blonde poker forum

Is anyone from Blonde playing this event?

How many runners do you think there will be? (Is there any chance it will sell out?)

If I am able to weekend pass will someone sign me in? (I know I am supposed to be having a few weeks off but I ididn't know there was going to be a ranking event in Brum did I???)

well there were 40 runners in the £500 so i doubt it will fill up.
if you PM dik9 i'm sure he can sort someone to sign you in

Actually Keith I was wondering how you feel about new ranking events being "added".

Not too happy I would imagine as ranking leader ?

 ???

I hate to moan, but there are a couple of things I'm not exactly thrilled about.

Adding events isn't really ideal. I'm sure they have changed the rules since the start of the year. It used to be an event had to be established for at least a year before being given ranking status. Now, there seem to be new rankings events added by the week.

But worse, is the fact that rankings points get frozen at the point of a deal.

I know for a fact that DC doesn't do deals. So his results are clean, but sadly I cannot say that with about anyone else near the top. If the casinos don't report deals, who will?

For this reason, if I don't win I hope Dave does. He would be a worthy winner.

I agree with Keith. I was gonna make a late surge for the tilte, but I can't make the Broadway. That's blown it for me.  ;D

i was all set for a run at the leaderboard too but the fact that one of the festivals newly added to the ranking events is not accesable has thrown a huge spanner in the works

Are u up for taking this further Ironside?

I think we've been done over here.  >:(

i have sent email of complaint to head man at willie hills poker and poker in europe

Jon Shoreman replied to a few people about this on Poker in Europe. Mostly unsatisfactorily and then he stopped replying. I think someone went too far when they accused him of taking Stanleys money as a bribe.

Yogi

ranking events as far as i was aware are to be decided by jon shoreman and his PIE (stands for poker in europe Kev!) crew at the start of the year and as humpy the camel says, they are supposed to be established regular circuit events. - it must pee people off that have set their schedule witha the aim of having a shot at the rankings when a new (high probable points) event gets slipped in the middle.

on the point of deals; i know whenever tikay is there they get reported regardless of who is in the final (he even grasses thewy up) but if an event is a ranking event then the deals should be reported by the casino and that should be a strict stipulation upon being assigned ranking status.

Blondie's results are clean and yes!, he don't do deals! FACT [- tight git! :-) - only joking!]

Now that rankings are beginning to become more important in the game and now entitle you to something rather than just pride and recognition (i.e. William Hill added money and invites to PPT events) then they need to be managed correctly and be absolute 100% gospel.

IMO... (and i am right!)

I agree with you Junior.

Unfortunately what PIE and Mr. Shoreman has seen as helping venues by giving ranking points has only served to annoy people who have worked hard to get ranking events, and players who have set up their schedules and times to be at places to earn points.

Yogi

wonder who that was hehehehe. And they never accused him of taking stanleys cash, just suggested it lol

Junior is clearly not just a pretty face.

This is an excellent idea.

The casinos seem to be desperate to have their tournaments afforded ranking status.

Well, let them earn this status by making their results sqeaky clean.

PS: Junior, you always seem to have alot of time on your hands. Why not post this idea on the PIE forum?

agreed junior,
& i think it's a little unfair that the UK gets so many ranking events compared to the rest of europe - if you live outside the UK you are at a severe disadvantage.

yes its a good idea but when this was brought up on PIE before it was made clear that any deals not reported were purely the fault of casino staff.

The fact representatives are floating about at most events (albeit usually at the bar gettin soaked) its is wrong to point the finger at us when tehy fail t report properly, most of these people are usually gone by the time a final takes place anyway.With the GB being a bit funny about deals as it is we are not even supposed to get involved in them anyway as competitions need to be played out anyway it could be quite difficult to monitor if a deal has been struck.

Fair play to Tikay and the like who report deals properly and fairly but its not the case with everyone and i feel it is unfair for the people supposedly in charge to be passing the buck in this regard when supervsors already have so much to do, and scheduling is about to get a lot harder

personally i think we should all boycott ranking events untill they stop having ranking events in casinos without wheelchair access

but then again i cant afford to play the curcuit so untill i can it doesnt affect me, but if i could afford to i would like to think i wasn't put at such a disadvantage

Does Broadway not have wheelchair access. If so, that's outrageous for a casino so new.

think broadway has

but stanleys in glasgow doesnt and its been added as a ranking event recently (1st year on the curcuit)

Broadway has wheelchair access and the only reason I was happy about ranking points was that Stanleys got their events ranking str8 away. I would have been prepared to wait a year, but if 2 new casinos open the same time why should one have an advantage over the other?

