blonde poker forum

Just got back from the 250 freezeout. 99 runners for a 25000 pool (250 added by management).

Even though I busted early in level 4 I must say the structure and starting chips were excellent and gave plenty of room to manouvere.

My only gripe was there was no buffet for the 30 minute break after level 2 :P

Hopefully a big freezeout will become a regular event at the cardroom...

thank you redsimon for your comments, a buffet is something we will look into next time.

This was my first Freeze Out, and what a better game by a country mile, just so good to get away from 20/30 pot limit Bingo.
A far better feel to the card room, it was far more civalised no shouts of Chips Buyin Chips for the first 2 Hours.

As for Gala and Rob I thought they were fine, my only thought was one of the managers being a bit chirpy regarding this Forum.

Still got a sore head this morning after drowning my sorrows after another shocking outdraw, but all in all can't wait for the next one.
 

 

A big thankyou to all who supported this event
and good luck to the 19 players returning today (especially the blondeites)

do we know who the remaining players are?

I just came 11th.

Players I knew were Julian Thew, George Geary, Tom McCready, Bashir, Greek Jim.

Geary has big stack still, Bashir is about average, the others went in the teens.

With regards to he comp, I wasn't overly impressed. The structure worked well for a bit, but around level 4, it played like a final table. (well my tables did anyhow) By this I mean that it was raise - fold fold fold, raise - fold fold fold, and so on. There were very few flops and there were never any flatcallers. Very little poker beng played.

Comp was run pretty well. Rob and co did a decent job. He put his foot down when required and didn't take any messing around, which is always assuring to see. Not sure it was too fair to offer 300 to 19th - 11th place. This should be announced on the previous day, if not before the tournament starts. My bro went out in 20th. He'll be gutted when I tell him he hit the bubble without even knowing. Plus, it would also affect the play with 20-25 left.

I think blinds could have been capped or clocks changed for the 2nd day. Anything to see a better game. There's plenty of time with the final table forming at 8.30. I wasn't too keen on staying until 5.00 am last night only to come back for such a short time today. Could be more spread out in my eyes.

Overall, decent couple of days, but I think the blind/clock structure needs re-examining to allow for more play. Kudos to the organisers though as it was there first attempt at such a comp.

Although he's my mate, I disagree with snoopy's comments about the structure, perhaps he's not used to playing proper poker  ;D my table saw plenty of action all night

but I do think all returning players should be in the money, and this should be built into the prize structure

I thought it was an excelent tounament, well organised and well run, you cant please all of the people all of the time, and all in all I think most would agree it was a great success

If you do another, count me in

any results ? latest scores ?

ul today RED-DOG. Didn't get the rub of the green.

Yeah, I remember you saying in the bar that your table saw some action. Maybe it was just my table and the players on there.

With regards to udates, all I can say is that Geary had a big stack when I left. (I felt so inadequate)  :D

with 10,000 chips to play with & a 45 min. clock i thought the structure was excellent for a 250 comp, my only gripe being the lack of a 25-50 level.
come on gala, lets make this a monthly jobbie.


i left at 12.30 & the last 4 were rob yong, george geary, basha & the chap from sheffieild with large glasses - no sign of any deals being made.

I agree that this format should be used more often. we need a monthly or at least quarterly NLH biggie.

Julian... the chap with large glasses from sheffield?..... thats George Geary, was he playing twice? :-)

Good showing by Rob. He was down less than 9 big blinds when he was at my table!

This competition was a venture into the poker unknown for Nottingham and behind the scenes was actually about three months in the planning. It was also something of a risk, in that we did not know how successful it would be. Having never hosted a competition of its kind before, a structure had to come from somewhere.
What started off as a one day competition with a 30 minute clock, evolved into a two day event with a 45 minute clock. The problem with the structure of any poker competition is that it must suit a competition with as little as 40 runners and be just as suitable for a competition with 120 runners.

