Late registration in Tournaments

[punctual]

I sometimes like doing this in tournaments with unlimited rebuys and an addon on the first break. So I will late register at the very last minute and then addon.

However, some tourneys will allow rebuys for about 15 minutes after the late registration period. I have been screwed on many occasions with that. I will register at the last minute and the average stack size is like 4 times my starting chip stack with the big blind at about half my stack....LOL....so to hang in there for 15 mins can be quite the challenge and i've donked out on many occasions in those types of tournaments.

All in all, I think it is best to start tournaments early like everyone else. At least you are on a level playing field. Just because everyone is being aggressive in teh beginning stages does not mean you need to get caught up in that fiasco. Just sit back, start off conservative and when blinds get up to a significant level start to play more loosely to steal blinds. Get more aggressive as the bubble approaches (most players do the opposite and this is absolutely THE WRONG move).

Every tournament you play will come down to a coin flip at some point. You win the flip, you move on to the next stage of the tournament, you don't, well better luck next time. It is smart to try and avoid the coin flip as much as you can but it is inescapable: your tournament survival will most definitely come down to a coin flip at some point in 99% of the games you play. At least, that has been my experience. When you late register you are starting at a severe disadvantage to other players since your chipstack is a fraction of the average and thus you are forced to flip that coin more often (until you get to at least average chip stack size).

Problem is that at that point you are no longer flipping a double sided coin: now your coin has 5 or more sides with only one of them giving you the win. This is the case because now you will be forced to put all of your chips in the middle with poor hands like any face card or small pairs.

 

[dino]

I don't like to reg late, just because at early stage you can get your stack from many people to go all in with almost anything and hoping to hit and re-buy right away.
This way you can collect many more chips and IMHO I like to collect those loose chips from those players, and have a good stack in a late stage.

To each their own, but that's just my $.02

 

[PrOKatana]

In a lot of tournements u have the possibility to register late.
I use this in tournements with hugh player fields to avoid a early shootout Because I get exited when the tournament starts and can not play my A- Game and start to donk around with my chips. Later in tournaments it slows down , so for me its good to start late and I can build my stack easier cause the blinds are bigger.
I like to here some arguments , pro or contra late registration, ty

My opinion is that you should play the first tournament opponents will have a chance to know better and you can make a bigger stak

 

[Katyushka4]

In a lot of tournements u have the possibility to register late.
I use this in tournements with hugh player fields to avoid a early shootout Because I get exited when the tournament starts and can not play my A- Game and start to donk around with my chips. Later in tournaments it slows down , so for me its good to start late and I can build my stack easier cause the blinds are bigger.
I like to here some arguments , pro or contra late registration, ty

I like that there is a late check. More people involved - more prize money. I believe that for good players late registration - bad idea to bad players - great idea. If you have an advantage - you should play from the beginning - if not, come back later.

 

[madsquirrel]

I think late tournaments are a hit and miss. I get excited when they first kick off and again like you stated I donk around for a bit accumulating chips. I like late starts for high priced tourney games. I feel like SOMETIMES online players tend to calm down and actually play real poker.

 

[revskip]

I like to register early because the play is generally far worse in the first couple of levels and it is much easier to play tight in the middle levels with a decent sized stack than it is for me to come in looking to push/fold.

Can usually catch one or two terrible players for their stack with a quick set or even sometimes pre-flop with AA or KK when they push with nonsense. Plus it gives me a better read on the better players, who is defending blinds, who likes to steal in late position, who constantly continuation bets the flop etc.

 

[oreska7]

I never reg late because it ismjust stupid...on some tournaments blinds/ante can eat your whole stack in just few hands so you will eventually go all in and what are chance to get good hand in few minutes? Much better is to play from start and then wait for monster hand and try to double your stack...

 

[Raggamuffin]

I sign up for late reg only when the blinds are still small, no point jumping in with 10BBs or less. But I find tourneys that have late reg till then end of lvl 10 terribly annoying, 2 hours of late reg is wayyy to long! 1 hour is acceptable, but 30 mins would be much better because then we would reach the bubble much faster!

 

[Lekoo]

I always register from the start of the tournament (max 5-10 min late.reg.). I prefer playing from the start in order to collect as many chips as I can and get some info about the playing style of my opponents, so I can call the late registered players easily and therefore build my stack.

 

[shawkid]

I like to wait until late reg is about 1/2 over. That way I can build a chip stack while the blinds are still low. The only time I register late is when I play in a hyper turbo, which is a big coin flip anyways.

 

[Carl Trooper]

I just late reg into the 35k DS @ bovada last night with 8bb.

