Let’s look at the Mega Monster Guaranteed Poker Tournament that will run from August 3rd to August 14th at the Lodge Card Club in Round Rock, Texas serving the Austin, Texas area.
The Lodge Card Club is owned by Doug Polk, Brad Owen, and Andrew Neeme. All three of these owners are well-known in poker circles. They have made the Lodge a go-to place for poker players in the Austin area and attract many players from far and wide to special tournaments such as the Mega Monster Tournament!
The Prize Money in the Mega Monster Tournament is Guaranteed
Players have to pay $400 to enter the tournament. There will be two flights Monday through Thursday and three flights Friday through Sunday. The guaranteed prize money is $1,000,000 overall and $250,000 for the first-place winner.
What is a Flight?
If you are asking this question, it is clear that you haven’t entered many if any big-time poker tournaments. That’s fine, of course, but you should be aware that a tournament with a $400 buy-in will attract seasoned poker players.
A flight is a starting point. In this case, it means that the Lodge Card Club expects there to be so many players that they have to stagger the beginning of the tournament over several days.
This doesn’t give any player an advantage since every player who continues to the second day has to win his or her table on the first day!
Each flight in the tournament ends after a set number of Big Blinds.
Where Will Players Stay during the Tournament?
The Lodge Card Club is a land-based poker room. The Lodge has worked out deals with nearby hotels so players can be just minutes from the Lodge. However, if these accommodations are all booked when you try to book, there are plenty of hotel and motel accommodations nearby so no one has to be more than a short drive from the Lodge.
Go Online to the Lodge Card Room and Read up on the Lodge
This is important because in the ad for the Mega Monster Tournament, they don’t tell you that they keep the room so cold that they encourage all players to bring a hoodie, sweater, or sweatshirt so that you all stay as comfortable as possible while you are trying to channel your inner Daniel Negreanu!
We will return to Daniel Negreanu shortly.
What is Round Rock, Texas Like?
Well, the tournament is in August which means that it will likely be blistering hot and pretty humid outside!
Although you have probably never heard of Round Rock before, you should know that the city has over 124,000 residents! It is only 15 miles north of Austin so there is plenty to do while you are in town.
Round Rock has a very nice website that details everything you could need to know for the week or so you will be in town for the tournament.
Cash Games versus Tournaments
A cash game may come and go quickly. It is important to strike while the iron is hot. In contrast, a poker tournament plays out over several days or more. Chris Moneymaker famously has said that when he entered the WSOP Tournament for the first time, his main goal was to survive the first day!
In any poker tournament, players should play “slowly”.
How to Win Poker Tournaments
Here is where we bring back Daniel Negreanu and, with all due respect, Daniel Negreanu deserves our everlasting respect, we will take his own words and let them advise you on how to win poker tournaments.
Some Hands are Better Tournament Hands and Less Valuable Cash Game Hands
Daniel Negreanu uses the term “potential” to describe how to look at your hand in a tournament, especially in the early stages. He says that low pairs may be more valuable than hands with high cards.
Certainly, every player is always looking at the potential of his or her hand and the potential of every opponent’s hand as well. So, the kind of potential that Daniel means here has to be something that players learn in tournaments over time.
Both of these points indicate the importance of patience in tournament play. We are all aware of the need for patience. Impatience leads to betting mistakes such as betting in early position with a poor hand. Impatience can also lead to tilt as a player loses a hand they expected to win and now feels that another good hand may not come their way for some time.
The Stack in a Tournament
When your stack reaches zero, you will be out of a tournament. So, you have to protect your stack more in a tournament than in a cash game. This translates into being more of a tight player than a loose player.
As the tournament progresses, it becomes even more important to be tight but not too tight. Players with short stacks will go all-in with marginal to spectacular hands. Loose play from opponents will cause their stacks to shrink. So, tighter play in tournaments becomes essential as the tournament progresses.
Practice is Essential in Poker and in … Everything Else!
It is clear that the Mega Monster Tournament will be a great event! Experienced poker players will throng to The Lodge Poker Room from August 3 to August 14. If you are an experienced poker player, you may have already decided to travel to Round Rock, Texas for the tournament in the heat as we think it will be called.
Everygame Heat Team knows something about the heat! We are following the updates from the tournament and wish all players enjoy the heat at the tables, and the thrill of placing their chips.