blonde poker forum

APAT ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF SEASON FOUR

February 17th, London:  The Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) is delighted to announce details of the fourth season of its critically acclaimed tour for developing poker players.

Seasonal highlights include:-

New Tour Sponsor:  Betfair.com will become the headline sponsor of APAT in Season 4; in a partnership that will bring a tremendous amount of additional value and opportunity for APAT members.  Betfair.com will exclusively host all APAT National Championship and National League fixtures online, and satellites for APAT’s live schedule of tournaments.

Added Value:   The tour will offer APAT members the chance to win thirty three seats to GUKPT main events and twenty three seats to APAT Professional League tournaments.  In addition, each of the season’s seventy five amateur, professional and online tournaments will be run completely registration free for players.

APAT live tournament events will now typically comprise three events.

Amateur Championship:  APAT’s core schedule will feature seventeen international amateur ranking events including three stops in continental Europe; in Austria, Estonia and Spain, with the undoubted highlight being the seven event World Championship Of Amateur Poker (WCOAP) at Dusk Till Dawn in August, which will feature the debut of the sixteen country World Amateur Team Championship, plus Heads Up, Six Max, Stud, Omaha and HORSE Championship events, in addition to the 414 runner World Amateur Poker Championship main event.

Professional League:  The PL will feature seven events capped at fifty players utilising a deep Pot Limit Hold’em structure, which will bring skill to the fore.   Featuring a registration free buy in of £250, each event will have a GUKPT main event seat added for the winner and be open to APAT amateur and professional members.  Played on a Saturday alongside the Amateur Championship event.

Specialist Series:  A six event series in mixed poker disciplines, capped at 50 players.  Featuring a registration free buy in of £25 with added value seats to APAT Professional League events for the winners of each leg.  Played on a Sunday alongside Amateur Championship event.

Online Championship:  Ten Championship events with a $50 buy in, each with added GUKPT seats for the winners, plus ten Omaha side events with a $20 buy in; each with added value seats to the APAT Professional League.

National Online League:  Three divisions featuring thirty poker clubs from cities across the United Kingdom and Ireland offering fantastic prizes including seats to GUKPT, APAT Professional and APAT Amateur Championship events for winning teams.

Sponsorship Packages:  The winner of the Professional League will win a £20,000 APAT sponsorship package for 2011.  In addition, the winners of the Online and National Amateur Rankings will join the 17 Amateur Champions from season four and the player with the most points finishes across Amateur and Online events, to compete in the APAT Champions Final, to play for a second APAT £20,000 sponsorship package in 2011.  This event will be held in February 2011 and venue details will be announced closer to that time.

Increased Profile:  A number of APAT Amateur and Professional Championship events will be streamed live through APAT tv during season 4 while reports from APAT live and online events will appear in APAT Magazine, which will be launched this month and distributed to over 20,000 APAT members online.

For a complete schedule and a free APAT membership, please see www.apat.com.

AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

2 day events - £75 buy in - unless stated

20/3 - Welsh Amateur Championship - Aspers, Swansea
17/4 - United Kingdom Amateur Championship - Grosvenor Victoria, London
15/5 - Central European Amateur Championship - Austria
19/6 - Scottish Amateur Championship - G, Aberdeen
31/7 - Northern European Amateur Championship - Estonia
27/8 - World Amateur Heads Up Championship - DTD, Nottingham - 1 day - £50
27/8 - World Amateur Team Championship - DTD, Nottingham - £100
28/8 - World Amateur Stud Championship - DTD, Nottingham - 1 day - £50
29/8 - World Amateur Omaha Championship - DTD, Nottingham - 1 day - £50
30/8 - World Amateur Six Max Championship - DTD, Nottingham - 1 day - £50
29/8 - World Amateur Poker Championship - DTD, Nottingham - 3 day - £100 - 414 runners
31/8 - World Amateur HORSE Championship - DTD, Nottingham - 1 day - £50
25/9 - Irish Amateur Championship - Dublin
23/10 - English Amateur Championship - G, Luton
27/11 - European Amateur Championship - G, Coventry
8/1 - Southern European Amateur Championship - Spain
29/1 - United Kingdom Team Championship - G, Bolton


PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE

1 day events - Pot Limit Hold'em - £250 buy in - 10,000 chips - 40 minute clock

20/3 - Professional League Swansea - Grosvenor, Swansea
17/4 - Professional League London - Grosvenor Victoria, London
19/6 - Professional League Aberdeen - G, Aberdeen
28/8 - Professional League Nottingham - DTD, Nottingham
25/9 - Professional League Dublin - Dublin
23/10 - Professional League Luton - G, Luton
27/11 - Professional League Coventry - G, Coventry


SPECIALIST SERIES

1 day events - £25 buy in - mixed structures to be advised a month prior to events.

