Improving poker tournaments.

[gatso]

I actually feel a bigger advantage went to a few of the players who didn't rebuy.
The rebuy option was announced to the tables a few minutes before the end of flight 1, whether or not it had actually been 100% agreed upon is irrelevant, it was announced to us as a fact.
Prior to this announcement the tables were winding down ready for the break and barring 2 monster hands running into each other there was unlikely to be too much chip movement.
Then came the announcement and we suddenly had 2 or 3 hands of shortstack all in plays. Everyone knew that these were moves with any 2 cards so calls were made, chips started to fly into the middle and a few lucky players ended up turning average stacks into large stacks in the last couple of minutes leaving a lot more people who had played good poker for the last 3 hours wondering what the hell had just happened.
IMO the problem is not so much with the decision (although I don't like it I fully understand why it was taken) but with the timing of its announcement. Had this been left until the break we would not have had this frantic few minutes, we would have had chip counts that reflected the play during flight 1 and we would not have had a few artificially large stacke that changed the whole dynamic of the tournament from that point onward.

[Cybertim]

great point Gatso but ALL the tables were told at different times.. my table was told after the hole cards were dealt on the LAST hand.  other tables downstairs had been having an "all in fest" for three or four hands and people did treble and quadruple up... now THAT sure altered the dynamics of the game...  I  still think however that allowing the rebuys did make it a lot more fun for a lot more people and that having fun was primarily what the BB is about....   Might be a great idea to have a big venue for the future BB,s though and although cincins is a FANTASTIC place it was a bit too small for the amount of people that were there and there was NO spare tables for sit and goes and people from the first flight had nothing to do for 3 or 4 hours which was a pain in the backside.. Hamilton comp was great as there was plenty of spare tables and anyone wanting to socialise or play a sit and go could do it no problem... Cincins is a fabulous place  and although I have almost no experience in Live poker I get the feeling it would be hard to beat..   whens BB3?  <grin>

[ifm]

"Hell is paved with good intentions, not with bad ones. All men mean well."

George Bernard Shaw

[Cybertim]

never tie your shoelace in a revolving door

anon

[Ironside]

i think bb3 will be sometime after the WSOP finishes and everyone gets home and gets a chance to catch up with reality

[Canuck]

Having read this thread I would like to add my two cents.

I played the first flight and it was fantastic poker. It was intense as everyone wanted to win, but it was social with people congratulating others on pots won much more then an average tourney. A great poker atmosphere.

I began with 6000 chips (as did everyone) and with about 10 minutes left in the flight I was sitting on 11,000. I was extremely happy as I was card dead the entire time (except for 1 hand, sorry LondonPokerGirl) and I felt I had a great chance to do well. Then with about four or five hands remaining, our table was told that people could rebuy into the second flight. What ensued was 4 consecutive hands of shortstacks (4000-8000 chips) going all in, and were eliminated on hands such as 6 2 suited. I do not fault the players for going all in as they saw what was happening and did what they could to win. I would have done the same. I do not blame the tournament organizers either, as they saw a problem and did the best they could to repair that problem.

However, having played for so long in an intense poker environment where chips were so valuable, seeing them played with so carelessly was a bit disheartening. Again, I do not blame the players, nor the organizers. I just wish the decision to allow rebuys into the second flight had not been made until after the flight had finished. Thereby ensuring that all players who played the second flight were there because of being eliminated by other players, not being eliminated by them personally and their own careless play the last few hands.

I still had a great time though!!

[TightEnd]

i think bb3 will be sometime after the WSOP finishes and everyone gets home and gets a chance to catch up with reality

yes, my early thoughts are September

[GlasgowBandit]

When our table was told I was on the Big Blind and Bradley Strider was UTG, in the small blind was RosyITB who told me he had a monster.  I looked down to find pocket 5's and after we where told about the rebuy Bradley had moved all in UTG, he was called by RosyITB I reckon it was about 2600 for me to call but I didn't want to really put my stack at risk having played well for almost 3 hrs to get myself up to just short of 20k.  

