LOL, it's a tale of two years for me. Last year I ended up I think around 190 (missed Qualifying by a few hundred points) and played 25-30 events maybe. Just burned money. I did qualify for some events via feeders (HT.com), but I also paid for a lot full price. Guessing last year I paid several thousand with nothing really in return.
This year I said screw that, its not worth it. I played the very first NHCQ one for $165, then I played some HT feeders and qualified for a couple. I know I played two feeders for the tourney that I qualified for the NHC in on HT.com ($34). I also got points in two of the four free tourneys, one I finished 8th so picked up a $hit ton of points. I also drove down to Surfside and got 5th (top 4 got paid
), and that tourney was $300. I played one more HT tourney (full price) to try and pick up points to see if I could make a push for the top 20 ($155). So this year I've paid about $600-$700 bucks in tourney's where I got NHC points. Almost half being the surfside one, which I can win real money and you keep your ticket winnings since it's a real money tourney. Hell, I think I walked out with $300 just on other races I won on.
Last year was my first year doing tourneys and using HTR, so there were a couple learning curves I was fighting. This year, I felt more comfortable with both. I've played way more Cash tourneys this year and have done pretty well. I will probably take the same approach next year. Try to qualify with feeders only, or on free tourneys (NHC, PH, Del Mar, etc.). If by Oct. I still haven't qualified, I will see if I want to pursue it further or not.