With 10,000 starting chips you are looking at a structure which allows equal playability with 400,000 points and with 1.2 million points in play. But you never know how many players you have until registration closes. You cannot tailor make a structure 15 minutes before a competition starts, it would be great if you knew for a fact that you would get 100 runners, but when you try a competition for the first time it is a best guess scenario. (It is amazing how many of the Notts regulars did not play because they thought there would only be 3 or 4 tables)


Believe it or not, this forum was largely responsible for the final structure: having read through many of the comments from different players about the good and bad points from other festivals / competitions you get a very good idea of what different players value in these types of competition.

Likewise the feedback and comments of many of the notts regulars have been very helpful in trying to create a playable competition.
I am with all of you in the hope that this can become a regular event, and the structure will probably be modified until we find the best balance with regard to clock/blinds, starting chips etc.

it is true that you can't please all of the people all of the time, what we have to think about in planning these competitions is pleasing the majority of the people for most of the time.

I think this competition achieved this and from my point of view i was very happy with the structure on this occasion. Many thanks to everyone for their feedback and suggestions (there were a lot of these!)

In Summary:
10,000 starting chips - Some thought it was great some thought it was too many
45 minute clock - Some thought it was great some thought it was too long
2 day event - Some thought it was great some would prefer one

That's life in the poker world i guess!

One important point i would like to address is the following:


The official line on prizes for 99 players is that 10 prizes will be paid. The casino cannot create extra prizes unless it is in the published payout schedule.(At Notts 110 runners generates a guaranteed 20 prizes in a freeze-out competition...100 runners for rebuy events)

As such no announcement could be made with 25 players left as there were only 10 official prizes.

The 300 for all returning players was suggested by 4 or 5 players at the end of day one and this was the proposal placed on their behalf at the beginning of day 2.
At the end of the day it is up to the players concerned to decide if they would all like to do this or not. If one of the returning players does not agree then there are only 10 prizes. There never was a 20th prize and the official bubble was always 11th.

My personal opinion is that it is a good thing for players to make suggestions and decisions such as these in the interests of a more rewarding game.

The competition finally finished at 1am with a three way split with the blinds at a modest 8,000/16,000 (1,000,000 chips in play). It was great to have a final table where there was sufficient time to play with out the pressure of restrictive blind levels or a fast approaching finishing time.

many thanks once again to all who supported this event. looking forward to the next one already.


nightfly

excellent summary from a very keen / knowledgable and eager to please card room manager, who is always eager to take on board feedback - well done all at Notts!
More of the same lets hope!

Regarding the payment structure, I wasn't intentionally being picky, they were just my thoughts. I came 11th so it suited me in the end, but I'll try not to be fickle. (boy - no money at all would've hurt) ;D

I hope this becomes a regular event.

I think I echo every1's thoughts in saying that your enthusiam is appreciated. It definitely seems that the Gala cardroom is becoming an even better place to play.

My only hope is that the no smoking ban comes into play. I get the feeling that not all the blondeites will be with me on that 1 tho.

 :D

Thanks again for a great competition Nightfly, I know how much work goes into it, cos Dani and Zac, Bluewolf and Yogi never miss a chance to tell me  ::)

If it aint broke, don't fix it. It worked really well and the majority enjoyed it, you wont find a better structure than that whatever you tweak

By the way, tell that Kev bloke he did ok too

Just Joking, well done phoenix, more please

Last year on another forum I said it was more likely you would get a no smoking cardroom in Notts than convince Notts regulars to play a No limit tourny, so you never know! :D

All the feed back Gala wanted and all the positive comments to, a great tournement and roll on the next freeze may be tickle it to 300.
Cheers Rob
 

I'm tickled pink that this went so well, a big up to Gala Notts from tikay & all at blonde. A shame I could not be there, but that's life. Someone actually rang me on Sunday & said he was surprised tikay was "not supporting Gala Notts"........WHAT??!!

But..........WHAT WAS THE RESULT???!!!

I guess I am gonna have to come in to Gala tonight to find out - blondeites all across the UK are waiting to hear the result & nobody wants to tell us - weird! I am just leaving London now, & will come into Gala on the way home to get the results, & post them on here later this evening.

