Multi - Day (live) Tournament - Blinds increase by the hour

[doubledown]

I hope I'm placing this post under the right category. I'm going to be participating in my first live - multi day NL Poker Tournament tonight. The format is 10 k in chips, Blinds start at 25/50 and increase by the Hour. This is a multi-day event with various flights. I'm going to be participating in the first flight which as I mentioned begins tonight. I've played in plenty and plenty of live tournments but never one where the blinds creeped so slowly. Are there any recommendations you have for this type of set-up. I was thinking that perhaps I only play my top - 10 hands, etc? By nature I'm a very conservative player in tournaments but am known at my local casino as being aggressive when I have a hand and being very analytical player, with the ability to read my opponnents

Any advice on a game plan would be very appreciative...

[PokerPatNEU]

There is a multi table tournament forum on here as well that this might fit better under, but Hold'em Strategies is for everything i guess so here isn't too bad either.

If the blinds are creeping very very slowly the obvious advantage is that you don't have to play a lot of hands in order to keep a steady chip count. The blinds are basically insignificant for the first few levels, and if the levels are long, that means you get dealt more hands before the blinds start having a noticeable affect on your stack.

Most mediocre to good players are going to be very tight in the opening hours of a tournament like this, developing reads and waiting for a good time to get their money in the pot when they know they have an edge because there is no need to risk chips when there is no risk of losing your chips if you wait for a better spot. Watch out for players who are not playing many hands when the blinds are small if they get aggressive one hand, or decide to limp in, they probably have the best of it and you should be careful without good cards yourself. Try to be one of these players, and you will get steal opportunities too when your opponents start to notice.

Alternatively, this blind structure gives you the benefit of being able to point out the fish quicker who have no idea what the affect of the slow blind increase is. They will continue to play lots of hands and play them poorly. Wait for a good spot to get your money in with a good hand vs. someone who is playing aggressively with low blinds, they are dumbies and will give you their moneys.

Keep your head on strait and be patient is the best advice for any tournament Good luck

[doubledown]

Thanks Poker Pat, great advice!

I'll update you tomorrow!

[aislephive]

When the blinds are low I take a hyper aggressive approach, I play a lot of pots and raise frequently. Over the first hour or two I'll steadily build my stack by picking off small pots. Some prefer to be conservative, but the small blinds make it so that you can afford to see a lot of flops early in hopes of catching something and doubling up. If you're conservative then that's too bad, as is there is a lot of "dead money" to be had. Good luck to you.