Hello everyone,

I am very fortunate to have freerolled into the $3,000 1 million GTD Main Event at MGM National Harbor in their Potomac Winter Poker Open series going on right now.

I frequent this MGM location and often play between $300-$500 live tournaments there, and am a pretty solid player, winning on a small sample and this will be by far the biggest tournament I have ever played in. As a result, I have a few questions on the best strategy and how to approach the tournament.

Here is the structure sheet: https://static.mgmresorts.com/conten...n-event-11.pdf

1. How should I adjust my game, if at all, to what is likely to be a significantly tougher field than what I am used to?

2. Given that you start with 60k chips, you can max late reg until the end of level 12 (20bbs at 1500/3000/3000), and day 1 concludes at end of level 15 (3000/6000/6000), is there a specific level or time that is most beneficial to register at? I figured playing hundreds of BBs deep where I am not the best at the table at the direct start of the day is not helping my chances too much, but I could be wrong. So, I was thinking of sitting down between levels 5-7.

Interested to hear what you guys think!

Not strategy related but I would double check and make sure you are not already registered and that your chips are in play at the start of the day. At my casino, you don't have a late start option on a satellite or a promotional win, only on cash entries.

Strategy: raises are usually smaller and 3bets are more frequent in better tournaments with better players.

Personally I always try to get to tournaments on time because the worst players in the field will still have chips.

Registering late to a tournament increases your hourly winrate but to me that doesn't matter. I am happy to spend more time playing in order to run deep more frequently.

The field will be a lot tougher than what you are used to. For me this means being very aware of each players style and potentially tells. If players behind me 3 bet frequently I will tighten my range. If SB and BB 3 bet/Squeeze frequently I will also tighten my blind steal range. But this also means that if EP & MP players raise frequently pre-flop that my 3 bet range has to grow wider as well.

The other thing I do when I am one of the worst players at the table is go all in in situations where its going to be some kind of flip or when I am getting the right price (like 4-betting pre flop OOP or when there are two other players in on the flop and I have a nut flush draw). Often better players won't call because they believe their advantage will win over the long run.

I would also not keep doing the same thing. When you turn your hand over at showdown, players will register what you did and use it in the future. Shifting gears as Doyle Brunson recommended in Super System is a way to keep a step ahead.

The final thing I would say is that bluff calling is trickier because the GTO/Solver type experts will bluff in a balanced way so if I don't know if it is worth it I often will fold. But if I believe somebody overbluffs I will call it down.

I don't know your style but make sure that your bet sizing is consistent and not based on the strength of your hand. It can be based on the strength of the board though.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the advice so far.

While I agree that showing up early is best to exploit the worst players while they are still in, will there really be that many "bad" players in this field? I am sure there will be whales that can afford the buyin but for the most part the field will be pros or atleast very competent players no? In that case, would it not make more sense to register late and avoid playing super deep vs these players?

Registering late doesn't just improve your hourly, it should improve the equity of your stack with all the other people having busted out.

That said, I've become somewhat skeptical of the strategy, but that's in part due to playing online, which either has sites like ACR which massively drop the level lengths after late registration ends, or Ignition which just has really terrible players who will punt stacks easily during late registration. I mean, I still don't usually register on time, but lately I've tried to give myself a little more room to take advantage of that and have a better stack exiting the late registration period.

If you're not comfortable playing that deep, then don't. You know your game better than anyone else does; do what you think is most optimal for your strengths and weaknesses.

Other than that, just bone up on your fundamentals and don't play scared.

I agree with the above posters that the biggest and most striking difference moving up is the frequency of 3 betting. I'd definitely advise getting prepared as it will be happening a lot. If you raise, they will often 3 bet. If there is a raise and a call, they will squeeze incredibly often (at least a third, perhaps as much as half of the time).

Also, they will get tricky in spots where weaker players normally will not. For example, they may raise in position, flop top pair on a dry board, and check back the flop. They may take a bluffy line with a monster hand. It will, by and large, be more difficult to figure out what they have.

Mr Rick's point above is great: all those spots where you are normally better than the pool and fold because it's slightly -EV, are now spots you want to take. No need to get carried away with it and shove every suited connector you see, but those marginal flips are your friend now. (Unless of course you're outplaying these guys, in which case, more power to ya'!)

Flat your aces and kings from early and punish the 3b spamming toilet regs.

I think you will be surprised by how many weak players are in a field like this. Especially at the start.

But in general you will see less limping pf and more aggression pre and post flop.

Re: agree with above post.

At the bigger events at my local casino, they usually giveaway for seats for the main that already put them near the guarantee figure. Sometimes they give the seats with high hands at the cash games and the quality of the players is pretty poor and a good reason to get there early.

I would play right at the start since bad players still around waiting to give away chips. Idk this is tough but I like playing more aggro than passive to make spots less tricky. It’s easier to win post against 1 villian than when 3 others see a flop. Aka it’s harder to bluff and just more hands you have to worry about per se.

I would tighten up if you are at a tough table and just play tag. Idk open a correct RFI range though and play poker. It’s not that hard. A $300 tourny isn’t that much more different than a $3k. Players will be better and be more aggro but it’s still poker. Adjust and maybe avoid players that are top level.

I would not expect to cash and just play your best. Most tournies- we fail and don’t cash. Don’t have stupid expectations and just make the best decision each time.

Btw for me- the easiest way to tell how tough a table is to see if open limping is common and the aggression factor by players. Tough tables are aggro and have no open limping- also bet sizing. Folks that bet 2.5-3x when stacks are 40bb are doing it wrong. Maybe I’ll catch flak here but I love min opens at 50bb or less- I think going day 2.2x is just lol waist of extra chips. We want bb defends with a weak range. I think going too small with preflop sizing is better for players that think they have a skill advantage. If you are that worried maybe open bigger even when stacks are shallow and play a big ball type game. Idk I think 2x does the same thing as 2.5-3x when stacks are shallow though and I want to play with higher sprs and see 3 bets that are smaller as a result- aka if i open 300 vs 200, 900 vs 600 is a standard 3 bet in position. Sure nothing is standard and people change sizes but I would rather face a 3! To 600-700 Vs 900-1000 out of position.