Benefits of arriving early to a poker tournament (before it starts) ?

[Pokerstudy]

I can think of two reasons why this is a great idea, and I am sure there are many more.

1. You get to select the best chair. If you arrive late, you get the chair that is there, and that is just that. Sounds silly, but some of those chairs are just worn out and sketchy...
2. You have the option to request a specific seat # at the table. There are advantages of having a specific seat # at a poker table and if you get to choose, you are one step ahead IMO.

What are other advantages?

 

[Emily Trott]

For me I get most places early because the older I get the more I become like my parents and my father always said, "You can't be right on time. You are either early or you are late, and you want to be early." An advantage for me is that I'm not rushed so I will be totally relaxed when the tournament starts.

 

[takinitSLEAZEE]

I can think of two reasons why this is a great idea, and I am sure there are many more.

1. You get to select the best chair. If you arrive late, you get the chair that is there, and that is just that. Sounds silly, but some of those chairs are just worn out and sketchy...
2. You have the option to request a specific seat # at the table. There are advantages of having a specific seat # at a poker table and if you get to choose, you are one step ahead IMO.

What are other advantages?

Wow, where do you play tourneys? I wish we had the option of table/seat requests. Where I play it's totally random as far as that goes.
The only perk around here for arriving early is an on-time bonus. You might receive a bonus amount like 10K in chips for arriving early, depending on which room/tourney you attend.

 

[Emily Trott]

Wow, where do you play tourneys? I wish we had the option of table/seat requests. Where I play it's totally random as far as that goes.
The only perk around here for arriving early is an on-time bonus. You might receive a bonus amount like 10K in chips for arriving early, depending on which room/tourney you attend.

I've never heard of that either. All the tourneys I've played have assigned you to a table and seat at registration.

Foxwoods in Ledyard Connecticut has a high hand prize during the first round of their tournaments. The winner gets their entire entry fee, including bounties, returned to them. Then, if you win, it is like playing a freeroll. I like the idea of those extra chips for being on time though.

 

[dannystanks]

The tourneys in Vegas are random so you don't know what seat you have until you sign up. I like to be signed up and at the table about 5-10 minutes before shuffle up and deal starts. My reason for being early is my game within the game. Tournaments to me is a complex puzzle I'm trying to solve, and I'm trying to solve my puzzle faster than you can solve your puzzle. I'm a detective with a lot to learn fast lol. So getting there early and watching the players as they show up to the table is where the game starts for me. Where are they from? They have to show ID to get the chips from the dealer so if you can get a glimpse of their ID you can find out if they are from Vegas, USA, or another Country. You also have to listen to the conversations they are having with other players, are these verbal tells? Can you tell if they are new or an actual player based on this? Sometimes, and they you can use that to your advantage. How are they organizing their chips, that says something also. Are they quiet and paying attention like you? I like to try and figure out who the real people are vs the newbies before the game even starts. If you show up late you miss all this funny background information you may get. Look what happens when you show up late or you get used to a table and then have to move to another table. You have non of this information, so you are starting from square one as far as figuring everyone out. Showing up early is also good because most of the weaker players are there. As the tournament progresses, the weaker players get busted out, so why not let them bust out to you?

 

[Pokerstudy]

Wow, where do you play tourneys? I wish we had the option of table/seat requests. Where I play it's totally random as far as that goes.
The only perk around here for arriving early is an on-time bonus. You might receive a bonus amount like 10K in chips for arriving early, depending on which room/tourney you attend.

Did you ever ask?

 

[Pokerstudy]

The tourneys in Vegas are random so you don't know what seat you have until you sign up. I like to be signed up and at the table about 5-10 minutes before shuffle up and deal starts. My reason for being early is my game within the game. Tournaments to me is a complex puzzle I'm trying to solve, and I'm trying to solve my puzzle faster than you can solve your puzzle. I'm a detective with a lot to learn fast lol. So getting there early and watching the players as they show up to the table is where the game starts for me. Where are they from? They have to show ID to get the chips from the dealer so if you can get a glimpse of their ID you can find out if they are from Vegas, USA, or another Country. You also have to listen to the conversations they are having with other players, are these verbal tells? Can you tell if they are new or an actual player based on this? Sometimes, and they you can use that to your advantage. How are they organizing their chips, that says something also. Are they quiet and paying attention like you? I like to try and figure out who the real people are vs the newbies before the game even starts. If you show up late you miss all this funny background information you may get. Look what happens when you show up late or you get used to a table and then have to move to another table. You have non of this information, so you are starting from square one as far as figuring everyone out. Showing up early is also good because most of the weaker players are there. As the tournament progresses, the weaker players get busted out, so why not let them bust out to you?

I think this is the coolest post I have ever seen on the forum lol

 

[azteca6]

The only benefit I see is that the value of your chips is higher due to the forced bet that increases over time. The later you arrive, the less opposing you have to make.

 

[OstroLB]

I think arriving early for a poker tournament does not bring any benefit on the contrary it brings more nervousness for any player in my opinion of course

 

[BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch]

It was always better to get settled into the casino like go to the bathroom, make sure you have everything like a beverage or something to eat if you haven't or just take a few minutes in a quite place to review your game plan or just to relax and unwind from traveling to the casino. That's especially what you should be doing if its like your first time or going somewhere you do not play on a regular basis.

As for the requesting a seat, a mean I really never cared. I would love to play in front of the dealer where I can always see all of the action at a crowded table but some places just print out tickets on whatever is available and its random. Drop the money at the tourn table and off you go to find your table and seat number.

But whatever if folks can request a seat and its slow and they can help you then that's a great option.