Read level 4 below if u haven’t yet.
Playing poker in a tournament when you are short on chips is a difficult and unpleasant place to be. There’s a calculation called “cost per round” which is the amount of chips you will lose each time play goes around the table once. Early on it’s just the big and small blind. Later antes also kick in so it the big plus small blinds plus the ante per person time the number of people at the table. The cost per round is also the amount in the pot before anyone begins betting.
When u have less than 15-20 times that amount is where things start to get a bit difficult. Less than 10 times that amount and things get very difficult.
I was at 6 times that amount going into level 6. I doubled up once but at the end of the round I’m only at 9,600 in chips which will be exactly 8 times the cost per round going into day 2. It will be 250/500 blinds, 50 ante and 9 people at a table.
This is not where I wanted to be but surviving the firsy day is a good thing in general. 1,250 or 1,300 people played today and 650 or so were remaining.
Let’s hope day 2 treats me well.
In the tournament I cashed in, I was down to only 3Xs the cost per round but still fought back to cash. As someone termed once, all you need is a chip and a chair. There was someone one time down to only a single chip who came back to win the entire tournament.
Day two is next Tuesday. The next three days are other day 1s (about 1/4 or more of the field each day) then one day off when they hold the employees tournament (employees are not allowed in any normal tournament).
It’s going to be an intense first few hours and I’ll have to make some aggressive move in hope of getting out of this range. Sitting back and waiting for great cards in this position equates to a fast death as the blinds and antes eat you alive.
No I’m off to…. Who knows what.
Later.
