Nearing the end of the OIC....some thoughts

[trumpman84]

It was a lot of fun. I'm a micro-limit player so getting to experience some of the medium limits was exciting. Plus, it gave me a good chunk of change for Christmas.

I like gaming club's bonuses. I got $200 in sign-up bonuses (paid out as I earned my BRP's..still have about $120 yet to be paid ) for only a $50 initial deposit....it takes a while to clear, but ill take a 200% bonus anyday.

I'm surprised more people didn't succeed. I was surprised that when I finally reached the $400 mark, I was all the way up in 6th and only two people had gotten up to $2000 and that was 2 days ago. I just didn't think the chances of busting out in the micro limits would be all that high for a winning player.

2+2 forum almost completely swept the top ten.


2/4 and 3/6 players (at least on gaming club) are truly awful. I've never played that high on any other site so I can't say that about them, but the average pot consisted of 5-6 people seeing the flop for any number of bets and about 3 staying to the showdown with just about anything, betting and raising with 2nd pair, backdoor draws, bottom pair..just about anything. 1-2 was a bit of a challenge for me and it took me a while, but when I got up to $200, I beat the 2-4 in less than an hour and was up to $400 in the 3-6 in another hour. They seemed to play opposite than optimal poker...they would bet, raise and bluff with nothing in small, throw-away pots, and then go weak-tight or passive in the big pots that were worth fighting for.

Anyone else have a trouble with the waiting lists? I would put myself on one, go play some tables on another site, come back to gaming club and find that I'd have to put myself back on the waiting list despite never being informed there was a spot open. This was very annoying.

Anyone else who participated have something to add?

[chrisdhal]

I agree, I too enjoyed it immensely. I only got up to 1/2 before busting out last night (I was down to $30, it was time to make big moves or go out trying). I liked the concept a lot as it gave me a chance to apply various techniques for "free". I was a lot more aggressive than I normally am. I generally play 1/2 and 2/4 at other places, so it had been a while since I was at 50/1 and it was crazy. I liked the ability to play in a different style and I think I learned some things.

Despite some glitches here and there things seemed to run pretty smoothly. I'm guessing some of the issues such as the leaderboard being messed up and other things that cropped up over a couple of weekends were due to TGC being part of a bigger network (Prima). It was still frustrating at times, but all of the issues were resolved pretty quickly and Gaming Club Guy was very responsive.

I agree about the bonuses. They cleared quickly at 1/2 but are very slow to clear at 50/1 and I'm sure I'll stay there to at least clear the rest of my bonus. The games at 1/2 seemed pretty good and I'm interested to see what the 2/4 games are like. I submitted my refund request last night (Wed) and it was already there on Thursday morning.

Thanks to Gaming Club Guy and TGC for sponsoring this. I was excited to hear about it and I enjoyed myself even though I busted out.

[xxx]

I liked it quite a bit also.

My peak was at $477. I was dealt JJ, and was feeling good about making the last 4 bb to make 5-10. But that was cracked on a 3 outer on the river. The next few hands were great and terrible. AA, KK, AK, all cracked. Ended up at 180 or so. But the whole thing was a great experience.

I'm looking forward to the ending freeroll, too.

[konions]

Congratulations on a top performance!

I am a bit surprised at your comments about the looseness of the games. I (unfortunately /images/graemlins/frown.gif ) have spent my time grubbing around in the $0.50/$1 games. Although they were looser yesterday and today, with around 40% seeing the flop, in the early days of the competition it was only marginally over 30%. Perhaps it was all the zoo inmates flooding in at the start of the comp.

The waiting list point is very frustrating. As a general point, why don't sites open up new tables as soon as there is a demand? Surely the marginal cost of doing so would be trivial compared to the rake lost by keeping people hanging around and eventually leaving in frustration?

[jasonHoldEm]

I'm glad people are getting something out of it, gaining experience and confidence at bigger limits than you normally play is the whole idea behind the challenge.

Yours truly's high water mark was...um...$50. /images/graemlins/blush.gif Glad I could help a few of you move up though. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

J

[chrisdhal]

Re: the waiting lists: The popup for TGC doesn't bring itself to the front. If you don't happen to see the blinking indicator then you can miss it. I actually thought the waiting list worked OK, but then again I'm used to the old Crypto way that really sucked.

There also was usually at least 1 or 2 empty 10 seat tables. The problem isn't opening new ones, it's that people don't want to sit and play short for a while. What would be optimal is if the sites could take all the people from a waiting list and put them on a new table.

I also agree that the first week was super tight, but after that it loosened up quite a bit. I attribute that to the OIC starting.

[chrisdhal]

Thanks also to jasonHoldem, Mike Haven and the other 2+2'ers who got this started. Sorry, didn't mean to leave you out.

[kiemo]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm surprised more people didn't succeed..... I just didn't think the chances of busting out in the micro limits would be all that high for a winning player.


[/ QUOTE ]

I made it up to $66 and then lost it all in less then 2 hours playing one table of 6 max. Hate to break this to ya but a winning player can easily bust out fast when the pendulum swings to the bad side of variance.

Players I played against were truly awful too, unfortunately they were catching their cards on almost every hand I played.

[Hiding]

I made it to 74 bucks, back down to 38 and got mad (tilt) and havent played in a bit, tomorrow night I go for the gusto, $1000 or bust (couldnt bring myself to lose after growing it to that)

[kiemo]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm glad people are getting something out of it, gaining experience and confidence at bigger limits than you normally play is the whole idea behind the challenge.



[/ QUOTE ]

In concept maybe but in reality the whole idea behind the challenge is make $$$ for the hosting poker room.