I took 69th for $117 when my AJ lost to J4 all in pre

If you know how to play shortstack, and don't panic and maybe can get lucky (depending on how late you join) then it is fun to late reg.

 

[alunelu33]

Sometimes a good idea. Problem is that if you register very late you have to push quickly or stay short waiting for a good hand, which usually comes very hard.

 

[Skidis]

I'm of the opinion that it's better to reg early and then play easily and not aggressive until the blinds are high. I'm mean you more hands you play, the chance of picking up premium hands increases

 

[Skidis]

I never register late for MTT's and dislike late registration intently. i know the poker sites have it to maximise profit but if you can't be bothered to register in time you shouldn't be allowed to play

+1

 

[TeUnit]

so not a fan of the late reg, pretty frustrating to play for 4hrs in a small stakes mtt and not be in the money ie the americas cardroom late reg tourneys

 

[ChipsOwnerRO]

I think that late registration is good. Sometimes I don't have time for registration few minutes before, so I use this possibility to register 10-15 minutes after start, but I'm not agreed with tournaments with 60-120 minutes late registration, in my opinion is too much, I think 20 minutes is enough for everybody to register.

 

[jaymfc]

here are some examples on amount of blinds when start late .

 

[Farseer]

I think long late registration is very bad for poker. For larger buy-in tournaments I usually register from the beginning, but if a tournament has rebuy/add-on and add-on is larger than chips gotten from buy-in/rebuy I usually latereg straight into add-on if possible.

While it is true that you can usually get better ROI by registering from beginning, you should also note that spending extra hour in the tournament has its price too unless you're playing for fun. For that reason I occasionally also register late to freezeouts which have additional prizes (either added prizes or overlay).

 

[Mordecoke]

In my opinion, I look at how big the blinds are vs the amount of chips you get at the start in order for me to consider registering late for an MTT.
For example if the blinds are 50/100 and the starting chip stack is 5000 chips, I'd say that's a good time to register late.
If the blinds are say 1000/1500 and the starting chip stack is 3000 , then no that's not a good idea to register late.
You have to see what way you are going to benefit when registering late.
If you do choose to register late when the blinds are high, you pretty much have two options, go all in or fold. You don't have time to limp and look at a flop.
Also, I would try to register early if possible.
It gives you a chance to see how players play and gives you the chance to build your stack early. It also allows you to maneuver more with your stack when the blinds are low.
:}

 

[Sonaaaaa]

I think all Late Reg's should be 30 mins max. As quite a few people have stated people take advantage of the rebuy and add on feature and basically have more chips than the people who started the tournament who have been grinding there life away because they have been dealt poorly for 2 hours.

I prefer starting on time. I feel a greater sense of achievement if I cash.

But Late Reg is like Marmite. You either love it or loathe it. I loathe it.

 

[Farseer]

But Late Reg is like Marmite. You either love it or loathe it. I loathe it.

I hate it but use it if it is useful / good for value. It just has to be taken into account, and it is very stupid when there are tournaments where you can basically latereg into money. Even more stupid when it is satellite, but ofc. if I find one I use it.

 

[floweryhead]

There's a number of things with late regs. Firstly it can be advantageous to the current players who have large stacks when the late regs come in. For example if I have a stack that I've built from $1500 to $10000 and somebody appears at my table to my left. When they're in the blinds (if the blinds are large enough), I'm going to lean on them bigstyle. 2ndly There have been times when I've looked at the average stack size in a tournament compared to the starting stack size and how far away from the money the tournament is to consider whether it's worthwhile. I bought in late reg at something on pokerstars a few days ago and the playing field was not too far off the money (200 players or so to go). I watched the big stack for a few hands and (as I'd played against him a number of times before) realised he was tight passive so kept leaning on him. Within 20 hands I had most of his stack and ended up coming 3rd. Not bad!! However there are somethings that are bad about late reg tournaments. If you've read any of the books by Snyder the late reg means that you can't really work out a tournaments value until the registration period is over which means that you can't tell if it's worth playing until it's too late (ie you're registered)

 

[dannywho]

I'm not a fan of registering late, getting in early gives you a chance to make a stack if your running well. I have been in tourney where I've been card dead at the beginning and started to blind down whereas newer ones players are coming in and double up 2/3 times

 

[Nevkryty]

I think it is better to register at the beginning of the tournament and just sit and wait for good cards and study of opponents!

 

[deluns28]

Register early and play tight and early all in battle with 2 or more players.. I agree.to most of the posters that you will have bigger blinds and deep stacked opponents if you registered late.