First WSOP tournament — approach suggestions?

Forget about strategy. Just have fun.

It's just poker. Don't put it on a pedestal and level yourself by thinking everyone at the table is some type of stone cold killer. There are plenty of average and weak players in these tournaments. ABC with a few slight adjustments as needed will put you in a good spot relative to the field.

I recommend understanding the pace of the tournament you're playing. In the deep and slow events, I see people spew sometimes and play with too much urgency when they could instead wait for great spots. With 20k starting stack and a short level time, I'll peg this event as of the faster ilk. You won't need to press in the first few hours. As you get near the dinner break, expect things to move very quickly. It would be helpful to a reasonable understanding of push-fold ranges in 8-20 BB territory. My guess is that most of this tournament will be played around that kind of depth once you get through the first few hours. This isn't going to be 100 BB marathon.

Still, patience and stamina are important in these events. I've seen people sit there for hours playing solid poker, only just to punt in a spazzy and unnecessary fashion (I've even done it myself a few times). Realize that these days can be very long. Don't surrender to fatigue. If you sense yourself starting to slip, get up. Stretch. Drink some water. Maybe get some caffeine.

Beyond that, hope it's your turn to run good on card distribution and all-ins.

Edited to add: Since it's your first WSOP event, take a few moments to just soak up the atmosphere and enjoy yourself. I also think it would be beneficial to walk the venue beforehand just to familiarize yourself with the sights and sounds. It could be overwhelming the first time.

You might encounter some aggro players.
Don't let them tilt you. Just recognize and deal with that challenge. It has done me in more than once.

It will be a large field. Just focus at maintaining an avg stack. Plenty of late reg players will also jump in. You will tell when players get more aggressive/reckless when the large blind sizes start catching up. Try to minimize being in 50/50 flip situations.

If time permits, the day before your tournament walk the Paris and Horseshoe to learn where the different WSOP tournament poker rooms are, where the bathrooms are, and, should you get that far, where the restaurants are you want to go to on dinner break.

When/if your original table breaks and you get moved to a new table, take a picture on your phone of the sign above your new table identifying the table color and number. You don't want to come back from a break and suddenly realize you don't remember what table you are at.

As for strategy, pay attention to how the players at your table are playing and adjust accordingly. You aren't up against the entire tournament of players. You are simply up against the 8 or 9 players that are at your table at any time.

The fanfare of the WSOP is different than what you may be used to, but ultimately, from a poker perspective, it's a tournament same as at any other casino.

One thing that is different is that just before the end of late reg/re-entry your table may suddenly be joined by a bunch of pros. They will be very aggressive with a go big or go home approach since they will start with a smallish stack in relation to the blinds. If that happens, adjust accordingly.

And enjoy the experience.

1) Have fun soak up the atmosphere, there is only one first time WSOP event. So get there the day before walk around enough to get rid of the deer in the headlights feeling.

2) As to play DONT LIMP and only play hands in position unless it's truly a premium holding.
3) Don't panic

Yea, unfortunately you're not playing a very deep tournament otherwise id say just play mostly tight and aggressive. One thing to remind yourself as you get tired that always helps me , don't get complacent and start playing marginal hands OUT OF POSITION. I think if you can keep that rule of thumb you'll be fine. You haven't played much so worrying too much about updated strategy is pointless.

Have fun man, its one tournament. If you run hot just enjoy the ride.

First-timers usually crush. I know I did. They say "poker gods" a lot, but I think they are poker devils, giving you rungood to hook you.

For your first ever event, show up 15 minutes early and enjoy the build-up (that sadly I now take for granted) to the first hand. It will be a huge adrenaline rush that will peak with your first ever WSOP dealt hand!

After that, it's just an MTT. Play your game.

Eh, I played the Monster stack last year. First wsop ever, and with 3 hands left in the 1st day I had a 25bbish stack...fine, enough to just get to day 2 and see what I can do. Nah, top set over middle set. Crush isn't exactly the word id use for mine. But the 2nd wsop....that's where its at 😀

Great stuff. Thanks all. Getting excited!

The #1 thing to do is just focus on your own table. If you look around at the sea of other tables it can be intimidating, but really you just have to beat everyone at whichever table you are at and take it from there.

+1 to Have Fun being the most important thing. Some non-playing advice for first-timers though:
- Make sure you have a couple layers. The ballrooms are often very chilly first thing in the morning, then warm up as they fill up with hundreds of warm bodies. I have both a lightweight and a heavyweight hoody I bring with me, but often find myself wearing neither in the late afternoon.
- Pack some good brainfood snacks to eat at the table and on breaks. I like trail mix and beef jerky. Plus a candy of some kind for those times when you find your blood sugar a bit low.
- Bring your own bottle of water. Servers will bring you small bottles and there are usually water coolers at the edge of the rooms, but it's far easier to have your own.
- Make sure you're registered the night before your event. If you haven't seen already, this year you're required to have the WSOP+ app on your phone and have signed up for an account. You'll also need a Caesars Rewards account. Then when you arrive you have to verify your ID. It's a bit confusing the first time, so do yourself a favor and get it all done the night before. Otherwise you'll likely end up in long lines, possibly missing the start of your event.
- Be warned that dealers for day 1 of large field events are a mixed bag, many of them are VERY inexperienced. Pay attention to make sure they don't make mistakes that cost you, try not to get too annoyed with the worst ones, and be patient with them.

If you're prepared for the experience and the grind of a (hopefully) full day of poker, then the rest is just the game you know. If your tournament experience is mostly low-stakes local games, you're likely to find that there is a lot less limping and more 3-betting preflop, though you'll likely see more limping in seniors events (which your day 1 in this event will be) than others. I saw plenty of it early in the Seniors event I played a couple years ago, but in the Monster Stack last year I think there was only one guy at my starting table who ever open limped. In the Main Event a couple years ago there wasn't a single open limp at my table the entire first day.

One other thing to be forewarned about: you may encounter some ridiculously long tanks, and players that take a loooong time nearly every time the action is on them. Try not to let it get to you. My first WSOP tournament I was down to a shorter stack (~20BB) when my table broke, and the table I moved to had two players who would both tank forever on nearly every street. They got into a big hand with each other once and I swear it took over 8 minutes. Very annoying in a tournament with 30 minute levels and you're short-stacked. I let it get to me though, and ended up shoving a hand I don't think I would have otherwise.

Don't be afraid to call clock in the extreme cases, even if you're not in the hand. It's still your time too. Maybe they'll get the message and speed up a bit in future hands, or maybe they're the one that ends up on tilt instead of you. Just do it calmly and don't get into a debate with them (or the other player in the hand) about whether it was appropriate or not.

The one minor exception to this is when you're near the bubble, you'll find a lot of short stacked players tanking before folding preflop in the hopes of sneaking into the money before they're blinded out. I'm always a bit more understanding in this case, especially if there's a big stack at the table who's aggressively swallowing up blinds. Know that it's happening all over the room, so you're not losing many hands as a result of it.

I am playing in first ever WSOP this summer as well, the $1000 Seniors NL Championship. I'm 53.

I played a lot of limit holdem in my youth, then NL online during the glory days of internet poker in the early 2000's. Then I hardly played until I jumped back into live NL cash games a 1.5 years ago. I've hardly played in Vegas in my lifetime, so really looking forward to my WSOP trip.

Good luck in your tournament! Have fun!

Great stuff. Getting excited!

Needless to say, I did not win. But I had a great time and had one of the most fun cash sessions I have ever had at the Horshoe afterwards. I’ll be back!