21/3 - Specialist Series Pot Limit Omaha - Grosvenor, Swansea
18/4 - Specialist Series Razz - Grosvenor Victoria, London
20/6 - Specialist Series NLHE - G, Aberdeen
26/9 - Specialist Series Omaha Hi-Lo - Dublin
24/10 - Specialist Series Stud - G, Luton
28/11 - Specialist Series Draw - G, Coventry


ONLINE CHAMPIONSHIP

1 day events - $50 buy in (main events) $20 buy in (Omaha) - Saturday 8pm (main) 9pm (Omaha)

27/2 - Welsh Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
27/2 - Welsh Online Championship - Betfair
27/3 - United Kingdom Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
27/3 - United Kingdom Online Championship - Betfair
1/5 - Central European Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
1/5 - Central European Online Championship - Betfair
22/5 - Scottish Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
22/5 - Scottish Online Championship - Betfair
3/7 - Northern European Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
3/7 - Northern European Online Championship - Betfair
23/7 - World Online Six Max Championship - Betfair
24/7 - World Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
25/7 - World Online Poker Championship - Betfair
14/8 - Irish Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
14/8 - Irish Online Championship - Betfair
21/8 - UK Online Team Championship - Betfair
2/10 - English Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
2/10 - English Online Championship - Betfair
6/11 - European Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
6/11 - European Online Championship - Betfair
11/12 - Southern European Online Omaha Championship - Betfair
11/12 - Southern European Online Championship - Betfair


ONLINE NATIONAL LEAGUE

Three Divisions - $10 buy in - Sunday 8pm - 2 leagues run over course of Season 4

7/3 - National League 1 - 1 - Betfair
14/3 - National League 1 - 2 - Betfair
28/3 - National League 1 - 3 - Betfair
11/4 - National League 1 - 4 - Betfair
25/4 - National League 1 - 5 - Betfair
9/5 - National League 1 - 6 - Betfair
30/5 - National League 1 - 7 - Betfair
13/6 - National League 1 - 8 - Betfair
27/6 - National League 1 - 9 - Betfair
11/7 - National League 1 - 10 - Betfair

8/8 - National League 2 - 1 - Betfair
22/8 - National League 2 - 2 - Betfair
5/9 - National League 2 - 3 - Betfair
19/9 - National League 2 - 4 - Betfair
10/10 - National League 2 - 5 - Betfair
31/10 - National League 2 - 6 - Betfair
14/11 - National League 2 - 7 - Betfair
5/12 - National League 2 - 8 - Betfair
19/12 - National League 2 - 9 - Betfair
2/1 - National League 2 - 10 - Betfair

Further details to be advised and a full Festival pack will be created a month prior to each series of events.  Side events to be allocated half ranking points.

Many APAT players have come of age through playing affordable multi day tournaments with us over the last four years.  We feel the time is right to offer those players an opportunity to step up with the introduction of the APAT Professional League.  With the outstanding prizes on offer, this is certain to attract some strong professional players and our existing players will learn more quickly playing alongside them.  We look forward to charting your continuing success.  To answer a question that will be asked, we're not going to allow multi tabling of amateur and professional events.

An end of season Champions final will identify our player of the year and what a prize he or she will win.  A £20,000 APAT sponsorship package for 2011.  This event will feature the best of our players from live and online and it should prove an incredibly fitting end to a superb season.

We've also added a series of fun specialist events on Sunday's and we hope to see Pot Limit Omaha, Stud and Razz feature in those schedules.  With a £25 buy in and a seat in the next APAT Professional League event up for grabs, we're sure these will prove very popular.

One further point on our live schedule of events.  The clickfest has always proved problematic and wildly expensive to host in merchandising fees.  Clickfest seats will now be sold through a special Betfair tournament lobby, which will go live at exactly 9pm on the advertised clickfest night.  This will save us a great deal of effort and should be a far smoother process for members.  The Seat Exchange and player list will be managed as in all previous years.

We've listened to member feedback on our online schedule, where a Pot Limit Omaha Championship event has been added alongside every online National main event during the season.  Every main event winner will win an added GUKPT seat while every PLO event winner will win an APAT Professional League seat.  Their will now be two National Leagues during the season, split into three divisions based on finishing positions last season.  Every online event will be registration free to APAT members, as will our 28 live Championship events - which will represent a huge saving for each of you over the season.

 
So to Betfair.  They have a great live pedigree as the sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe and it is pleasing to know we will be amongst their key focus areas in Poker in 2010.  I would like you all to welcome Betfair into APAT with open arms, because there are a number of further initiatives that we have planned during this season and the support of our members in playing with Betfair is key to their delivery.  This is a fantastic win win partnership, so please ensure you do your bit.


We will make some further announcements over the weekend and we hope to launch APAT Magazine at that time also.

Happy to answer any questions


I will be running the live events for Season Four, alongside the existing team working on ohter areas . More detail on that and other initiatives over the next few days

Ironside. Austria, Estonia, Spain...Aberdeen....We're coming!!

Looks a great scedule.

1 main questions: -

1) Have you sorted out the rediculous payout structures?

2) Why is it Polt Limiti for the Pro's?  Surely this wont attract any decent players to the events.

WOW...APAT goes from strength to strength.....and thanks Betfair.

wp Des and Tighty ;applause; ;applause;

I will try

1) Ridiculous in your opinion, not in ours. Popular with a lot of the players. The Professional events will have more traditional prize structures though

2) Pot Limit. Under-appreciated, test of skill. One day 50 runner events that we expect to be popular with a £20k sponsorship package for the series winner

To rehash the prize structure debate again

The emphasis within the amateur events is on National champions and medals for the top three with no deals. The payout strucutre is flat below the top three on the final table with money jumps for the top three. It works well.


Pot Limit. I disagree, I think it is generally recognised to be a more skilful game than NL.

How so?

Partly my opinion, and partly because of the need longer in a tournament to play down the streets when the ability to move all in pre is not possible in a Pot limit format.

Tighty

Any idea of the capacity for the non DTD national events?

it varies obviously 100/120 at the low end to over 200 at the top end. Mostly 150+

Granted the shoving for 10 bigs when the short stacked isnt an option.

Anyway, the structure looks good and obv a great deal to partner up with Betfair.

