Quote:
Originally Posted by Cckid
Does the Monster stack represent the best value for the lower buy in tournaments? Or would you prefer to play the Big 50 and also the Colossus if your tournament budget was around 1.5k?
Pro's and Con's to both scenarios??
I played 4 events last year:
$1k NLHE (event 28)
$600 Deep Stack NLHE
$400 Colossus NLHE (2x flights)
My take: The $1k had more of a "prestigious" feel. I had some name pros at my table throughout the day. The level of play was pretty decent, though there was still some value on the tables (I was probably part of the value, but definitely not the worst). In a higher buy-in, you're generally going to get more play in terms of stack size and level length.
I ran terribad in the $600 and just really didn't have much fun with that one.
The Colossus was a **** show on both days. From a value standpoint, it's going to be hard to beat. There are some absolutely awful players in there. I saw some play at my tables that was straight out of 1995. Just mind-boggling stuff. After a while, the clowns bust out and it becomes a more standard MTT. The sheer scope and scale of it is part of the appeal, and also one of the drawbacks. I got moved 3-4 times within a couple hours, and was at one point playing in the bowling alley. I also didn't like that the constant rebuys and late reg meant people were jumping in with flipping stacks DEEEEP into the first day. It may or may not be +EV, but I think it just increases the short-term variance because it creates more inflection points where you need to run good, and it decreases the "serious" or prestigious feel of the event.
So basically, if you want the most EV and the biggest spectacle, jump into the cheapest events. If you want a more authentic "pro" feel, you're going to want to seek out a bigger buy-in.
This year I've been playing less poker in general, so I'm only coming out for five nights. I'm going to hit the $500 freezout on 6/15 and maybe the $800 on 6/14 as well if I feel like going bigger. Then I'll probably just hit the daily deep stacks and/or other stuff around in the $200-400 range.