If the idea truly was to let players gain experience at higher limits then why isnt the starting bankroll much higher? I know the 3 hours I played at .5/1 really gained me alot of experience and confidence to head back to .5/1 tables I play at Party.

How many people were given refunds vs how much rake was generated via players in the OIC is the real question? That answer should give the only reason TGC agreed to put this promotion on.

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm glad people are getting something out of it, gaining experience and confidence at bigger limits than you normally play is the whole idea behind the challenge.



[/ QUOTE ]

In concept maybe but in reality the whole idea behind the challenge is make $$$ for the hosting poker room.

If the idea truly was to let players gain experience at higher limits then why isnt the starting bankroll much higher? I know the 3 hours I played at .5/1 really gained me alot of experience and confidence to head back to .5/1 tables I play at Party.

How many people were given refunds vs how much rake was generated via players in the OIC is the real question? That answer should give the only reason TGC agreed to put this promotion on.

[/ QUOTE ]

In their defense though, they did give out $150 in prizes each day along with $500 to the first that hit $2000.

I noticed a lot of people figured this out later on... there really wasn't that many IOC players playing. So someone could startup in the middle, have a nice run of cards and win the highest rank jump. I know I won once going from $75 to $125. I jumped like 55 places. So that would mean they would need to make $150 rake off IOC players each day to even break even.

[Prod1gy]

What is OIC exactly? Sounds interesting, but couldn't make out alot of detail about it.

[Rudbaeck]

I doubt that they did much more than break even. They gave out $150 every day in prices, $500 in final prices and a $1000 freeroll. There weren't all that many of us playing, nor playing very much.

Off course it's great publicity for TGC, and that's most likely why they did it.

[Peter Harris]

Unfortunately, i'm also a micro player who plays 1/2 and .5/1. At the OIC i made it to...1/2!! before busting out. Went from a peak of $130 to the big zilch. Ah well.

As a result i won't be allowed in the freeroll [one has to finish in 1/2 or above to play].

But, the $50 refund is my "bankroll" at TGC, so i'm playing in freerolls [up $7.50!] and $5+.5 SNGs (then 10+1/20+2) to build up a $1200 roll for 2/4 there as i hear that's where the juicy players start.

Thanks again, gaming club, and all those who organised it. Better luck for me next time?

Regards,
Pete Harris

[krazyace5]

It was a win win situation for both TGC and the players, whats wrong with that?

Anyway, I made it up to $480 for a high, quit the session at $450. Then hit the fast slide downwards, I am all the way back to $1/$2 and have $70 or so. Variance sucks. Maybe its me, lol.

Was fun and I won some daily prizes so that was cool, gotta give props to the 2 finishers, was hopin to join them but maybe another time.

Thanks to all that had a part in running this promo.

[Gaming Club]

The freeroll is for those in the OIC that reached the 1/2 level during the course of the OIC, not just for those finishing in 1/2 and above i.e. if you got to 2/4 and dropped all the way back down to 0.50/1, you'd qualify as you'd reached the 1/2 level at some stage during the challenge.

[ QUOTE ]

Thanks again, gaming club, and all those who organised it. Better luck for me next time?


[/ QUOTE ]
It's a pleasure /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[chrisdhal]

[ QUOTE ]
The freeroll is for those in the OIC that reached the 1/2 level

[/ QUOTE ]

Woo hoo! I'm in then. Will there be some notification or is there a date set?

[kiemo]

[ QUOTE ]


In their defense though, they did give out $150 in prizes each day along with $500 to the first that hit $2000.



[/ QUOTE ]

Stupid me, I forgot about the daily and other prizes.


I will say thanks to the organizers and TGC for the effort, but honestly if the goal is to give players a chance to play higher levels then just bankroll players with a $500 sticky type bonus, becuase I, along with many others got 0 experience playing at higher levels and most of the players who got up to the higher levels are probably used to playing those levels anyways.

[Mike Haven]

just bankroll players with a $500 sticky type bonus

yeah, that sounds like a good idea

if they give us $500 each we could all start playing at the $10-$20 level and gain some good experience before Eugene wins it all

what do you say, gaming club guy?

[pc in NM]

[ QUOTE ]
The freeroll is for those in the OIC that reached the 1/2 level during the course of the OIC, not just for those finishing in 1/2 and above i.e. if you got to 2/4 and dropped all the way back down to 0.50/1, you'd qualify as you'd reached the 1/2 level at some stage during the challenge.

[ QUOTE ]

Thanks again, gaming club, and all those who organised it. Better luck for me next time?


[/ QUOTE ]
It's a pleasure /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Great news! I made it to $2/$4 (high of $265) and have settled back to $0.5/$1 (low of $45) - been in-and-out at $1/$2....

Kudos to all who contributed to the project; it was a lot of fun!

[actyper]

Has a date for the Freeroll been annouced yet?

Any thoughts on another OIC? I'm still pissed I played so stupidly trying to get 300 brp when I reached 1/2.

[Art Vandelay]

I had a blast playing as well. I peaked at $141 and won $100 for making the biggest jump in money and places on a day. It's a great concept that I look forward to participating in next time. I'm also looking forward to mixing it up in the freeroll when it's announced.

Thanks to TGC and all of those that set this up. It's a great idea.

[elric]

Was a roller coaster ride for me... I could beat the $.50/$1.00 tables, but the $1/$2 rivered me to Bankroll death.

$50 down to $24
$24 up to $130
$130 down to $21
$21 up to $106
$106 down to $59
$59 up to $105

Only won one $50 prize for jumping up in rank. Most days someone edged me out by just a few places. Was very disappointed with myself not being able to make it past the $1/$2 level.

$.50/$1 ~ 1092 hands ~ +$139
$1/$2 ~ 666 hands ~ -$84.79

I paid $63.25 in rake.