I wish you all the best and no doubt ill see you at a few of the events this year :)

All the best with this.

Cheers Neil

Look forward to you winning an event or two. Standard lol.

Lets bloody hope so cos im getting pretty annoyed with these constant deep runs and finishing 4th

Rich

I haven't got a betfair poker account. Is there any particular way you'd like me to go about joining to benefit blonde / APAT?

No, the sponsorship is all paid for and there is no affiliate benefit. Just sign up as you wish

Rake the rake via Blonde help ?

yup, thanks. Owe you one!

http://blondepoker.com/index.php?q=node/26806

click on the banner in the article

Nothing south of Luton again :(

Spain ldo

London is south of Luton, last time I checked.

As is Spain, Austria and Estonia ;)

LOL ... well played.

estonia's way north

Sorry mate, couldn't resist.

Seriously though, it would have been nice to see a Portsmouth event. They have a pretty good poker community down there from what I hear and some good casinos.

spain in january? is it warm?

how do you get estonia and swansea?

and when are the click fests please dont tell me 9pm on week nights when i am at casino

Great news. Agree with Neil tho over payout structure and that NLHE is so much more skillful than PLHE but not a complaint more and observation

Warm yes

Flights to Tallinn and Cardiff

No Click fests, three online sats on Mon, Tues, Wed, remainder of seats on sale in Betfair lobby from 9pm on the Thursday of the preannounced date

overall looks great but wtf at pot limit?

pot limit is good makes people play down the streets if stacks a big enough if they arent big enough no point in it

doesn't even do that. just makes people say 'pot' or 'pot' or 'pot' depending on the situation. people don't play it anymore because it's rubbish

it all looks pretty good apart from that though

The 6max and hu at DTD will be immense will defintly be playing this,if I remember :)

  there will be more than 45 people in these will you cope

Nice sentance Dunkington

Prewdie

As much details for Spain & Estonia ASAP please, need to look at flights hotels etc.

Thanks!

Lol the payout structures. They are terrible. Pls change them!!!

And wtfcopters at PLHE. Are APAT rewinding the clocks to 1994 when people used to play PL?

I've been speaking to Blatch about this and planned to play most of the legs for the first time this year (not bothered before) but these things are real big put offs inspite of winning a £20k package.

Pot limit games tilt the life out of me. People don't know how to play it and just stare blankly at the dealer and announce POT POT POT POT POT.

A few people have said it's a more skillful game than NL. Not really, it's just a different type of game. More people to flops etc. Also, Iron, wtf at not playing down the streets in NL? If the comp has a decent strcuture of course NL will play down the streets.

 

Personally not the biggest fan of PLHE, however its is regarded as a British speciality (Hence two bracelets in it last year) and plenty of people still claim to want it, so my opinion is instead of viewing this as something that shouldnt be on the pro tour, why not look at this as the PLHE tour for the UK? The pro events were not a regular part of last season and they are not affecting the main events, plus as I understand it if you play a £75 main you are not eligible to play the pro event anyway (correct me if I am wrong), so I only see it as a bonus. You can play a £250+ NL event pretty much every weekend anyway somewhere in the UK.

Now if they had took a pre-existing series of events and made them PLHE, that would be a mistake, but this is really just a PLHE series within a series imo.

pot pot pot, can I go all in yet? then pot please

Cos, doesn't affect me one way or the other and I don't really have an opinion on it, but if lots of people play PLHE so badly surely that's good for you and gives you an edge?

:dontask:

People play NL terrabadly too. Pretty sure you don't even have to be to great of a player to have an edge in live nlhe tournaments with a buy in of less than £1k.

Didn't realise I couldn't play the £75's and the £250's though.

You can't play the two events simultaneously but as an employee of Carat plc you are eligible for the £75 events and the £250 events, whichever you choose


I look forward to videoing you shouting "Pot" at a dealer in the near future

Cool. If I play the £250's am I eligible to play other side events? Seems a long way to travel to Swansea etc for just a £250.

21/3 - Specialist Series Pot Limit Omaha - Aspers, Swansea

Yes

It was invented with you in mind.

"£25 buy in"

Thanks.

[                                                             ]

Your worried about the buy in?
It's in frickin Wales!

You of all people should know that when I go somewhere to play poker I will barely even know what outside looks like mate.

Season 4 Calendar (provisional times and dates so subject to change)

trying to find flights to estonia
i am assuming it would be riga
anyone know which airlines fly into riga and from where?

Good luck with your travel arrangements but why get a flight to Latvia when you want to go to Estonia  ;carlocitrone;

Try Tallinn, Ironside.

go to finland and get the ferry....

seriously, its a bugger of a place to go to. i was supposed to go there next week for a conference but i couldnt be arsed it was really hard to get flights

ffs someone shoot me having a bad week

i had been searching for flights for latvia for some unkwon reason

ok estonia might be a little harder

i'll be back in an hour

that was quick

aberdeen to tallin connect in copenhagen £393.80 with SAS

inverness to tallin connect in LHR and helski £365.30

dundee to tallin connect in birmingham then copenhagen £1653+change

glasgow to tallin £380.20 connect in copenhagen

london stanstead looks a good option £77 going out on the friday no flight back on the  monday so its either fly home sunday orwait till tuesday

but how do you get to stanstead from up here

If this is a problem , you have made enough posts to allow you to ask for staking.
A properly presented proposal may make all the difference.
No need to thank me.