A smoking ban in Gala Notts? Well we've had the "cant please all of the people all of the time speech", so why not try it? I am a smoker, but I WOULD support a smoking ban there.

Tell you what, we will have a blonde poll on whether Notts Gala Cardroom should be smoke free. I don't know whether I can set up a Forum Poll (where are you when I need you Ironside?) but I will ty & sort it later this evening.

Well done Gala Notts - home of the UK's best group of poker players.

First of all Nick, why were you not at work today? I've been holding the fort for you, opening your mail etc. Second, some comments on the tournament:

Negatives / Suggestions
1. There were at least 3 heated arguments on rules etc. We need to have rules made more visable, not just on a piece of A4 that people do not read. eg. rules on betting out of turn or when a dealer shows card before betting. this will stop the usual culprits causing a fuss. they can put up or shut up.
2. No 25-50 level, I would rather have less chips and have this level in.
3. People could only pre-register in person, surely peope could phone up and then pay cash on day. i tried to pay Reg-Dog in who lives 100 miles away, surely we want players coming from other locations and can't expect them to travel to sign up. this way we would have a more accurate way of forecasting the entries.

Positives / Suggestions
1. 2 day event in the best, as it reduces the likelyhood of deals being forced upon us. A Saturday day 1 and Sunday Day 2 and an earlier start on Saturday would sort this.
2. The fixed 250 is great, as you can spend this is a 30 buy-in crapshoot. If we have 1 per month I bet we would get 100 runners
every time. We got 90 for our first one, and it was not aggressivley marketed like Luton and Vic club do.
3. Nottingham is a great central location for poker players to get access to
4. Rob did loads of good work, analysing prize pool etc. He is open to ideas and actually is interested in Poker.
5. This could be the start of really getting Nottingham on the map, lets ditch the buy-ins and play a 100 freezout 3 sundays (1day event) and then a 300 once a month (2 day event). The average person spends this amount on 3 30 buy-in events + the 100 buy-in at the moment, but we get quality poker, instead of giving an advantage to those will depper pockets who can afford to play crapshoot poker.
6. Lets get some of the experienced players such as Tikay to help out with the structures, ideas etc
7. Overall, AN EXCELLENT ATTEMPT - LETS BUILD ON IT AND CATCH UP WITH THE OTHER CASINO'S.

Cone on gala nottingham (rememeber, in freezouts people get knocked out earlier and quicker so you'll get 'em on the blackack and roulette quicker). Thanks to Ken, Rob and Margeret and dealers. Rob

Tikay...note I said "experienced"...not "good". Also, while I am at it, Ken - pay Rob and proper card room managers wage as he has just had a baby and he needs more cash for nappies - seriously, I think Rob could do well for you because he actually cares (and was happy when I cracked george geary's AA with my AQ in the final yesterday. Cheers Rob

a freezeout night per week sounds excellent. I'd even go a step further and suggest the week is made up of a 20 rebuy, a 30 rebuy, a 50 freeze and a 100 freeze.  something for every pocket there.

Can't wait to get back on my feet. I feel like I'm missing out on so much by not being there.

I know the result

3 did a deal.

Bashir won with 6200

A guy from Bradford (no name - sry) came 2nd with 5000

George Geary took 3rd with 4000.

Well done Bash. Very well played.

However, I think I deserve a cut as I folded my aces for you on more than 1 occasion.

I'd like to see a 50 freezeout aswell. Comps on a saturday would be handy aswell, currently the only night i can realistically make is Friday.

was wondering wat the structure was in particular the ante levels.....i understand 10k in chips and no first level of 25-50.(seems a bit strange,why not?).and a 45 min clock...it seems the ante levels have caused some discussion just wondering for future reference wat the rises were.....thanks in advance fro the reply...

50-100
100-200
200-400
600-1200
800-1600
1000-2000
1500-3000
2000-4000
3000-6000
4000-8000

then I left.

I think those were the rises. Others may correct me.  :D

RobYong - yes, I noticed the distinction you made in my case between "good" & "experienced".......

I guess "experienced" is a euphanism for "old"......sigh. Since when has mid-forties been old?

