Questions for casino tournament players

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ph_il

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So, I want to start playing casino MTTs and I have some questions for those who play them frequently.

1. Since I'm new to casino tournaments, should I start off with small buy-ins to get my feet wet?

Most small buy-in tournaments look like they have really poor structures, but I found one I like and am interested in playing.

$55 buy-in
500 starting stack
5-10 blinds, 15 min levels
50 max seats
No rebuy/No re-entry
$500 added to prize pool

50 BBs starting is a bit eh, but I feel comfortable playing that stack size. I feel like this tournament will play like a (hyper?) turbo 45 man SNG. What I do like is the no rebuy/rentry and the added money to the prize pool, which you don't see too often in low buy-in tournaments. It's also in a good location, only 20 min away from me.

It's also very easy on my wallet. I don't have a live poker BR, but I do have a steady income I can use to play and try to build a BR. $55 is something I can afford and I can comfortably play this MTT 1-2x a month.

2. Or is it better to play larger buy-in tournaments with better structures and bigger prize pool?

I have found casinos about 2-3 hour driving distances that offer tournaments with $125-$300 buy-in and 10K GTD-40K GTD prize pool. Their structure is also much better with deep starting stacks and 30-40 min blind levels.

$125-$300 doesn't sound like a lot, but it's more than I can afford to spend on a regular basis. If I were to save up for these games, I'd be playing these less frequently than the $55 buy-in. Also, 2-3 hours of driving doesn't sound fun and, again, I have to take that into consideration. There are local casinos much closer with similar buy-ins, but they offer much smaller prize pools.

I'm also very intimidated by the size of the buy-in and feel like I'd be playing very scared, especially it being my first tournament.

3. So, if you were in my position, would you rather play the $55 more frequently, but it has a poor tournament structure or the bigger buy-in + larger prize pool less frequently, but with the much better structures? For those who do play casino tournaments, did you start off playing the lower buy-in games?

4. I do know we have a staking section on this forum, which I could use to possibly get some backers for the larger buy-in, GTD tournaments. While I have thought about it many times, I feel silly asking for a stake for something I have no experience with. I would like to use in the future, but-assuming I play the $55-how many tournaments should I have under my belt before I request a stake? And is it best that I show some type of profit as well before making a request?
 
bprpm

bprpm

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It depends of your experience in poker, your confidence in your game, your bankroll is the most important thing....
Play it live is more expensive, so make sure u don0t loose a big part of bankroll remember a lot of weak players plays in live you'll see a lot limps... Be carefull....
Make sure is profitable for you to play that type of tournament, if is profitable for you, you confidence with your game and u have bankroll for that, go for it...
For the type of tournament if your new to poker, or new to poker live just begin with the smaller fields smaller buy in, more players, more money, the chance of u win is less, in smaller fields you'll play with some fisg players that's good, a bigger buy win, we found a lot of better playeres....
I recommend the smaller buy in..
Good tournament for you!
 
darkelf1

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i started myself with 200 bucks bankroll , buy-ins . 1-5 usd . playing 100-2kMTTS
 
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ph_il

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It depends of your experience in poker, your confidence in your game, your bankroll is the most important thing....
Play it live is more expensive, so make sure u don0t loose a big part of bankroll remember a lot of weak players plays in live you'll see a lot limps... Be carefull....
Make sure is profitable for you to play that type of tournament, if is profitable for you, you confidence with your game and u have bankroll for that, go for it...
For the type of tournament if your new to poker, or new to poker live just begin with the smaller fields smaller buy in, more players, more money, the chance of u win is less, in smaller fields you'll play with some fisg players that's good, a bigger buy win, we found a lot of better playeres....
I recommend the smaller buy in..
Good tournament for you!
Well, I don't have the actual bankroll with me. Assume good BRM for live games is 100 buy-ins, for the $55 tournament, I would need $5500. I dont have that, but I do have a steady income that allows me to play 1-2x a month. For the bigger buy-ins, I can save up for them, but can play them less frequently.

I'm not new to poker. Been playing for a while, mostly micros online with nothing to show for it. Live, I play a lot of house game tournaments which I do really well at. The only casino experience I have is playing 200nl cash games, which I do really well at. I really want to build a cash game BR and I'm hoping binking a few tournaments can really help with that. I don't have any casino tournament experience and that really intimidates me.
 
ribaric

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Well i think its better to play large buy ins. If you get ITM on larger buy in its almost like you got to 2 last tables of small buy in tournament. I like 30 min blinds cuz althought the tournament last longer its a better chance to wait for a good card and get double up.
 
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ph_il

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Well i think its better to play large buy ins. If you get ITM on larger buy in its almost like you got to 2 last tables of small buy in tournament. I like 30 min blinds cuz althought the tournament last longer its a better chance to wait for a good card and get double up.
That's true with the longer blinds. 15 min blinds at live poker means I'll probably be seeing 4-5 hands max per level. And given the 50BB starting stack, it's going play like a hyper turbo.
 
bprpm

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Well, I don't have the actual bankroll with me. Assume good BRM for live games is 100 buy-ins, for the $55 tournament, I would need $5500. I dont have that, but I do have a steady income that allows me to play 1-2x a month. For the bigger buy-ins, I can save up for them, but can play them less frequently.

I'm not new to poker. Been playing for a while, mostly micros online with nothing to show for it. Live, I play a lot of house game tournaments which I do really well at. The only casino experience I have is playing 200nl cash games, which I do really well at. I really want to build a cash game BR and I'm hoping binking a few tournaments can really help with that. I don't have any casino tournament experience and that really intimidates me.

Hi....
I'm not a regular in live poker, i remember my first hand i was playing to tigh, and my hands shaking, in resume the blinds eat me ahahhaha
If you're good in live with friends and that experience in cash, good for it...
You need to start one day... But i recomend the lower buy ins but the strucutre sucks....... But its up to you, and sorry, you're a cardschat frequent member, i dont saw that, so i just syaing in the previously post if u are new, sorry you're a regular.....
Go for it :D
 
Jillychemung

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IMHO grinding that $55 tournament to build a larger roll is the way I'd go. The added $$ is sweet and honestly I doubt the play is much worse than most of the $300 tournaments. Get comfortable with live play thru this tournament and then take a shot at a $125er and work your way up to a $300 or $500.

As for the staking, all I can say is to try it. For a live stake you will need a bit of a rep as far as trackable results or having played live with other CC'ers. FWIW I would probably take a flyer on ya if you did post a stake request.
 
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ph_il

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As for the staking, all I can say is to try it. For a live stake you will need a bit of a rep as far as trackable results or having played live with other CC'ers. FWIW I would probably take a flyer on ya if you did post a stake request.
That's a lot of confidence in a player with no casino tournament experience. It's much appreciated, but quite a surprise.

I have a request for a cash game stake. If that doesn't get approved, I'll request an MTT stake.
 
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