Can you get the train or would that be too much of a pain with the luggage? I'm guessing you don't want to drive all the way down.

10 hour trip by train that at a fee that would mean the cost would be more than the single connect from aberdeen

i always wanted to have a few hours in copenhagen anyway

and it looks like alot of people will have to go via copenhagen so might get a chance to share a

plane with the duke again

ok aberdeen event who is planning on coming and is it worth me getting one of the lapdancing clubs to rope us off a section for the friday night?

Gonna look at cash and stuff in April and decide then.

direct from prestwick with one of the low cost airlines, can't remember which one

Liking this schedule - first event at Aspers is awesome (15 minute walk for me).

London, European legs and DTD - worth making a few trips this year me thinks.

[ ] you've travelled to Prestwick

Geo

que? why would I not have travelled to prestwick? done it twice, awesome approach as you bank over the sea at what looks like about 150ft

Rich, congrats on this and well done to you, Des and all at APAT for continuing to grow this tour.

I agree with the PLHE comments maybe more player consultation was required (but I guess Tikay was consulted instead  ;)), these are attracting me but the PL bit and that most are some distance away may put me off as the Ex's could be a killer, do you have the structure details of this event chips/clock and payout please?

Is there a reason for the locations? - as Swansea is further than Cardiff and Aberdeen is a lot further than the central belt and there seems to be no Manchester/Bolton/Walsall legs

I guess the ones abroad are essential for the expansion of the tour but travelling abroad to play a £75 comp for most UK players will be a jolly more than an event or will there be 'packages' up for grabs off Betfair including flights/accomm/spends?

Last question - will Joe Legge be there? if so, I'll just come to every one!

Whole thing looks fantastic - hope it all goes swimmingly

Dublin in September, that's my suntan out of window!!!

Parachuting in ftw.

nah i'll absail face first

Whilst i think that APAT have got a great sponsorship deal with Betfair, i'm not a fan of these overseas events.
The cost to travel to some of these destinations is very excessive just to play in a £75 tourney. Also, travelling to these destinations (Estonia, Spain, Aberdeen) would also mean having to take time off work.  I thought that this was meant to be an amateur tour?

On a positive note, the addition of the Sunday specialist tournament is very good, though i fear that a cap of 50 seats will not cope with the demand.

I'm pretty sure they have Amateur poker players in Estonia, Spain and Heathenland

And they have more overseas events then we have in the APAT calendar

Hi Jon

Yes, im sure that they do, but i would guess that 90% of the people who play APAT National live events are based in the UK. If you are trying to do well in the Season Rankings then you are at a disadvantage if you cannot afford/get time off work to travel to these destinations.

Thanks Brian

PLHE. As recently as two years ago you could find a PLHE event on any UK festival schedule. It was only the deserved emergence of the GUKPTs and the consequent local festivals falling by the wayside that led to a lower incidence of PLHE. Same applies to the Grosvenor Grand Prix. In its heyday, as a PL comp, it attracted huge numbers. However "series" poker saw an end to many of the traditional UK events. We believe there is still a place for PLHE in the calendar (a couple of WSOP bracelet events aside), would argue it represents a good test of skill and furthermore will prove to be popular.

Structure is 10,000 chips 40 minute clock, all the levels and was designed in consultation with Simon Trumper. I don't have a specific payout structure yet but it will be "traditional" rather than "APAT" it being an event open to all

Venues. Cardiff, where we have been in seasons 1-3 became unavailable to us at short notice. Apparently the card-room there is virtually closed now. Aspers Swansea will do a great job, we know them and have confidence in them. This was not always the case with some of last year's venues! It is true that the travel distance is a bit further for many, yes.

Aberdeen. Glasgow options were ruled out for venue reasons (ie they didn't want us) so it was Dundee or Aberdeen. Hear good things about the G Aberdeen and its easier to get to than Dundee for many

Walsall. Went there seasons 1-3. Our season 3 experience made us reluctant to return. Manchester/Bolton...no specific reason...can't go everywhere!

Overseas events. Will have to check specific plans for packages. This idea would make sense. As we saw when we went to Vienna previously, some will travel across but many local players will become part of APAT too. Long term expanding geographically and extending our reach is important as to remain UK-centric would bea little unambitious.

Joe Legge. Hope so, great guy. Corproate credit card. What more could you want?

Yup, you got me there!

The PL? Yes, it was debated long & hard, & we knew it would be seen as a bit left-field. But you have to try these things, & APAT are keen to show some innovation & width in what they offer.

I think the WCOAP at DTD in August was just as innovative - 7 events, including Six Max, Heads Up, HORSE, Stud, Omaha, and a 16 Nation Team Event (on top of the Main Event), which will be quite a spectacular week imo. 33 GUKPT seats over the Season is not so dusty, either, as added value goes.

I don't suppose we could ever please everyone, or get everything just so, that's a huge ask, but on balance, a lot of stuff has been done, & I think as a seasons package, it's something quite special.

As so many folks have kindly said, you included, much respect to Des & Tighty for what they have done. 

Working on it -- and using airmiles for Aberdeen (hotels Iron?)  roped off VIP section sounds good

Rich, Grosvenor Cardiff poker room still running. Numbers for their tournaments still ok (AFAIK).  They now have dealer dealt cash games, which are very soft!

Well the message coming back from Grosvenor Head Office differed from that.

Nonetheless, happy with Aspers.