And the full result? As promised, I have been down to Gala Notts to get the results tonight, & will post the full results on the Live Tournament Section of the Forum in the next 10 minutes. And they will go up in the Tournament Results section, the menu button for which is on the home page, in the next 24 hours.

I take it you've missed out 400/800 by accident, otherwise thats a huge jump.

There was one blind where I was surprised by a jump. I think it was that 1. So, as far as I can remember, there was no 400-800 blind. I'd need confrimation from some1 else tho.

missed out 300/600 and 400/800

The trouble with weekly freezeouts is that the value starts to drop, folks don't like the 'one chance only' scenario and stop going, i can only use walsall as an example here but their 25 rebuy on a sunday regularly pulled 6,500.
Now the weekly 100 freezeout pulls a little over 5k and the truth is folks are desserting it for the 50 rebuy at the new casino in Birmingham.
However that said the 50 freezeout on a Tuesday goes from strength to strength but........there is no competition (from elsewhere) on that night.
My own personal opinion is that they have asked for too much too quickly, instead of having the 'option' of paying 49.50 for the 2 nights you are now asked to pay 165 for them.
Without a result in a month it is very expensive, will you keep paying it?
Ian

i think that the structure is ok but needs a 25/50 and a 150/300
and running ante at the 200/400 level this would help stop the event
becoming a crap shoot

i think all 2+ day events need a running ante otherwise as the blinds go up
the average- shorter stacks tighten up and then you find there is no moves apart
from all in or fold, with the running antes there is more play as the average stacks
cant afford to tighten up too much there is also more in the pot to steal

noooooooooooo! to running antes, they tick me off and there are soo many people who constantly forget/deliberately forget to put them in without being asked. - i would rather have an additional small blind or not at all.

BAN RUNNING ANTES!

agree with Greg, they work fine online, but they are a pain in the cardroom

yup on-line no probs but believe me in live poker it really really slows down the game, which is not good!

Greg-- I agree -Runnig Antes are difficult but I would have thought suited your "Pinchy" style--LOL.
A monthly freezout with pre registration would surely get good support.. Well done Rob and Ken- This was excellent.
Malc-M

'pinchy'!  'loose goose'!

what are you and Tikay trying to do to me?!! - now i'll never get a bluff through!

"Loose Goose"? Who said that? Tell me who it was, & I'll have a word. They'll be saying you are looser than Thewy next. This is intolerable.

I'll set my grandfather Geoff on to you!

Anyway- i have just bought a new poker book - 'how to change your playing style to a rock in 10 days' - your gonna notice a real difference soon.

running ante's live only become a problem when people are jumping up and down from there seats i have never had problem with them infact they keep me awake,

i think the running ante's make for a better game and hate playing in a tourny without a running ante

I'm with Ironside here - I think running antes bring a new dimension to the game, though I agree that they can slow it down if the dealer is not well disciplined.

And I am surprised that Greg "The Rock" Hill (aka Ronnie Biggs) does not like them - all that extrra dead money just waiting to be stolen......

While playing the 300 freezeout I was having a bit of a think when the dealer announced, "30 seconds" I asked who had called for the clock and he told me "no one mate, you get two mins at notts and thats it"

thats fine most of the time, but but If you have to make a decision for all your chips.......

and how would Carlo manage

ps, this is not a whinge, just waiting for a game to start so thought Id see what others think

Well we are back to our need (& my hobby horse) for a standardised set of rules........

Usually, it's down to a player to put the clock on, but as we don't have standard rules, it differs from Casino to Casino, sometimes from table to table.

When you were having a bit of a think, the dealer probably thought you'd fallen asleep.........

Is it 100 in Notts tonight? if so is it still last entry 9.00pm

Cheers

it is the 100 PLHE Tonight... Last entry will be at 8.30pm
will post a reminder in a separate thread

Nightfly

does any1 know if notts has another 250 in the pipeline?

They have more 250's, a Festival planned, & maybe even an extra night added to the schedule during the week (maybe a 10 NLH rebuy on Tuesdays?) - watch this spce!