Hi guys,

in the past I have played plenty of one day MTT in casinos but never have I played a multi day tournament. How can I prepare for it / what to be ready for ?

I will be playing Goliath in UK, which is 120$ tournament with five day 1 flights, day 2 and final day 3. I plan to play at least 4 of the day one flights if necessary. The levels in day one are 40 minutes long and 16 levels will be played.

Any advice is very welcomed

Just get a good amount of sleep and don't overeat on dinner break.

Honestly, it's not that different. Obviously, longer tournaments tend to have better structures, so each stage of the tournament will last longer, so you can be patient longer if it fits your style

Sleep well. Don't get to excited to sleep if you bag a big stack or too worried if you're short.

Good luck!

1. Get a good nights sleep
2. Wake up 2-4 hours before the event starts.
3. Get some exercise
4. Eat a healthy meal
5. Complete your warm up routine
6. Go Play

I would also recommend to use the tournament breaks to recharge and let go of everything that has happened in the last 2 hours.. I like to find a quite spot where I can close my eyes and take a couple mindful breathes. Good luck!

Most of the advice here is good. Be prepared for some erratic play near the end of day 1. Some players will not want to come back for day 2 with a short stack. They will be looking to play for their whole stack in marginal situations. But many marginal situations still win 10-20% of the time. Other players with short stacks will try to squeeze into day 2 as if their life depended on it. Do your best to identify both types of players and adjust your decisions accordingly.

If you make day 2, the sleep part is hard, especially if you've never experienced bagging chips for the night. The bagging process itself can be annoyingly long, depending on how many players remain and how efficient the dealers/floor staff are. But regardless, its always a better feeling to bag chips than to not bag chips.

In most cases you won't be in the money yet, so its a weird combination of exhilaration and trepidation. Just be prepared to not get to sleep before 2:00-3:00am or so, depending on when day 1 ends.

When day 2 arrives, the most important thing, IMO, is having a plan and doing a little research. The plan includes figuring out how you're going to play given your stack size and blind levels and considering how far you are from the bubble and what just making the money means to you. Most locales will post seat assignments (on premises, for sure, but also possibly online) at least a few hours before the day 2 start time, so you can do some brief recon on players whom you might not know on the various ranking sites. You will also see the position and size of the stacks at your table which will give you some idea of how you might play certain situations.

If you're short stacked, do some research on optimum push/fold strategies so you're not guessing at the table.

If you're not short stacked, and particularly if you have a healthy or otherwise large stack, resist the urge to play too aggressively/call too loosely. Play whatever style you prefer, of course, but IMO, mistakes made on day 2 which can end up ruining your tournament are far worse than those made on day 1, given the time investment. Patience becomes an even bigger virtue.

Thank you guys, these are all helpful

I like what CosmicCharlie said about warm up routine. What kind of a routine you have?

I typically follow what Jared Tendler recommends in his book Mental Game of Poker.

1. Review what you are working on I try to remind myself of a few things that I'm trying to improve in my game. This should be specific technical improvements in poker skill, such as value betting, tightening up my opening ranges or working on spotting good 3bet spots.

2. Take a few deep breaths to focus and go play


I also like using Elliot Roe's Live MTT Warm Up MP3. I listen to this MP3 for 10 minutes before playing and this puts me in the right mindset.

I do Jareds warm up as well before online playing, so I will use that live as well. I will listen to the mp3. Thanks man !

I realize this is an older article but thanks for the responses.

I will be playing what is a 5 day tournament, and goal right now is to make day 2. I am anxious about the longer time for playing and although some of the stuff here may seem obvious, it's nice to read through it and make my own notes for things to followup on

Bring/consume caffeine early in the day but not too late so you can sleep.

Bring headache medicine. I get killer headaches after long sessions.

I have the sleep problem nailed. I have a prescription sedative. I don't even want to name it. Trade secret. When you are absolutely wired after a long tense day nothing else will do it for me. No, it isn't that propofol that put Michael Jackson to sleep permanently.

Sorry to hear about your headache issues; my wife gets those too. Seeing as how the Horseshoe does NOT provide in room coffee maker I bring my own kit. Ceramic coffee mug with a 'dipstick' heater that I plug into an outlet. Instant coffee + sugar + coffee mate in cute little cups. As I mentioned in a different thread I also have the insomnia problem nailed -- I have a prescription sedative. Begins with the letter 'L'. Invaluable when you are wired from a long stressful day at the tables and trying to sleep in a strange hotel bed. I will say that the beds at Horseshoe are comfortable.