The G Aberdeen will look after you guys superbly ... though make sure you get time to see John at the International, it's the nuts !!

you not coming up kev?

probably not tbh ... I can't plan 2 days in advance at the moment, never mind 4 months.

its ok we wont make you stay in the travel inn

i will get  selection of hotels up for you as soon as i can get into town

i am 100% staying over friday and saturday as its a 3 hour round trip by car

oh and the good news is hotels are 50%+ cheaper at weekend than during the week

No Aberdeen for me Iron :(
Got to go to Benidorm FML :)

yours and the lap dancers loss

our gain more beer to drink

I keep meaning to ask, are all 33 GUKPT seats the usual 1k main events are are they a mixed bag represntative of the event they were won in? So a APAT main = GUKPT main, and maybe an APAT online = Summer series etc?

I need to double check but its my understanding that each live main event winner and online national event winner plus the two rankings winners get a GUKPT main event seat


If it is any different, will adivse on here

32 main event seats and 1 grand final seat.  Several other potentail seats being sourced also.

Do you think this will get done in one day? or am I reading it wrong and its a 2 day event?

will take about 12 playing hours with 50 runners

Thats pretty damn good valooooooooooo, especially for the online events.

Definitely better valoo compared to last season's added valoo from BlueSQ, which was often a Champions of Champions seat - which is a nice prize don't get me wrong, but I think most would prefer a £1K GUKPT seat.

Good word Desmond and His Prewness.

Some useful information here.... LINK (http://www.flightmapping.com/Europe/Estonia/Tallinn/)

All looks excellent. The major gutting thing is, unless I change jobs, the Worlds are out :(

Guess your job hunting from Monday then!  ;applause;

If you want to play the first events at Swansea:


Monday - Welsh Amateur Championship satellite $20, 8pm
Tuesday - Welsh Amateur Championship satellite $10, 8pm
Wednesday - Welsh Amateur Championship satellite $5 rebuy, 8pm / Professional League Swansea satellite $50, 8pm
Thursday - Welsh Amateur Championship - £75 - Entry in Betfair poker lobby at 9pm sharp.

Hey Rich, few questions if you'd be so kind please Sir: -

1) Who decides the 30 sides in the national league? How many in a team and who decides who gets in a team?

2) GUKPT Seats awarded for the Online Championships - Can they be sold or transfered to other people?

3) Who decides who plays in the National Team Event at DTD?

4) What happens if the same person wins both sponsorship packages?

1. After last Season the 30 sides are sorted into three divisions based on points scored last year. No limit to numbers per team, obviously the more there are in a team the better chances that team stands. Each team has a captain whose job is to get their team playing/people interested. Top 4 from each teram in each event can score points

2. No

3 Much like the event in Luton we'll appoint non-playing captains for each country who will then select a team based on various criteria of their choosing. Usually, overall tournament records, APAT records etc etc

4 Good luck to them! 2011 will be a hell of a year for that person!

ta muchos

Do you think that might be because 90% of the comps are in the UK.

Kudos to APAT for giving amateurs in these other countries a chance to play the same comps that UK players have access to.

How does the online and / or live rankings work please Rich?

Im lining up a few of the stable to reall attack the whole APAT tour this year - hence all my questions.

lol wtf when was the last time you played PLHE, there is far less play down the streets as everyone just bets pot instead of bet sizing, people bet far smaller in NLHE than PLHE.

As for a greater test of skill, pleasseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. How can you possibly say a game with no ante is better?

ante makes NLHE better but problem is not many structures include them outside of festivals and last time i played apat they didnt not sure if they do now

as for PLHE people making mistakes is how you make a profit if they have only one betting size then it allows you to use your skill

lol what anywhere that has dealers has antes....

You make your money two ways, exploiting mistakes and 'making moves' your options are very limited in PLHE as the stack/pot ratio is far worse thanks to people just shouting POT.

In short the way you make money in PLHE is sitting there just waiting, in NLHE its by getting creative (using your skillzzzzz)

i wish everywhere that has dealers has antes

cant remember teh last time i put an ante in the pot

I think the professional league is a good idea, and to offer pot limit is certainly thinking outside the No Limit box,.....but like others, I would have preferred this to be NL and a maybe a smaller experimental pot limit game offered elsewhere.

Full ranking points (18 poiunts for 1st, 1 point for 18th) to multi day events and half ranking points to side events in Amateur Championship.  All events will award medals.

Full Ranking points (18) in Professional League and medals.

9 Ranking points available in Specialist Series, but will not award medals.

Full Ranking points in Online main events and half in Omaha Championships.  Both will award medals.

How are the 50 runners gonna fit in with other 200? runners or will there be a staggered start until enough tables are available.

12 playing hours plus breaks =?


Ok make it simple and tell me the estimated finish time please Rich as I cannot do daft o'clock unless its a cash game

3am ish, including breaks

APAT structure does have antes - in fact it's very close to the GUKPT structure.

That's probably because you can't remember last time you got past level 3.

To clarify: half ranking points means 9 places paid (9 to 1) - and not 18 places paid (9 to 0.5)

Or am I the only one who thought that's what it sounded like ;D

why do the pro events give ranking points for the amateur league that they're not allowed to play in? or don't they, do their points only count towards a pro league?

I'm with you jon, thought half points was 9 to 0.5

Amateur Live League
Amateur Online League
Professional League

APAT Welsh Amateur Championship and Professional League events go on sale from Betfair Poker lobby at 9pm this evening. Huge value on offer with limited seats available.

Very good to have APAT coming to Swansea. About time too from what I have seen of Cardiff G and Aspers.

Rich why only 100 players? Seems very small for an APAT event.

