Greetings,

I'm a casual player and I play live around 1 time per month currently. I'm going to Vegas to play the Big 50 event in May. I've never played a live tournament before and was hoping for some tips. I'm not expecting to learn everything I need to know in 4 weeks, but if I can get a few solid suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm a barely winning live player (less than 1bb per 100), so I have a decent understanding of the game, but I'm nowhere near as good as an online grinding pro. Any articles, books, videos, tips on what to expect, stupid mistakes to avoid, etc would be awesome.

Thanks in advance.

do cardio if you ain't allready. walking, running, swimming,cycling. your choice. eat healthy foods. get plenty of sleep.

learn 0-20BB game. there's charts online telling you when to fold or shove. find them learn what to shove. play tight in all other BB levels.

good luck.

Play some other live donkament before you play the WSOP event so you at least get some understanding of how live donkaments work

That’s good advice for people who want to play a full tournament schedule at the series of 16 hours of cash game every day and probably just a good thing to do in general.

But you don’t need any of that to play your first WSOP donkament. Getting through one day of poker isn’t too difficult and if you make it into day 2 and/or the money in your first event, there’s so much excitement and adrenaline going that you won’t have any physical problems if you are in OK shape.

You can compare that to partying. Doing that one night is pretty easy and going again the next day should also work out if it’s a one time thing. But partying all day, every day for a full summer is pretty tough and requires lots of stamina and/or drugs.

#1 advice: go and have fun!

Yes, just go and enjoy the experience and hopefully some cards go your way.

If you basically have zero tournament experience then I would play some fake chip poker just to get used to blinds changing as well as the short handed aspect. If you do have access to a couple of live tournaments then by all means that is the best place to get used to having the various chip denominations and style of play. Tournament poker is different than cash. It's more 'serious' since there is a bigger picture to protect beyond your table. Pay attention, don't talk unless action is on you and don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't worry about being a newbie and someone 'spotting' you at the table. If you make a 'mistake' be ready to move on right away.

Pay close attention to your stack size, when you get well below average or 20BB then you should start to open things up a bit.

Play your style .. no matter what you do others will try to take advantage of it.

The biggest thing in tournaments is to actually still be in the tournament when the next hand starts!! That sounds funny, but it's more important to remain in the tournament than to 'max value' every one of your hands. Too many stories and experiences where 'free' cards hurt someone.

Be cautious if the Board warrants it, but don't be afraid to bet for value if you have a very strong hand ... you will be very surprised by the calls you get!! GL

Be prepared to not be surprised if you do little more than sit and fold for several orbits in a row.

Be aware that your skills may actually be better than at least six other people at your table.

Take the small wins where you can get them.

Don't be afraid to get up and walk around a little mid-orbit when it isn't your blind. Sometimes that little bit of stretching or activity can be the key to staying alert as the day drags on.

Be prepared for a very LOOOOOONG day. And if you are doing well, there will be multiple long days...

Good luck to you

Lots of really good stuff here. Thank you!

1. Play the last flight. Its likely to be the largest flight with lots of recreational players. Players are likely to be less crazy since its the last flight. Even though i think you can re-enter once, its likely that those players will be on an alternate waiting list due to the volume of players on the last flight which should slow down the craziness.

2. Day 1 is all about survival. You cannot win the tournament on day 1, but you can lose it. You have to be in it to win it. People like to say have fun, its not going to feel like fun if you get knocked out early.

3. Try to play as many of your hands as possible in position, that is you want to be the last person to act.

4. If you are not sure if you should play a hand, fold it. Do not overthink it.

5. Aces. If there is a raise and re-raise in front of you and you look down and see aces, there is nothing wrong with shoving your whole stack. Worst case as a new tournament player you win a small pot, but you might get called with KK or AK, QQ. I see it happen all the time and win a big pot or at least be able to tell people that you got sucked out on.

6. Finally, once you get under 20 BB just shove any hand you are going to play. You do not hand the chips or experience to be calling here. Shoving takes away the advantage of better players. They cannot outplay you post flop, if you shove it pre flop.

I disagree that getting through one day of tournament poker isn't difficult. It's tougher than playing a cash game for the same amount of time because you have to be paying constant attention to stack sizes. Focusing for hours in a row like that is physically tiring.

I really suggest playing another live tournament first, preferably something with a longish structure so you can get used to the "grind" (eg. not a daily turbo that wraps up in 4 hours)

Which takes up about 3 seconds per hand especially if they don't drastically change. Also you play a lot shorter which means you have extremely easy decisions all the way up to the top 5% of the field, plus you have this thing where people take up a ridiculous amount of time every hand because "it is their tournament life". If anything live donkaments are super tilting because you have so little to think about compared to cash games. Which is tiring, I'll give you that.

1- Study ranges
2- Study mental health and how to preserve it
3- Relax and enjoy