prima/bet 365 "round" sngs

[invisibleleadsoup]

just noticed these now,basically the deal is this:

round 1 costs $5, there are 10 players, top two go on to round 2

round 2,$25 buyin, top 2 go to round 3, 3rd gets another shot at round 2

round 3,$112.50 buyin,top 4 get into round 4,5th gets entry into round 2

round 4,$275 buyin,top 5 get into round 5

round 5,$550 buyin:
1st- $3000
2nd- $1200
3rd- $800
4th- $500

so whats the story with these?
anyone here play them?
anyone built up through the ranks and won one?
i've never seen these types of tourneys before,though i heard something about a party pyramid thing that sounded similar
what are the advantages/disadvantages of this sort of thing?
etc

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]

so whats the story with these?
anyone here play them?
anyone built up through the ranks and won one?
i've never seen these types of tourneys before,though i heard something about a party pyramid thing that sounded similar
what are the advantages/disadvantages of this sort of thing?
etc

[/ QUOTE ]

These are basically the same as the Party step tourneys, which I'm sure you can find tons of info on with a little digging.

I was going to comment about these being a rake trap, but after looking at the payout structure its actually not. Unlike the party steps the value of the prizes is equivalent to the amount of the buy-in to the next level with no rake.

Look at a stpe 2 here for example:
Prize pool is $250. 2 Players get a $112.5+rake prize and one gets a $25+rake. So basically prima picks up the tab for your rake on all seats that get won via the step system.

The other trap of the step system is still in place however. They basically serve to funnel money up to the top of the ladder. Smaller-stakes players will try and win their way from the early stages and usually end up losing their money to the bigger players when the finally reach the top. This of course isn't really a bad thing (esp if you are one of the sharks swimmng at the top of the food chain) but it is a fact of life when discussing this type of structure.

[curtains]

Im confused? Is there no rake for the top level??

[Nottom]

top level is a 550+55 if you buy in, but unlike party if you play in the step 4 and win a spot they don't rerake.

i.e. Level 4 is a 275+27.50 SNG that pays out 5 seats into a $550+55 tourney.

You can do the math.

[curtains]

Oh so the rake is 10% at the top? Thats no good.

[hummusx]

I haven't played the steps, but isn't this more generous? Top 4 from a round 3 go to round 4? Top FIVE from a round 4 go to a round 5? Seems to me like the round 4 and round 5 games might be pretty soft compared to the steps - these aren't designed nearly as much for keeping you bouncing around. Probably because they aren't a gigantic rake trap...

[Misfire]

The RoyalVegas WSOP structure is similar.

At levels 1,2,4, and 5, 100% of the rake actually goes into the prize pool. At level 3 they rake $2.75 total--this just makes level 4's 100+10 buy-in a nice round number. At level 6 they finally keep the rake for themselves. In the end, after however many tournaments it takes for 1 person to finally win a seat, RV only keeps $1352.75.

[Misfire]

Fix my math if I'm wrong...
It looks like Prima is actually seeding the pot at Round 4.

Round 3 buyin is $112.50 + $11.25 (123.75). One person repeats, so his buy-in doesn't count. That leaves 9.

123.75 * 9 = 1113.75

4 players win a $275 + $27.50 ($302.5)

But 1113.75 / 4 winners = $278.44

Looks like each Round 3 winner gets $24.06 free.

[gasgod]

What is starting chip count, starting blinds and how often do blinds go up?

If their structure is similar to Party's, then rounds 2-4 would tend to end more quickly, because there are more equal places. For example, round four ends when it gets down to 5 players. It looks like the whole cycle might unfold much quicker than the Party steps.

GG

[hummusx]

1500 chips and I think 10 minutes rounds.

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]
Fix my math if I'm wrong...
It looks like Prima is actually seeding the pot at Round 4.

Round 3 buyin is $112.50 + $11.25 (123.75). One person repeats, so his buy-in doesn't count. That leaves 9.

123.75 * 9 = 1113.75

4 players win a $275 + $27.50 ($302.5)

But 1113.75 / 4 winners = $278.44

Looks like each Round 3 winner gets $24.06 free.

[/ QUOTE ]

The 5th place guy freerolls back into the step 2 ($25+2.5) not the Step 3, so its still even.

[Misfire]

[ QUOTE ]
The 5th place guy freerolls back into the step 2 ($25+2.5) not the Step 3, so its still even.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right, good call. It's still nice that they don't actually collect any rake until the last round.