Look forward to seeing you all in Swansea.

100 seats for Amateur event (£75).  50 Seats for Professional Event (£250).   Casino capacity is 150 at a squeeze.

Amateur event is sold out.  Professional event still has seats left.  If not all of the seats are sold nearer the time, then we will switch them to Amateur seats and make them available.

As Tighty has stated previously, amazing added value for the size of field.

Dunno how this shit all works but lock me a seat for the £250 in Swansea pls. Kthx

Rich,

Can you have words with betfair about their exchange rates for thiese comps please?

I registered for the Pro's £250 comp earlier with no rake and have been charged £261.39

 2010-02-25
21:01 198563237 2010-02-25
21:01 
Poker Tournament
Register: APAT Pro Welsh Holding Tank #352400    - - - (261.39)   
 

Seems very excessive that they are gaining an extra £11.39 from this.

Thanks.

+1 for this. Not very impressed at all. Obviously they rounded it off to the nearest $100 which is fine if the whole $400 is going in to the pool.

If it isn't though then we really should've been paying $385 or whatever it works out at.

After all, that £11.39 is from the Betfair Football Staking fund so it affects all of us

I believe all the money taken goes into the prize found, so the £261.90 will go into the pot.  (261.90 x 50)

Correct. Betfair don't take a turn, but its a factor of registering in the torunament lobby ina different currency that exchange rates will fluctuate so the overall prize pool will be slightly different to 50 x £250 

You need to buy in via the Betfair tournament lobby Cos. No seats will be held offline

I think they have to guess at the exchange rate to some extent, as they basically have to hold it until it fills. 

To be fair to betfair they have refunded me in the past when I have overpaid, and I haven't heard of them ever asking for money when people have underpaid.  They are sometimes a little incompent, but are usually fair when you email them.

And From what I see they are adding £1070 to this, so even if they didn't you'd still be quids in!

Just a quick one Rich/Leigh

Why do APAT run all their events as 10 seaters?

Is it just to get a few extra people in ?

It's to maximise numbers and dependant on the venues.

At DTD for example, we run 9 seater tables.   All final tables are also 9 handed and it normally works out that when breaking tables for day two of events, we will work it on a 9 handed basis.

They can't fit 11 round the tables.

We can fit 11 around the tables.   DUCY ?

ICY

DU8π

(you may need to say the 8 like your south african)

anyone coming north for aberdeen leg looking for a hotel room the new jurys inn is £49 for a room friday and saturday and £85 for the sunday
its about 250 yards from casino

duke and i have booked up already we can cancel if we dont get a seat

just looked at the room prices via the late room link on the apat site you can get the jurys inn for £45 friday and saturday and £75 for the sunday

another alternate via the site is the douglas hotel which is closer to the casino looks nice although the wheelchair access isnt as good they are offer rooms for £53 a night friday/saturday and sunday

its closer than the travellodge or the jurys inn

Just had a good look at the schedule for series 4 and wish all at APAT the very best of luck with it.

For the last 6 months I have all but stopped playing, poker, wasn't really a conscious decision it just kind of happened over a period of time, in part due to other commitments and in part due to pretty regular profit from sports betting. To be honest I really  haven't missed it at all. That was until the series 4 schedule was posted. I've always enjoyed the spirit of the APAT events online and live, and while I've not missed poker I miss the social aspect that comes with APAT. I may not get to too many of the live events but will try to play most of the online ones, the fact I play so rarely now may even make poker seem fun again. I also think the Omaha side event is a great idea.

Seats still available to first leg of the APAT Professional League at Aspers Swansea on Saturday. £250 buy in, registration free, added GUKPT seat for event winner plus £20,000 sponsorship package for League winner at end of seven event season. The event will be streamed live online, alongside the APAT Welsh Amateur Championship. PM me for details

would love to tighty but swansea is a right bitch to get too so i will have to refrain

any news on when the seats for other events will be on sale

Will get this weekend out of the way and get on to it

The next event at the Vic the direct buy in is Thursday on befair

rebuy tonight I will provide value

Thursday? As in Tomorrow Thursday? You mean next week right, I see nothing in the Betfair Lobby?

Best check at APAT I guess

All remaining seats after tonight's last satellite will be sold through the Betfair Lobby at 9pm on Thursday 18th March as direct buy-in

i really fancy a trip to the vic
most expensive casino to play togo too for a weekend
but havent been for years and it was the first place
i traveled too

i'll make sure i stay in tomorrow for the click fest

But not all of it ;)

We'll look after you LOL

Party time

Oh suppose I'll play the satellite then. As soon as I figure why why its not showing in my lobby

I will be stalking.

Rich, are you aware both holding tanks for Swansea don't seem to be in the lobby anymore?

Have tried all manner of searches and can't see them anymore.

Geo

Go to filter and check rebuy and satellites

Geo

Yes, they seem to have been taken down. I can't see them. As to why, not sure yet

i am in trouble

got a daily deposit limit of £50 on betfair
which means i need to deposit today and tomorrow to get the £75 i need to buy in for the vic

that is if i dont do my dough in the rebuys tonight

Tighty, just want to confirm I can buy in to the £250 event in Swansea on the day at the casino? Thanks.

