Hello all,

I am curious about your thoughts on starting tournaments late, especially live since that is all I play.  I typically play a $140 live tournament once a week and occasionally a $250 to $500 when they are available.  I usually try to start tournaments on time however there have been 4 times that I have had to be on a waiting list to get in. (I tend to get a little anxious about this as I feel like I am missing out on a possible opportunity by missing some of the tournament)

the reason for my question is that, oddly enough, I have done really well on all 4 of the times that I have started late. (small sample, I know…)

I guess I see the main reason for starting on time is that  you get more hands in the tournament over all which should, in theory, allow for more playable hands. However, people seem to play more loose and crazy in the early stages with a bunch of people in every pot, making it more difficult, (for me) to play my best.  If I tighten up to stay out of things I just end up blinding down.

what I have noticed about starting 5 or 6 levels late is that the field is already reduced by quite a few people so you have less people to wade through.   a lot of people still seem to have around the same number of starting chips with a few people having a lot more and a few people having a lot less, so chip wise I am not at a big disadvantage.  And the truly aweful players have either gotten eliminated or gotten lucky and have huge stacks you can pick off pretty easily.

I guess I am just wondering if any of you prefer to start late, if so why?  also is there a way to look at this to find out if there is a mathematical edge to either strategy???

thx