Live tournament visit decision

Hello

I am new to this forum, and as you can see I never wrote here before. But today I had a little problem which can be resolved only w/ help from experienced users. Here is the deal:

Very soon Tallinn will be held BPT (balticpokertour.net had some info). I am Russian but have visas and stuff to make a visit @ this series. But the problem is - I don't know is it worth it (cause Im low/micro stakes online grinder) in terms of living/flight spendings. I have no friends in Estonia, but the Russian-speaking forums saying that this series will probably have had overlay... So basically, I have no experience in estimate such series, but I know that it is new one, and perhaps would not be too popular among the players, etc. How to decide is it worth it?

Prior to the start of the series is very little time - I crosspost this message on multiple forums, hoping to get some advice. Thanks guys.

If you're thinking of buying into the tournament, the total cost including travel, accommodation etc. will probably be too much for a micro player's bankroll unless you decide to ignore BRM, which isn't a good idea even if you're sure there will be a big overlay.

The obvious way to get around this is to try to win a satellite package, which should cover cost of the entire trip including entry, flights, hotel, etc.

Hi Arjonius. Thanks for reply.

The problem is - Im totally unexpierenced live tournament player, which has an opportunity to visit Tallin for playing. All exps are ok for my bankroll, but I wanna make this trip profitable as much, as it possible... So my point is: how to determine the quality of new unnamed tournament series? And what position in the "food chain" and what cons/pros can be found in there for the average player like me.

I know, it's pretty hard to answer, so - thanks for attention a lot.

I don't have any advice, I just wanted to say welcome to the forum and good luck.

Avril114th said:

Hi Arjonius. Thanks for reply.

The problem is - Im totally unexpierenced live tournament player, which has an opportunity to visit Tallin for playing. All exps are ok for my bankroll, but I wanna make this trip profitable as much, as it possible... So my point is: how to determine the quality of new unnamed tournament series? And what position in the "food chain" and what cons/pros can be found in there for the average player like me.
I know, it's pretty hard to answer, so - thanks for attention a lot.

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You are going to have to do some research and find out. The first time I did something like this I had to make the decision based on the fact that more times than not you will finish large fields out of the money. So my decision was based on feeling it was time to get the experience and pay for it. If I moneyed, great. if not, I paid for the experience with the intention of doing more. (I finished 6 off the bubble) I would have to assume the quality would not be incredibly high and would be more concerned with the size. But only research will help determine it.
I would look at who is putting it on and backing it. How well connected are they? Are they going to draw top players in the world or is more of a regional thing? Is this the first one ever? If so it will probably not be a huge deal. If they have done this before then look online for past results and field sizes, as well as familiar names. I went to the website but it was a blank page on my side. I was wanting to see if they are using any pros to promote - say like if there was a picture set of Negreanu, Hellmuth, Ivey, Mercier, Lamb, etc - well then they are probably pretty connected and attracting good quality (but not necessarily). if there is a picture of Darvin Moon by himself (sorry Darvin) then you can figure it is quite a bit lower rent. No celebrity endorsement? It's probably just a big ass regional tourney attracting fish from the area.

But if you are willing to invest just for the experience, then by all means give it a go. Try to get some live experience before you leave.

Since you can afford to go, I think you should seriously consider it. If not this tournament, then another one that interests you. But as MediaBlitz says, go mainly for the experience, and if you win some money, consider it a nice bonus. Assuming the tournament will pay about 10% of the field, the odds of cashing are not great for anyone.

Otoh, I've only played one big buyin live tournament (3000 euros), which I got into by winning a satellite package, so I can't speak to paying my way out of my pocket. However, I think my experience was better than if I'd gone on my own. I won my package on Titan, which had 18 players there, so they sent a couple of people to host us, arranged two group dinners, set up the chance to have drinks and speak with Sorel Mizzi (which I had to skip because I was still playing), a champagne celebration when one guy cashed, etc. Also, because I was there as part of a group, it was easy to have other players to and hang around with.

In terms of the quality of the field, Doyle and Todd Brunson were the big US names, and there were lots of strong Europeans. However, I was pleasantly surprised not to feel badly outclassed at my table even though it included a WPT winner who subsequently won that tournament the year after (luckily he was on my right). But many of the others had satellited in too, and I could also see from talking with them and/or from watching them play online that quite a few weren't far above my level.

Hi folks.

Many thanks to all of you and especially for those, who shared experience -- unlikely I finally decide to go on this series without advices last mentioned.

So, yes, I decide to go. Right now Im pack my bags and haven't enought time to discuss, so here is the list of expenses:

Road [both ways] = €400
Living [7 nights @ cheap hotel] = €350
Fun = €400

Warm Up - €440
Sat to ME = €220 x 2
Big Event = €880
Omaha freez = €220
Knockout = €330

Moneys for cash games = €540
_____________________________________
Total: €4000 [I got stacked for 50% of this total].

... so, wish me luck Hope/counting on run hot and spend time with pleasure. See you later.

I hope you're enjoying yourself and look forward to seeing how your trip went, not just the results, but also what you thought about the entire experience.

Arjonius said:

I hope you're enjoying yourself and look forward to seeing how your trip went, not just the results, but also what you thought about the entire experience.

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And what you might do different (if anything) next time.