Yes but don't tell blatch

Im more than happy for Sunny to play ...... just no one else

i need to play more pata events havent seen so much passive play

fck how do I unreg

62k in the sat for the vic


one time pls

What did you have when I reraised you on the flop with the board 3-3-J ?? You called and then I had to fold to your bet on the river. Was going to push but couldn't pull the trigger!!!

thought i showed i had 22 and only way i could win the pot after the conterfit

Yeah nice play, good luck. Your in second at the moment. I am 4th. One time yeah :-)

lol some idiot that really didnt have a clue about sat play and spent the last hour in a debate with me shoves from cut off with his 8bbs
i obv call with my Ak and 40+ bbs

he leaves with even a monkey gets the nuts

i offered him to say it too my face and i'll buy him a beer as it was fair comment

and he tells me to grow up?

i am now expecting a ban of some sort lol

ffs 10th

i hate this game hate the software more

I cant understand why you never got a seat with all them chips you had so close to the end..!!!

cause with 11 left i was 4th in chips and 3 bigger staacks all on my table

i raise with ak get called flop comes a j 4 and i lead out and get raised

meanwhile on table short stack no one wants to mess with anyone so raise/fold/fold

finally i shove when 10/10 in comp obv someone wakes with AA

We'll I re-raised all-in pre for about 13BBs with 33. Got called by a stack of 16BBs who had 44. He hit the bigger flush...

That's the first time I've played on betfair, comedy software. Looks slick enough, but where are the instant HHs, the blind levels for the tournament, and why can I only see my folded cards some of the time?

I was wondering about that one!

More importantly where the beep do they hide my account balance!

Instant hand history is stored in your C/: pathway shown if yo go under preferences and tick send HH, not sure how long it takes to upload tho. View last hand option is top left of table but not the best to read.

Have yet to find the blind levels, time to break etc. Also annoying that 2nd break is always 10 mins when all others are 5.

Can't find a setting to always show folded hands, however if you use the the fold check box before your turn to act it keeps your cards showing but in a mini format. Can actually be off putting as I had folded Q8 the other night and flop came 88Q, whooopppeee says I and then remembered the cards were only still showing as I had taken the early fold option - lol


Geo

grrrrr yes. Hate the fact you have to go to lobby, click on account, explorer window opens, re-input username and pass to see you account balance - pain in the jacksy during a rebuy tournie

With the hand histories, I want to be able to view them instantly, like on virtually every other site.  I know they're stored on the computer, and I'm sure HEM or something can be used.  But if I quickly want to go back to a hand from an orbit a go or something, it's a royal pain.

With the show folded hands thing, I had it checked to show, and sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't.  We were trying to work out why last night, and saw no logic to it. 

Firing up the browser to check your account balance is a strange one.

As for blind levels and knowing what's next, etc., it's like playing a tournament at the G Casino in Walsall :D

Ahead of the weekend


For alternates on the day for the amateur, The buy in for the Amateur Championship is £79.00 (in line with package price on Betfair) and a registration fee will not be charged.

For on the day buy in for the Professional League is £263.00 (in line with package price on Betfair) and a registration fee will not be charged.

The buy in for the Specialist Series is £25.00 and a registration fee will not be charged.  Seats for this event will be allocated on a first come first served basis to APAT members from 4pm on Saturday via the Aspers Cash Desk.



Some seats still available for the Vic, via the Betfair Lobby

Pro event yesterday won by Stephen The Mole Boyd ahead of Eck with Richeo 4th. EvilPie, George2Loose also finalled


Amateur final 20. blondes in bold

Table 1

M Johns 43700
Craig McBlizzard 28250
Martin Whiting 33475
Martyn Sharp 67100
Jack Prime 27800 technolog
Martin Wilson 79200
Phil Tompkinson 37900
Dave Potter 49550
Bob Malin 35975
Stephen Jennison 20250

Table 2

James Edwards 29950
Darren Shallis 47750 Newportlad
Paul McGuinness 57200
Andy Overton 23550
Gareth Johns 1736325
Steve Roderick 61675 Rod
Carl Lybert 68525  Shogun
Warren Jones 26125
Dean Saunders 56225
Tony Trippier 52575

blinds are 1000-2000/150

Play resumes at 2.30pm Sunday


you know where we are if you want to cheer the guys on

 ;gobsmacked;

I know...impressive, considering there's a grand total of 1.02m chips in play ;)

It should be 173k.

Glenfiiddich Gang  1
Blatch's Bitches    0

Yeah your superstar turned up.

Blatch's couldnt be arsed. :)

Turning up would have been a start at least the BB got there for Level 3

Blatch's Ballbag?

Carl (shogiun) is heads up in the 2 day APAT event at the minute.  Technolog got 3rd, so well done to him!!! 

Live video feed is here  http://www.apat.com/forum/index.php?topic=5628.0

results from the weekend below, blonde members in bold. Much fun had by all. What happens on tour stays on tour though


The last seats for the 17th April Vic Amateur event are being sold in the Betfair lobby at the moment

Pro event on sale too, likely to attract some Vic regulars I would think too

the specialist series on the Sunday is Razz.



APAT Welsh festival
 
Aspers Casino, Swansea 20-21st March 2010
 
 
APAT Professional League
 
£250 Pot Limit Hold Em
Entries 20
Prize Pool £5,000
 
 
1st Stephen Boyd (Scotland) £2250
2nd James Eccles (Scotland) £1250
3rd Steve Warburton £1000
4th Richard Offless £500
 
 
APAT Welsh Amateur Championships
 
£75 No Limit
Entries 102
Prize Pool £7,881
 
 
1st Gareth Johns (Wales) £2300
2nd Carl Lybert £1600
3rd Jack Prime £1181
4th Martyn Sharp £400
5th Paul McGuinness (Wales) £400
6th Darren Shallis (Wales) £400
7th Andy Overton £400
8th Matthew Whiting £400
9th Robert Malin £400
10th Martin Wilson (Wales) £400
 
 
APAT Specialist Series
 
£25 PLO
 
Entries 50
Prize Pool £1,250
 
1st David Green £570
2nd David Llewellyn (Wales) £310
3rd Colin Oprey (NIre) £190
4th Andrew Jones £120
5th Ian Thompson £60

How come 4 runners being paid in a 19 runner event? Should be 3 max no?

