I'm an avid student of the game (relative newcomer--been playing seriously less than 6 months, generally at $10 and $20 SNG's), but new to big MTT's. I qualified for the $350K through the $9 + $1. I was somewhat surprised at the generally mediocre level of play in this qualifier. I played it twice, busting out 44th the first time and qualifying on my second try. Do most of you buy in directly or use the qualifying route? My BR and experience level don't support direct buy-in, so I'm hoping that I've stumbled onto something other than beginner's luck.

I finished at #270 out of 2,284, 50 places out of the money. It was a great learning experience, and I hope to be there again in the near future. I hope this is the right forum for this topic.