First Tourney - Advice anyone?

I, along with 2 of my gaming buddies, signed up for the Lone Wolf GT to be held in Arlington, TX in early April.  This will be our first tourney, so we are obviously very excited, but also pretty nervous. 

If you could give one piece of advice for someone attending their first GT, what would it be?  Any funny stories of "what not to do" would also be a welcome reply to this post.  =)

I'm attending an event called Sabrecon in Leicester - UK in two weeks, this will be my first tourney too my pholosophy:

Play for fun, doesnt matter if i win or lose all that matters is that i have a good day!

.....that said im taking a 20 bull deathstar, with bsb, butcher tyrant and SM so i doubt im going down without , at least, a little bit of hassle

My first piece of advice is rather flippant, but here goes anyway...

"Know the rules for your own army"

You can't expect your opponants to give you an easy ride, so know exactly what you can and will do in each game. Remember that Mawseeker means Stupidity tests every turn, remember to roll for the Wydstone Necklace and Gnoblar Bickers, remember what your stats are even after your buff spells are cast. If you can keep all that in your head then at least your side of the table should be ok.

My second point can really be considered a follow up to this...

"Don't let your opponant run the game"

If it comes to a point where you could almost be playing an intro game, in that your opponant is dictating the pace of the game and telling you what is going on, then they've won. I don't mean in the 'you should move that unit there' kinda running the game, it's more subtle than that. If you find that they are the ones saying, 'ok, combat phase. my I is higher so here are my attacks... that's ** wounds, now you get ** attacks hitting on *+, wounding on *+, now my saves, and I win by *' then they are dictating the game to you, rather than it being a two person thing. Take a break, stop and think for a bit and start being more assertive about your own army. See, relates to point 1!

Finally, as Ace said. Have fun and don't get downhearted if you lose all your games. Depending on the type of event it is, there may be many people there who have been tournament gaming for a long time, with some very mean lists. If you get through the weekend smiling and not complaining, then no matter the results of the games you can count yourself a winner.
(That being said, I've never managed losing 6 games and smiling through all of them. I usually got all upset round about game 4...)

Good luck!

Lone Wolf is a great event.. you'll probably be playing with/against some of the best WHFB generals in the US.

Tips!

- Know the rules! As Sandals points out this is very important. You need to know your army book, the BRB, the FAQ, the army specific book rules, the army specific FAQs.. you get the idea.

- Practice! Try to get in at least 2-3 practice games with your list before the event so you know what to expect and how you can deal with those difficult situations as they come up.

- Be prepared. Have copies of your army list ready. Have pages you know will likely come up as questionable marked in the BRB and army book. Have your army based, and on movement trays, and easy to load/unload between games. The devil is in the details...

- Stick up for yourself. If your opponent claims "trust me this is how it works" but can't/won't show you in the relevant rulebook... call a judge! You don't want to lose a game just because of one bad rules call.

- Have fun! Winning is fun but don't forget to enjoy the game, enjoy meeting new WHFB players, and seeing new armies. Some of my best GT games have been draws or losses... especially a close loss!

It can be really difficult and humbling to get your ass handed to you by a better player. If you find the game is not going your way, or ends early, ask your opponent what you could have done differently in the game.

Attend with an open mind, prepared, and ready for fun and you will be all set. Good luck!

Really Good Stuff Guys.  Thanks a ton!

I am going to bring my ogres.  I feel like my list will at least be competitive, so it should make for a good time.  I am about to post my list on the army list forum.  Any advice over there would also be welcome. 

Anyone else with some stories of "what not to do at your first tournament" would be awesome.

+1 for Randroids posts.  Also make sure you read the players pack, check you've got everything the night before, and bring something to move your models between games (tray etc...).

Well, if i had to suggest one thing, never underestimate the power of the sportsmanship points. good luck