4 is fine I think. 20 runners, but 3/4 is ok/either

+ a saver for 5th.

Us pros can do deals you know Cos. We were even talking about chopping it 17 ways once Blatch was out and flipping for the seat.

Pics of the mystery nymphette referred to as H please Mr Naughty Prewdiecantkeepitinmypants

pics of Rachel too pls

You miss this post Stu ? http://www.apat.com/forum/index.php?topic=5632.msg95984#msg95984

That post no good w/o pics imo.

Yeah obv, just explains who H is and the fact Tighty is legend.

Yeah didnt read it all to be honest, started at the end and skimmed a few pages.

Yeah Prewmeister should no better than no pictures!
We all know the rulez! No picture = STFU & GTFO!

You didn't know this already? Why do you think we call him a cheeky little prewdie pants.

This the one from the bar? If so definately THIS!!!!

Lol obv missed the previous prewdie pants ref, enlighten me.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_X5lM7YiBEWc/S6aF9J8_a_I/AAAAAAAABdk/uhWu2-UEQxM/hayley.jpg)

What happens on tour, stays on tour. Or on an update thread

ahh great days

Why didn't this happen instead of prop bets for me to die before midnight?

sorry this aint vegas

Exactly!! Especially as you dissapointed us again imagine bloody surviving ffs...

Rachael is the finest looking female I've laid my eyes on in along while. Really nice girl as well.

Blatch has a pic but it really doesn't do her justice unfortunately so is best kept off the forum.

Better than the chick with a dick in Dublin?

She makes up for the two miss piggy lookalikes that accompany her.

Thinking i coulda won, but Mr. Loose was practicing major bokking to save a 33/1 payout  against me..!!! LOL   I never had a chance after hat lol

Dont forget the 10/1 additional bet too ;)

Tough one.

That dude was fine.

I was playing poker remember while all these extra side bets were going on lol...  Next time..!!!

Which one makes up for anything?

Sorry Carl. I'd blame Ger. Him backing you against me AND Blatch was always going to end in a 2nd place finish

Theres always another game....... Now what abouts odds for the Vic

If we're running a book we're taking more than 3 £20 bets!

it was 4 (had another at £20 @ 10/1 if any of the three won) Neil kept that one then

Open it early - my bets were a wee bit late and I am sure you will get a few takers - now cos i'm playing I'll expect generous odds on myself

Fire away sir, always happy to take a few bets

OK Neil - same paltry stakes

odds on

Me -- comon when you stop laughing gotta be fairly high
John Murray (mint trav)
Jack (Technolog)
Steve Redfern (AMRN)
Darren Shallis (newportlad)
Carl Lybert (Shogun)
and yes even Kinboshi


and i'll choose my three

Odds on Richeo for the pro pls.
Assuming 35+ runners.

All to win the Main Event of the GUKPT at the vic?

orn you mean next leg of the APAT event?

erm no - if I am being whooshed that's fine,

Richeo being Rich Offless?

Ill offer 14/1 assuming a 35 man field, anything under 35 then no bet?

If Bedi plays, I'll take Bedi vs him for an even money bet if you like?

If I play, will happily take myself too.

Ill bump a few days pre and sort something out. Same to you Cos.

Ok have to back myself
Darren
Kinboshi

all £20 -- let me know the $ and will ship on FT

Ger

If greek plays I'll take Rich

66/1 boshi ... LMAO

phone ladbrokes Ger, even they would lay you 125,s on him !

You're on.

Fancy one for me vs u aswell. £100 each one?

90% sure I'm not going as London is full of breifcase wankers like you but I do it would have to be more bumder

FYP and also more is fine.

lol we have plans for channing in Dublin next week  ;)

Is this still going to be PLHE prewdie?

Neil is my boy now. I got his back Scottish bumders

$91 please Sir

Im in Florida at time of comp so will ship when I get back if needs be, gl

cant find the original APAT post -- username again please

SickoChamp10K

sent

Got back from my hols this morning and am surprised this hasn't sold out already,so i'am in.

Never been to the Vic before looking forward to it.

easiest £20 Blatch ever earnt with the Kinboshi bet.

Btw I stake Blatch online.

Yeah channing is good, I back him online....

mr bookmaker what odds do i get on me winning the vic apat event also odds on me making the FT


thank you very much for giving me the chance to win the lottery with the 100000-1 odds i am sure some kind soul will offer

after all i am tez bad

33/1 Winner
5/1 FT

You'll be one of the best players there easily.

That's harsh. 

surely someone is going to lay me a better price ffs i am a donk after all

and i'll proberly be more intrested in the ladies of london town than i will be in poker

Runners?

nah i'll be sitting

I nearly nearly laughed >:(

150 runners in the £75

Maybe Betfair can open up a market once names are known.....we all have betfair accounts now, so no reason not to back/lay each other for a bit of fun....so to speak ;)

Didnt know it was a 150 man field

Will extend to: -

50/1 Winner
7/1 FT