How Do You Feel About Late Registration?

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

For you, what are the advantages and disadvantages of late registration for a tournament? Do you avoid these types of tournaments or not?

Personally, I prefer tournaments that don’t have late registration, but I don’t mind it too much. I will always start on time, and appreciate the extra money into the prize pool. But I also feel that the “real” game doesn’t start until late registration is over.

Goggelheimer · Dec 11, 2025

My thought s on late reg tournaments and players that abuse the late reg are not nice.

Late reg leads to a lot of gambling for luck, it can remove the skill effect absolutely.
I don´t like late reg players (get an immediate color note) they shove nearly every AX or other trashy middling combos they find, and they get far too often rewarded for only punting in chips.
But how could the fishy players (they are fish for me) else get a normally not existent edge (they don´t study and don´t try to get better).
These type of players are one of the reasons why poker is a more and more luck gambling, because they rely only on short term luck, destroying the efforts of players that started the tournament at the beginning.

So the question do I have pros for late reg?

Not for the participants.

The only one really winner from late reg is the poker room, it can reduce the overlay problem extremely, so it is another option to give the house another edge over the players.

theoxy · Dec 11, 2025

I prefer also tournaments without late reg . I dont like when playing a lot of players in tournament .

YLAN · Dec 11, 2025

Late registration is for players unable to join at the start to give chance to still join the game. Those that also don't like playing low blinds can take advantage of late reg.

Disadvantage of late reg is that with more players, the tournament also takes longer to finish.

rhoudini · Dec 11, 2025

One thing I dislike is when late reg goes on forever. Some sites have late reg for 25%+ of the tournament, and it feels like you’re not even really in “tournament mode” until it closes. The bubble gets weird too because there are still new people entering when you’re already 2 hours deep. I get that it helps the operator, but as a player I wish late reg windows were shorter and more reasonable!!

Sunz of Beaches · Dec 11, 2025

I absolutely love to late register! Especially low value stuff like freerolls that i register mostly and if possible at the very last minute. Then i either double up quickly or i will be gone. Saves me some time as i got less time on my hands to spend for poker theses days.

People who complain about late reg should go out a bit more imo and meet real people.

riff_raff312 · Dec 11, 2025

I really don't mind late registration if it's not too long 10/15 minutes is fine anymore than that is annoying but if it's only for freerolls.. dose it really matter that much.

Gutshot Gus · Dec 11, 2025

It's part of the game. It also helps increase the prize pool. If the question here is are you for it or against it, well I suppose I am for it.
When I play live tournaments there is a three hour drive involved to get there. I always try to allow extra time for unexpected delays on the highway. I would hate to have something happen and I got there late and the tournament had started and I could not play.

TCHUCO2005 · Dec 11, 2025

Personally, I don't like it, but for those who run the tournaments (websites), the longer the late registration period lasts, the more benefits for the organizer. As I've seen in some posts, it seems like it never ends. Anyway... in restricted free tournaments, I think there shouldn't be late registration. I myself have missed several tournaments because I was running late.

Aleksandr1991 · Dec 11, 2025

nabmom said:
Каковы, на ваш взгляд, преимущества и недостатки поздней регистрации на турнир? Вы избегаете таких турниров или нет?

Лично я предпочитаю турниры без поздней регистрации, но меня это не слишком беспокоит. Я всегда начну вовремя и буду рад дополнительным деньгам в призовом фонде. Но я также считаю, что «настоящая» игра начинается только после окончания поздней регистрации.

Late registration can be an effective strategy for certain types of players and tournaments, but it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. Most of the time I log in to the game

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

Goggelheimer said:
My thought s on late reg tournaments and players that abuse the late reg are not nice.

Late reg leads to a lot of gambling for luck, it can remove the skill effect absolutely.
I don´t like late reg players (get an immediate color note) they shove nearly every AX or other trashy middling combos they find, and they get far too often rewarded for only punting in chips.
But how could the fishy players (they are fish for me) else get a normally not existent edge (they don´t study and don´t try to get better).
These type of players are one of the reasons why poker is a more and more luck gambling, because they rely only on short term luck, destroying the efforts of players that started the tournament at the beginning.

So the question do I have pros for late reg?

Not for the participants.

The only one really winner from late reg is the poker room, it can reduce the overlay problem extremely, so it is another option to give the house another edge over the players.

I do appreciate that it is another way to identify the fish. That could be a pro.

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

theoxy said:
I prefer also tournaments without late reg . I dont like when playing a lot of players in tournament .

