Quote:
Originally Posted by d1lemma
I'm kind of in a similar boat, I haven't really focused on my poker game in years but I'm planning an 8-day WSOP trip in June in which I'd like to primarily play tournaments. I typically play between 10-15 live events a year with an ABI of ~$300 and I'll likely exceed that over the course of this one trip, so ideally I'd like to get the most bang for my buck.
That being said, I've planned the trip around the WSOP Monster Stack and I'm going to play it no matter what happens during the rest of my trip. I think if you have your eye set on a certain event, you will most likely be disappointed when if you look back on your trip and didn't play in it because you thought you were under-rolled for it or didn't satty into it. Of course, you may feel differently if you're planning on going back next year with more money or something like that, but if you're going for the experience then you should just take the shot.
Personally, I'm planning to play some lower-BI events and satellites to warm up in my first few days (Planet Hollywood, Venetian, Rio satellites to $1500 events, DDS) before taking my shots. If I'm able to win a satty or make enough prize money to cover the $1,500 events, great. If your only consideration is making the most +EV choices, maybe consider either grinding cash or playing some PH/Venetian events instead of satellites. As long as you make the money to buy into your $1,500 event, why does it matter how you did it? It seems like the satellites at the Rio aren't going to be very satisfying to you.
In my first (and only other, prior to this year) trip to the WSOP, I was so sure I was going to play a $1k NLH event.
Then I get nervous and unregistered, and I played a number of smaller tourneys instead, haha.
It all turned out well, actually! Got 30th/172 in my first live HORSE tournament (at Binion's, only 20 paid but I was proud of my play and I lost on KK < AA in LHE, so it's not something I've lost sleep over), and I played three DDS for over $1100 profit.
No regrets whatsoever.
That said: one of the 2018 $1.5ks I was eyeing was HORSE on June 6th, which I just registered directly for earlier today. It actually simplifies some aspects of my schedule to just go ahead and definitely play it, and it seems like I'd have to play/run horribly to not get at least a few hours of poker out of it. (And I love the rhythm and variety of HORSE, so there's just a lot of entertainment value for me, too.)
I'm still going to play some satellites as I'd like to be able to play the NLH 6M or maybe 8-game later in the week... perhaps just $565 PLO if I end up with a single $500 lammer (single table chopaments obv).
I just have a specific problem with the proposition of buying directly into a four-figure no-limit tournament when I could lose as a 95% favorite all in on the first hand. I need a significantly bigger bankroll for that not to affect me. (Conversely, if I satellite in at a 50%+ discount including the cost of failed satellites, I won't mind any particular result.)
A HORSE tournament doesn't worry me like that at all. Looking forward to it. If I get unlucky or too aggressive in some bad spots and don't make day 2 or even the day 1 dinner break, that won't frustrate me nearly as much as busting early in a $xxxx NLH tourney from making the correct play.
And even if I blank completely on satellites, I've got a plan to be able to play something on most days anyway. Wynn, Aria, and Binion's are all looking pretty attractive if I have no business left in the Rio. (PH's $250 HORSE & 8-game could be fun too, but I've seen very mixed reviews of their poker offerings.)