Start or Late Registration?

[PPT]

Do you think its better to join online tournaments right from the start or later on during the late registration phase?

I tend to join right from the start as it gives you much longer to build a chip stack.

However early on can be a lottery and a significant proportion of players are eliminated (or rebuy) during this phase. Players who join late don't get the stack, but don't get eliminated either, and just one or two doublings can catch them up to players who've been playing from the start - and it seems late joining players can double up by pushing on a good hand and getting called by loose players who have a stack.

Not sure whether to stay starting from the start or not?

 

[Amanda A]

It's a great question I've been thinking about as well. Yes, you can build a stack if you come in early but the downside is that there is more time for you to run into a cooler (maybe it's just me but this seems to happen a lot) where your AA gets cracked or you get it all in pre flop with KK and your opponent has AA and of course holds, lol. There's more time for things to go wrong.
Then you have to contend with people entering late and gambling with 10-20 big blinds and even though you sat there for hours building your stack you can't be risk adverse. You still gotta take spots you need to take and it can be a little demoralizing when you did all that work and someone just comes in and gets lucky and takes a good portion your stack when you called the shove with QQ and they hit their set with a small- medium pair.
If you enter late you gotta get lucky, but at least you haven't invested all that time. The downside is if you are not lucky you can blow through a lot of rebuys.
To me it's investing time versus investing money equation.

 

[Uncloggie]

It certainly depends on the game/ buy in / structure for me.
I really don't have a lot of time or patience to invest in a long game, so I often prefer the late registration.
On the other hand , there's not much point in showing up late for a KO type tourney.

 

[valetgll]

I always try to register for a tournament early, coming in late means having no room for maneuver. The stack is small and the only way out is to play all-in.

 

[maestro121920]

it will all depends on your bankroll, if you are bankrolled then start early keep rebuying otherwise just late reg and hope for a good run

 

[angelamsmith05]

It certainly depends on the game/ buy in / structure for me.
I really don't have a lot of time or patience to invest in a long game, so I often prefer the late registration.
On the other hand , there's not much point in showing up late for a KO type tourney.

I agree with this. It depends how quickly blinds go up and such.

 

[P86]

Def late reg but not too late one hour in is the ideal time to get in where action has settled a little and still have a decent starting stack...
But some have a different approach by later reg to the wire then hope for the double up or hold until the money places to double there buy-in

 

[forrow10]

mmm I always try to enter at beggining. You can play more hands and lower cost and risk.

 

[jj77jwj]

I register early most of the time I register late when I lose out on mother game I'm playing then I will jump into a nother game lot of the time when come into a game late I usually get a big stack going real quick

 

[Medina]

It may sound crazy, but I prefer to join in the middle of late reg.
It happened to me several times that i achieved better results than when i participated from the beginning,also, it's not really going, the big stack smal bb phase of tournaments.
I agree with the example you described, with a good doubling, you find yourself in the middle field, close to the paid places,which saves time and energy as opposed to those who participate in the tournament from the beginning!

 

[Kashmir]

Start early and fold often to all in bets

I'm of the belief that you start early and play very causiously and not call early big all ins. I have noticed that I'm being out played by lesser hands and losing regulary to them. I believe it's due to they may have a bigger stack??? or every good hand has to lose 90% of the time???
I struggle with AK AQ AJ AA KK QQ JJ in early postion and lose to buttons and post UTG players. This is even with 3 betting to eliminate those loose calls...but everyone calls no matter what??? So I often call the bet or fold pre bet just to avoid this probelm.

 

[ph_il]

I always late register, usually around 15-20 big blinds but I don't mind registering at the very last second for 10 bbs or less.

The only time I don't late register is if it's not available and registration closes at the start of the tournament. Then, I sit out until I'm around 15-20 big blinds.

 

[Johnny78B]

That's depends from the bankroll if I have enough money I like to join just before the registration close and usually get in ITM like that. But bounty and especially PKO I prefer to start from the beginning usually.

 

[BIGAUS]

Unless it's a KO or PKO tournament, I'm almost always a late-to-very late MTT registration person. While most of it is because of consideration of my time and how long tournaments take if you start in the beginning, I also personally play better in the latter stages of a tournament before making the bubble.

 

[DollarDonJon]

I enjoy being there at the beginning of a tourney because you get to see who's who and what's going on. I like the info on the players more than anything when I sit at a table. The style of play lets you prepare for the action that will ensue. I can see the advantages of entering tourneys late as well. The people are let or more prone to play poker and not a shootout in a wild wild west saloon. You pick your poison and learn both ways.

 

[makisaa]

From the beginning till about the middle of late registration is usually a good time to buy in. The blinds are in a level you can play comfortable. If you enter at the end then you will need to go all in when you play a hand, because your starting chips are a few comparing with the excisting stacks in the game.

 

[infonazar]

I prefer to play from the very beginning of the tournament. In my opinion in this case I have more time and I can play more freely without rushing. Usually when I'm in a hurry I make mistakes, so I prefer to register in tournaments before the start.

 

[Roller]

Start on time or start later, much of this can depend on your edge. If you have a huge edge against the current player pool then you are likely to benefit from starting on time, which gives you more time take take advantage of your edge.

 

[Luvepoker]

I have done both but frankly I prefer to play from the beginning of the tournament. I would prefer to get my buy ins worth playing poker than joining late and hoping for the double up. I also do well building up a stack and a bigger stack is a lot better that hoping to double up quickly.

 

[smerald]

I think starting on time is the best bet to succeed. I do late reg fairly often just because I don’t have as much time on my hands to play as I’d like. Late regging can be a bit too hit and miss because you don’t have enough chips to maneuver and depending on when you register you’re moving all in preflop a lot of times and leaving a lot to chance/coin flips.

 

[mariale_1990]

For me it depends on the type of tournament, if it is turbo, hyper or if it is a slow tournament, if it is turbo or hyper I prefer to play from the beginning to be able to have the opportunity to achieve better results and to avoid feeling a lot of pressure of having to win chips , but if it is a slow tournament I register when a little more than half of the registration has already passed and that because in general these types of tournaments have extensive late registration

 

[ADRI7HO]

Some people are particularly good at shortstack play and they also use late registration. The advantage may be that in 1-2 hours the tournament time is shorter and the ITM is closer, but the disadvantage is the shortstack game mentioned above. Immediate registration may be a better choice, but it may be that someone can only register for the tournament later and in that case it is a good option to do so.

 

[jordanbillie]

Do you think its better to join online tournaments right from the start or later on during the late registration phase?

I tend to join right from the start as it gives you much longer to build a chip stack.

However early on can be a lottery and a significant proportion of players are eliminated (or rebuy) during this phase. Players who join late don't get the stack, but don't get eliminated either, and just one or two doublings can catch them up to players who've been playing from the start - and it seems late joining players can double up by pushing on a good hand and getting called by loose players who have a stack.

Not sure whether to stay starting from the start or not?

I register the last possible minute of every MTT I play.

I'm very successful with this strategy.

 

[Abderrahim83]

register early most time

 

[rabman50]

It really depends on what you are comfortable with, the amount of time available, and your bankroll. Early in a tournament is when the less studied players are playing. As the tournament progresses the field will tend to get stronger. So starting on time is an advantage to the stronger players. It gives them an opportunity to chip up against the generally weaker competition. If you have time constraints but a decent bankroll registering later is a way to play tournaments you may not normally be able to play. The will be an increased incentive to double up immediately which adds more variance. Hence the need for a decent bankroll.