Gala Poker Tour Grand Final: Day 1A - Interactive

[NoflopsHomer]

So whilst Jen and Dana are hurrying around Amsterdam chasing the 400+ players or so in the Master Classics. (Shouldn't it just be the Amsterdam Masters, or Amsterdam Classic, why do they have to be greedy and have both?). We are down here in Bristol to cover the Grand Final of the Gala Poker Tour with it's chunky £2,500 buy-in. Originally, it was going to be held at the same time as the EPT Dublin event, but they wanted to avoid the clash and instead chose to send it up against Amsterdam instead. This clash however may have actually turned out to be a worse one because of the more comparable buy-ins between Amsterdam and Bristol since at the moment there are only 52 runners, though that could well change before the 2pm start time on Thursday. Also, Amsterdam already has one of the best reputations around meaning people are naturally going to go to that event and not even think about possible alternatives. Perhaps though some people playing in Amsterdam today may bust out early and decide to come back to play Bristol tomorrow?

A few of the names who are playing, however, will no doubt surprise you, as they include Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Robert Williamson III, Jennifer Tilly and 2006 WSOP Champion Jamie Gold. But this addition of 'star talent' hasn't seemed so far to galvanise people into coming to play with the big names, though we won't know this before the event starts. Obviously, if the field isn't huge, then where is the problem stemming from? Is it down to putting the tournament up against another very popular event and coming off worse? Is this another case, like Dublin, where there is simply too much poker going on and the buy-in is too big with people just deciding to wait for a better option? Or has the additional of glamorous US stars actually hurt the competition and people have seen the toughening of the field and thought they would be wasting their money?

Either way, the tournament will start at 2pm and we'll be here to bring all you all the action.

[booder]

there is simply too much poker going on and the buy-in is too big with people just deciding to wait for a better option?

 

[RED-DOG]

What's the blind structure like Chris?

[b4matt]

Are there 2 day 1's?

[snoopy1239]

There are a number of problems with this tournament. Apart from the obvious clash with Amsterdam, lack of a big prizepool and no past history as an established, successful comp, the location itself has to be an obstacle. Bristol isn't exactly the pinnacle of the poker map, so is never going to lure high numbers, especially with its non-central location. Besides, people like to play where they have played before, where they know how to get there and what hotels to stay in. They also want some sort of guarantee on numbers, something that Amsterdam can offer.

Finally, the buy-in is ridiculous. £2,500? Up to now, this Tour has provided affordable well-structured freezeouts and has targeted what are generally more working class casinos. How can they possibly think those people are still going to stump up the buy-in when they bump it up by so much? As for the added names, who cares? If someone can afford to pay 2.5k, then I doubt they're really bothered about playing with the 'stars'. If anything, it might put them off as they know the value will go down.

What they should up done is increased the buy in by £500 or, say, £1,000 max, and then satellite the hell out of it whilst adding a little extra dosh or offering a guarantee.

[NoflopsHomer]

The buy-in is actually £2,500 Snoops. Still a lot, but way more comparable to Amsterdam's £3,500 than Dublin's £5,000.

Yes, Matt there are two Day 1's, which means we might end up playing short-handed by the end of both of them.

[snoopy1239]

I think the buy-in should be no more than £1,500.

[Dewi_cool]

do you think the Grosvenor grand final will encounter similar problems, considering clash with the cpc in st kitts and dtd opening ?

[NoflopsHomer]

1 Hour Clock. 15,000 starting chips.

25/50
50/100
75/150
100/200
150/300
200/400
200/400/25
300/600/50
400/800/75
600/1200/100
800/1600/100
1000/2000/200
1500/3000/300
2000/4000/400
3000/6000/600
4000/8000/800
6000/12000/1000

etc...

[NoflopsHomer]

do you think the Grosvenor grand final will encounter similar problems, considering clash with the cpc in st kitts and dtd opening ?

I think the difference is that the CPC is nowhere near as close as Amsterdam and that the GUKPT final is at the Vic, which should guarantee them a couple of hundred players at least.

[ripple11]

There are a number of problems with this tournament. Apart from the obvious clash with Amsterdam, lack of a big prizepool and no past history as an established, successful comp, the location itself has to be an obstacle. Bristol isn't exactly the pinnacle of the poker map, so is never going to lure high numbers, especially with its non-central location. Besides, people like to play where they have played before, where they know how to get there and what hotels to stay in. They also want some sort of guarantee on numbers, something that Amsterdam can offer.

Finally, the buy-in is ridiculous. £3,500? Up to now, this Tour has provided affordable well-structured freezeouts and has targeted what are generally more working class casinos. How can they possibly think those people are still going to stump up the buy-in when they bump it up by so much? As for the added names, who cares? If someone can afford to pay 3.5k, then I doubt they're really bothered about playing with the 'stars'. If anything, it might put them off as they know the value will go down.

What they should up done is inreased the buy in by £500 or, say, £1,000 max, and then satellite the hell out of it whilst adding a little extra dosh or offering a guarantee.

Well said Snoops 

[doubleup]

There are some added prizes for the first three and in general this was a well conceived tour, however, Gala have the expertise to snatch defeat from any situation.

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=26360.0

[NoflopsHomer]

Yes, there are added prizes for the top five places. Here they are:

Great British Poker Champion 2007 collects:     Est. £165,000 & package to Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas in December 2007

Runner-up collects:    Prize money & package to Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia
3rd placed finisher collects:    Prize money & package to EPT 2008 event
4th placed finisher collects:    Prize money & £500 + £50 main event buy-in to a 2008 GBPT festival of choice
5th placed finisher collects:    Prize money & £500 + £50 main event buy-in to a 2008 GBPT festival of choice

[Ironside]

problem has been the jump from £500 to £2500

bristol isnt that far off the beaten track but there is much more afforfable events elsewhere

[lucky_scrote]

I was meant to be playing this but unfortunately im ill so ive had to pull out, damn.