Anyway I folded my pocket 5's and had it not been for this announcement I would probably have been in the pot as I reckon RosyITB would have tried to keep me in the pot by flat calling or making a small bet as he had KK.  What peeved me off though was there was a 5 on the flop and I felt I missed the chance to play the hand because of the announcement.  

Regardless though, I don't think there was any advantage to players who played bought back in to the second flight and it made for great poker as there where plenty of chips to be had when the flights emalgamated!

[moritzey]

I'd just like to point out one fact that was ignored so far: Cambo and me, being the first ones out in flight one immediately made our way to the bar. Well done to Cambo for being able to make a final table after drinking for a couple of hours, but overall most of the people who bought back in were just added value to the prizepool ...

On a serious note: I agree, it was a little dodgy, but then it was a social event, rather than anything to be taken seriously ... if something like that will happen to me in the WSOP (yeah, right ...) later on this year, I'll join the revolution..

[Royal Flush]

When our table was told I was on the Big Blind and Bradley Strider was UTG, in the small blind was RosyITB who told me he had a monster.  I looked down to find pocket 5's and after we where told about the rebuy Bradley had moved all in UTG, he was called by RosyITB I reckon it was about 2600 for me to call but I didn't want to really put my stack at risk having played well for almost 3 hrs to get myself up to just short of 20k. 

Anyway I folded my pocket 5's and had it not been for this announcement I would probably have been in the pot as I reckon RosyITB would have tried to keep me in the pot by flat calling or making a small bet as he had KK.  What peeved me off though was there was a 5 on the flop and I felt I missed the chance to play the hand because of the announcement. 

Regardless though, I don't think there was any advantage to players who played bought back in to the second flight and it made for great poker as there where plenty of chips to be had when the flights emalgamated!

I was dealing that table, it was about 3 who got knocked out in those last few hands wasn't it bandit?

[TightEnd]

I don't like the term "dodgy" ....mistake maybe, incorrect maybe..but we had the best intentions

[Royal Flush]

I don't like the term "dodgy" ....mistake maybe, incorrect maybe..but we had the best intentions

That you did. Had it not been announced before the end it would have been less of an issue. I know that was not you as you only said yes in the break!!

I understand the fun element, its why i wish BB was a rebuy!

[tikay]

Sigh.......

I can barely believe I am reading this.

Here's the scenario.

Several guys approach me 5 or 10 mins before the end of Flight One, they say a lot of guys have asked if Flight One bustees can rebuy in for Flight Two. I duck it, & pass them to Dave, who promptly passes it back to me. I duck it again, & shove it Tighty's way, & we umm & arr between us, & eventually, in the spirit of bB, we say "yeah, let's do it".

This is about 5 minutes before the end of Flight One. I immediately go round ALL the tables, 1 at a time (sorry, I'm not omnipresent) & inform them. There are a few moans  groans & grumbles, but by now, I'm "pot-committed" - I can't change my mind yet again!

So we do it. The decision was made in the spirit of a blonde Bash, where the idea is more to have fun than be all serious werious. And it's a bit tough on Tighty, who worked his socks off (as Flushy did with the Heads-Up) to smear him at this stage, imo.

But them'e the facts, & them's the breaks.

With hindsight, I coulda handled it different, better, but then again, it's easy-peasy to say that now. I made a decision & I am quite happy to live with it.

blonde Bash's will always be held in the spirit of fun. That's the whole idea! But it' the old maxim, "you can please some of the peeps, some of the time....."

[gatso]

Tikay, I think you've read something into this thread that just isn't there, noone has smeared tighty, in fact at no point has any individual been singled out for any criticism.
Everyone understands exactly why the decision was made, noone is  trying to cause any trouble. We're merely discussing what happened in a very reasonable way.
You know how unpopular the decision was at the time as I heard several people (including myself) tell you but nobody kicked up a fuss, we all accepted it and got on with enjoying the occasion. I think this speaks volumes for those in attendance.

I think cyber sums it up very well

what a good thread...  its a credit to this forum and its users that this topic can be discussed in a rational thought out well behaved way without it getting out of hand and people trying to cause trouble,,

so in the true spirit of friendship....  can I get my money back?   0:-)

[thetank]

I thought we were smearing Tikay?

Tighty's bigger than me, wouldn't dream of smearing him