Image courtesy of the World Poker Tour
One of the questions I’m often asked is: should I late register for poker tournaments? And there is no one straightforward answer, as doing it can make sense, depending on a number of factors.
The first thing to understand is that, when you buy into a tournament that has already started, you are playing an event with a different structure than those who were there from the start.
If you show up to play on time and bust on the very first hand with pocket aces in a rebuy tournament, this doesn’t matter. You can buy in again. But should you buy in very late? Some casinos will let you get in eight hours into the event, where you’ll start with 12 or 15 big blinds.
So, does it make sense?
To answer this, we’ll go into three important favorable aspects of late registering: you may have a decently large edge, you’re probably close to getting into money, and you won’t have to spend much time studying deep stack play.
You May Have a Decent Edge
In poker tournaments, as you get closer to the money, you profit by simply folding. For example, if you were able to register with 15 players remaining and 14 getting into the money, if two players with 20 big blind stacks get it in, you should be folding everything, even if you only have two big blinds.
Of course, most tournaments won’t let you register that late, but it’s not uncommon to find a scenario where, for example, there are 30 players remaining, and 15 make money. In that setup, every fold will make you a little bit of money.
The long and short of it is that if you late register for tournaments with low rake and close to the money, and your short stack game is decent, you’ll likely be profitable. You won’t be a huge winner, but you should be able to have 5% – 10% ROI.
Of course, if you’re not a good short stack player or if the rake is too high, this approach won’t work. For example, in a daily $100 tournament with a $20 fee, the rake will simply crush you.
You Are Getting Close to Getting in the Money
Another benefit of registering late is that you only have to play for a few hours. If you’re a busy person, someone who works 9 – 5, being able to late register at 6 or so allows you to do your job, make your money, and then still play poker for a few hours.
With this approach, you’ll experience less variance thanks to getting into money more often, in exchange for winning less frequently. You won’t get to build a big stack that often, so you won’t make as many final tables, but, as discussed, you can still have an edge and make a profit.
If you’re looking to spend a fair bit of time at the tables, have some fun, and play some interesting hands, late registering isn’t for you.
No Need for Deep Stack Strategy
If you’re always playing with short to medium stacks, you don’t need to spend time studying deep stack strategies.
There is certainly value to be had early on, but if you always register late, you can focus all your efforts on studying shallow and mid-stack play, ICM, and final table strategy. This is a good approach if you’re a beginner looking to focus, or perhaps a cash game player who doesn’t normally get to play with 10 – 30 big blinds.
Personally, I try to play from the start almost every time, exactly because many great players prefer to register late, so early levels tend to be quite soft. In fact, some of the venues have even started offering zero rake for their high-roller events for those who show up on time to try and incentivize people and get the games running.
So, to sum it up, registering late certainly has its benefits and can be a profitable strategy. It has its downsides that you should be aware of, but if you have limited time and/or your focus is on making small but fairly consistent profit, late registering can make a lot of sense.
