The new 1-table STEPS: Bane or Bonanza?!?

[ilya]

I have to admit these look tempting.

STEP1: $11+1
1st, 2nd get entry into STEP2

STEP2: $50+5
1st, 2nd get entry into STEP3
3rd gets entry into another STEP2
4th gets entry into STEP1 + $3

STEP3: $200+15
1st-3rd get entry into STEP4
4th gets entry into another STEP3
5th-7th get entry into another STEP2
8th gets entry into STEP1 + $3

STEP4: $500+35
1st-4th get entry into STEP5
5th gets another entry into STEP4
6th-8th get entries into STEP2
9th-10th get entries into STEP1 + $8
(yes, that's right, EVERYONE at STEP4 gets a prize)

STEP5: $1000+65
1st $4500
2nd $2500
3rd $1800
4th $1200

Remember, these are 10-player, single-table tournaments!

Is it just me, or do these seem even better than the 2-table ones?

[adanthar]

I think these are gonna be worse, personally.

Most of the reason why the 2-table Step 3 and 4 structure is so good is that medium stacks have no reason to play and a properly aggressive short stack (as opposed to a tiny stack) has no disadvantage at all. You can literally sit there and steal all day and be assured entry so long as one guy only has 2-3 BB and everyone's waiting on him. This works because the medium stacks are in that 5-7 BB comfort zone.

But in the 1 tables, the blinds go up every 10 hands and the emphasis is on 4-6 handed play with higher blinds, eg, *getting to* Step 5 will be a crapshoot.

I like the flatter payout on the top rung and it may be worth it for the top pros just to play these all day to max out that 5% ROI but at first glance I think I'll stick to the 2 tables.

[ilya]

Do you think the increased crapshootiness will be at all offset by the likelihood of these 1-tables being up to 2x faster?

[pokerraja]

are these inter-changeable? for instance if i play a step 1 two table tourney and qualify for step 2, can i then go play a one table step 2 instead of the two table?

[Jman28]

no you can't, which sucks. Someone should email party.

[adanthar]

Kinda. I do think the *Step 5* 1 tables are equal to or better for a good player $/hour wise than the 2 tables are. I'm not sure if that's true for ROI (I'd suspect that it's not because of the flatter payout but for the same reason, it's better for people taking shots). But...the level 3 and 4's, which are super weak tight and so soft in the 2 tables, are gonna be hard to crack in the 1 tables.

In my original thread, I implied that the max possible return on a Step 4 2 table would be something like 45%. After playing a few, I think I really underestimated that and it's MUCH higher (maybe even 60%) due to the fact that unless the guy to your left on the bubble has 8K chips or gets aces you'll make it in every time.

In these 1 tables, I think the return will, for lack of a better term, suck ass. That makes them worthless as far as I'm concerned since I won't be buying in directly.

[assron]

my first reaction is that it doesnt look great, but then again, single table setup is a lot easier for me personally to beat at any level. I guess there's only one way to figure out how they play...

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
6th-8th get entries into STEP2
9th-10th get entries into STEP1 + $8
(yes, that's right, EVERYONE at STEP4 gets a prize)


[/ QUOTE ]

Getting a $55 or $20 'prize' in a $500 entry tourney isn't really getting a prize. It's kind of like getting clothes on your birthday.

-Jman28

[Jman28]

I just played a few.

1 Step 1s : got 3 freerolls
3 Step 2s : got 1 freerolls

Playing the STEP 3 now, and just this second lost QQ to 77 all in. Still some chips.

-Jman28

[ilya]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
6th-8th get entries into STEP2
9th-10th get entries into STEP1 + $8
(yes, that's right, EVERYONE at STEP4 gets a prize)


[/ QUOTE ]

Getting a $55 or $20 'prize' in a $500 entry tourney isn't really getting a prize. It's kind of like getting clothes on your birthday.

-Jman28

[/ QUOTE ]

True. But still. It seems fairly easy to stay in the system once you get to level 2.

[adanthar]

[ QUOTE ]
no you can't, which sucks. Someone should email party.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just sent them a nice letter. It occurs to me that it'd be a GREAT idea if people would do it en masse.

Combining the Step 1-2 1 table freerolls with the 3-4 2 tables and then going back to 1 tabling for Step 5 would shoot everyone's ROI through the roof.

[Jman28]

Start a thread telling people this. It's a great idea.

[Jman28]

Okay, I'll start it. Make sure to bump it.

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
6th-8th get entries into STEP2
9th-10th get entries into STEP1 + $8
(yes, that's right, EVERYONE at STEP4 gets a prize)


[/ QUOTE ]

Getting a $55 or $20 'prize' in a $500 entry tourney isn't really getting a prize. It's kind of like getting clothes on your birthday.

-Jman28

[/ QUOTE ]

In this case, the clothes would be socks, underwear, or hand-me-downs.