YLAN said:
Late registration is for players unable to join at the start to give chance to still join the game. Those that also don't like playing low blinds can take advantage of late reg.
Disadvantage of late reg is that with more players, the tournament also takes longer to finish.

I agree. I do t like it when the tourney player pool keeps getting bigger and bigger. Makes it hard to estimate how big of a total player pool will be in the game.

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

rhoudini said:
One thing I dislike is when late reg goes on forever. Some sites have late reg for 25%+ of the tournament, and it feels like you’re not even really in “tournament mode” until it closes. The bubble gets weird too because there are still new people entering when you’re already 2 hours deep. I get that it helps the operator, but as a player I wish late reg windows were shorter and more reasonable!!

I agree with this. I can see a short window to allow players a bit of wiggle room but several hours long makes it seem crazy.

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

Sunz of Beaches said:
I absolutely love to late register! Especially low value stuff like freerolls that i register mostly and if possible at the very last minute. Then i either double up quickly or i will be gone. Saves me some time as i got less time on my hands to spend for poker theses days.

People who complain about late reg should go out a bit more imo and meet real people.

That’s a good perspective of not wasting so much time on the early stages of a big game that are often coin flips. I personally end up with better placements when I just avoid games like these all together.

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

Gutshot Gus said:
It's part of the game. It also helps increase the prize pool. If the question here is are you for it or against it, well I suppose I am for it.
When I play live tournaments there is a three hour drive involved to get there. I always try to allow extra time for unexpected delays on the highway. I would hate to have something happen and I got there late and the tournament had started and I could not play.

TCHUCO2005 said:
Personally, I don't like it, but for those who run the tournaments (websites), the longer the late registration period lasts, the more benefits for the organizer. As I've seen in some posts, it seems like it never ends. Anyway... in restricted free tournaments, I think there shouldn't be late registration. I myself have missed several tournaments because I was running late.

It would be really frustrating if I missed entering a tournament because I was running a bit late. How long would you say is the optimal length for late registration? I think the first 2-3 blind levels, but not more.

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

Aleksandr1991 said:
Late registration can be an effective strategy for certain types of players and tournaments, but it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. Most of the time I log in to the game

I think you didn’t get to finish your last sentence. Do you usually log in at the start of a game or do you prefer to wait a little bit?

finaltable1 · Dec 11, 2025

never liked late reg in online tourneys, specially if it lasts for 2-3hours.

nabmom · Dec 11, 2025

finaltable1 said:
never liked late reg in online tourneys, specially if it lasts for 2-3hours.

If you know there is going to be a long late registration period, will you just avoid that tourney?

Aleksandr1991 · Dec 11, 2025

nabmom said:
I think you didn’t get to finish your last sentence. Do you usually log in at the start of a game or do you prefer to wait a little bit?

Wait a little bit

odonob · Dec 11, 2025

It’s a double edged sword. Good to maintain concentration of you can build a decent stack quickly. Can be very difficult if your chip stack is quite low relative to the table however.

Like2Play2 · Dec 11, 2025

Late registration, for 1 hour is normal,,
But late registration for 2 to 3 hours I stay away from. I find too many people going all in with crappy hands, just to build their stack with crap.
Just my opinion.

finaltable1 · Dec 11, 2025

nabmom said:
If you know there is going to be a long late registration period, will you just avoid that tourney?

If it's some big event, I'll start playing from the very beginning. But for regular daily MTTs, I prefer to register after the first hour of late registration or when the stack is 66-100 big blinds. For satellites, I register at the last minute of late reg.

Mario7 · Dec 11, 2025

Technically, if you are a good/winning player you loose starting late - statiscally you have bigger stack already if you are not late, just because you play more hands. So from the perspective of someone who started earlier in such case it is +EV when players join later increasing the reward pool.

However, I do not see much sense in long micro stakes MTT, so I'd prefer those shorter and with shorter late reg.

monkeytilter · Dec 11, 2025

I have no problem with late reg. all, if a site wants to offer it for a tournament that's their choice (they want as many people playing - and paying rake - as possible), if players don't like the idea of late reggers coming in late, don't register for that tournament.

In terms of late regging you get the benefit of being able to play if you can't make the start of the tournament or just want to "save time" by not playing the early levels and want to just play a short stack shove/fold double or bust game, but you do miss out on the opportunity to try and build a stack by (possibly) picking chips up off weaker players early on - it's your buy in, your choice.

choprav · Dec 11, 2025

I like it now if you can gamlbe all in.

How Do You Feel About Late Registration?

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