Live MTT Questions

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chief5

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I started playing online a few months ago and I've been pretty middle of the road. Mainly playing micro stt sngs, and some cash games, for the most part my bankroll hasn't increased or decreased. Been wanting to play live, but never took the trip to the casino. I played in a fundraiser tournament(about 30 players) this weekend and ended up coming in 5th place(got my money back). Now I think I'll start trying out live mtt at the casino.

I don't have a huge bankroll, so I'd play once maybe twice a week at $30-$60 buy ins till I can start placing. I just have a few questions. Should I play at 20 min levels so I have more time to work? Any suggestions for books or articles before I start? The tournament I played in, a lot of players(especially at the beginning) were playing stuff like J5s, A4o, etc. Does this happen a lot at the casino? I played tight and aggressive the whole time, before going all in with KJs. Also, would you shove A9s on the bubble with 5 BB?
Thanks
 
wanderingthehall

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Many live players haven't seen the volume of hands you see online. And at the buy-ins your talking about, most of them are recreational players that aren't interested in strategy.

If you think you are one of the better players, then you want as long of blind levels as you can get, because the longer blind levels remove variance and reward the best players. However, if you're comparing tournaments and one has blinds that go up by a ridiculous amount each level vs. shorter levels but more gradual increases you will have to figure out what fits your style best.

I would definitely shove A9s on the bubble with 5bbs with just a couple of exceptions. If there was some major aggression from multiple players, or if there is a player all-in I would consider waiting.
 
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chief5

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So almost like playing micros online? Obviously not saying every player is like that, but just more that are trying to get lucky, and like you said aren't interested in strategy. If thats the case would it be better to start with a bigger bankroll so I don't have to deal with those players? Or just hope I can place in the money early on, giving me a chance to play higher buy ins every once in awhile?

I can only find how long the levels are, but not how much the blinds go up each level, so I'll just test out different tournaments. I'm curious to find out how many players are in each tournament.

Reason I ask about A9s is at the final table I'm the shortest stack with 6 players left and top 5 getting paid. I go all in A9 clubs and hit the A one the river, player who called had A8o. Next had I fold A9 hearts, flop has A, and the turn is a 9 haha.
 
Arjonius

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It's not what you asked, but one thing you should do before playing live MTTs is learn the rules that you don't have to know online because the software handles / prevents them. A couple of examples are acting out of turn and string-betting. There are quite a few more.
 
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chief5

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I will learn the rules best I can before I start playing. This was one of the things I was worried about in the fundraiser. Making sure BB was correct, minimum raises, and I should probably not look like I'm already gonna fold before its my turn to act.
 
wanderingthehall

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I'm sorry I didn't check back on this thread until now.

I would actually say there are better micro players online then there are good players at the buy-ins your talking about. Once you get to maybe the $60-$80 level it'll be equal to the micros. When I'm comparing skill levels, I'm considering how many players have a basic knowledge of fundamentals like hand selection, position, pot odds, etc. You still have crazier play at micros because the money is still way less than what you invest live, but the players don't necessarily know any more.

I can't really give you advice on bankroll, because I don't have much money to put into live poker. Online is all built through freerolls. I play live about every 2 months and I've never played anything much over $100. The cheaper tournaments are cheap, fast fun for me. It's got higher levels of variance, but I usually play for at least an hour and a half, and I would easily lose at least that much doing anything else in the casino. But some general rules of thumb is that anything tournament with less than 30 min levels will play like a turbo. I played a tournament last week with 10 min level and that was the equivalent of a hyper-turbo.

As far as learning etiquette before you go, I'm not sure how you would do that. I'm more the type that learns as I go along. I didn't even know how to play texas hold-em 10 minutes before my first tournament (live). My aunt paid my buy-in and explained the the basics, and off I went! If you make a few rookie mistakes, you won't be the first, and think of it as an advantage. People will assume you don't know how to play, when really you just don't have live experience. If you make rookie mistakes, stick to a TAG style for awhile because hopefully you'll get paid off for your value bets.
 
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