I agree with every word about the ranking events


a farce that they are added at short notice..set the calendar at the beginning and stick to it

get casinos to report deals...make rankings clean


On a separate issue

Keith, best wishes to you and as Miros memorably describes her, Camelette on the impending birth of your humpling!

Can I just step out of line and query - how can casinos report deals if the GB want them played to a finish? I agree deals should be reported and sanctions imposed etc etc but what you are asking is puttiing the casinos in a dirct conflict of interest.

I think, perhaps, the EPT should have a Rep on hand at the crucial period.

Yes Dik9. I'm glad you got ranking status so that it shows us that it wasn't just a Stanleys thing.

Nicking my old muckers Bluewolfie's idea. Coz thats where my best ideas come from of course. HEHEHEHEHE.

If the casinos have their schedule in by the start of January then you can have ranking status. If not then tough. That way people can plan their schedules.

Yogi

awwww shucks thankyou, i'm sure thats a dig though lol

I heard the Broadway Main Event only attracted 45 runners, & paid 5 places - that's a real shame, I think they deserved better, but it was a bad weekend - Barca Heads-Up, Blackpool, Gutshot. Shame though.

Deals being reported? Well, for better or worse, I send a note to Mr Shoreman after every Festival I attend detaling all the deals that have been done, & he amends the points accordingly.

And as someone pointed out, I even cost my very special bud Thewy a lot of points by doing so, but right's right. The players are not gonna tell Mr S, nor are the Casinos, so it's up tio us guys to make sure the Rankings are "genuine". I don't care who knows, or who gets uppity wtih me, I will continue to report all deals I am aware of to Mr S. You guys should do the same.

And how do you feel about new ranking events being "added"  willy-nilly ?

Personally I feel that this devalues the rankings validity.

Is 45 runners a sign that there are too many £1000 comps? Two in the same week seems a bit much.

I think that the whole structure should be reviewed.  At the moment we have the equivalent of Champions league and 3rd division matches being scored under the same structure with only a marginal difference in the points allocated for these events.  A start would be to move towards making tournaments ranking rather than festivals - a minimum buy-in of £250 or equivalent as a criterion would be reasonable.  Adding another level to the buyin factor (it stops at €750 - could have a €2k and above) would also reflect the achievement of winning the top events while not distorting the points so much that winning one of these events would be over represented.

Regarding late entries to the calender, I'm not sure what can be done about this, both Edinburgh Maybury and now Glasgow Riverboat renewed the festivals they staged last year, but both of these were very late decisions - the Glasgow festival isn't even on the "official" list yet.

Karabiner - personally, I don't agree that Rankers should be added during the course of the season. That's  "moving the goalposts", & I don't think it's right.

Nor do I agree that Venues that do not have wheelchair access should be allowed.

I very much hope that they will look at these matters before the 2006 season.

But I must say that I think the European Rankings are a great thing for poker, better than ever now there is added money, & even the sponsors & organisers don't realise what an asset they have on their hands. It's big now - it could be MASSIVE.

I personallly have spent a lot of my time helping to keep the 2005 Rankings "straight", not because anyone pays me to, or because I have any vested financial interest, but simply because Dave & I want blonde to be a force for good in poker, & the Rankings are a very important part of the European scene.

I am obliged to point out that the European Rankings are sponsored by William Hill, & "powered by" PokerinEurope.com. "obliged to point out"? Yup, that's what I said. You may have noticed we used to regularly report & review the Rankings on the Main Site, but we got ordered to stop, by Mr Shoreman, because on one occasion (out of 17 times) we inadvertently forgot to add the rider "powered by PokerinEurope.com". Strange world, eh?

But that don't stop us (tikay, & blondepoker) being big supporters of the European Rankings, & I am sure they will continue to grow in value & prestige. And it's for THAT reason that I will continue to work hard to ensure they are "straight". If I were to be consulted about the format of the 2006 Rankings, I would most certainly urge that they look at the matters that have been raised in this thread. It's obscene that in this day & age, wheelchair users are, effectively, barred from some Ranking Events. Continued lobbying in Forums such as this is the way to try & get change, and I think everyone should voice their views on the matter. Believe me, if you do, the organisers & sponsors WILL listen. Trust me - they WILL. THEY want the tnings to be successful - obviously - and I believe they will take note of your views.