 chips with blind's at 400/800 and got dealt aces, I raised 4000 and got a one caller. Flop came KK9, guy bet into me but seemed weak so I raised all in, he called and did'nt have a king, just an Ace rag.

So doubled up to about 18000, did'nt get any hands for a while then got dealt Ac Ks. Made a standard raise only to be called by donk calling station. Nightmare flop came J93 all hearts, guy bets 6000 into me and I fold.

Blind's were now 600/1200 and I had about 6900, came round to me and I had A10 suited and moved all in. To everyone in the rooms amazement Calling station calls with 93 os and hits a 9 on the river.......

finished 18th, my mates went out early doors and were cheering me on most of the game, enjoyed it and they gave everyone a free poker stars hat! They are running the tournament once every month so I'll be back for more next time. Frustrated how I went out but.... that's just how it goes sometimes!

Thanks all for the advice, helped out a lot.

G-man

Good Job! How many players were there? It sounds like you had a great time overall whihc is ALMOST as good as winning.

There were 40 players, seemed a lot more though because they drop much slower live! had a great time, I'd definately reccomend giving live play a go to anyone who has'nt tried it already.


G-man

How was the buffet ?

The buffet was excellent!

better than the poker in fact


G-man