Would You Play In This?

Drac · #1 11-12-2004, 02:27 AM

$100 buy in, no rebuy/add on with entire buy in going to prize pool. Field capped at 56 players, 8 tables of 7 to start, everyone at final table of 7 gets paid with the winner receiving around $2100.
I played in this the one other time they ran it. Only one other player at my table really knew what was going on and one other guy had played poker but not HE. Most players were there to network and 95% of them would have been hurt by Kerry returning the highest tax bracket to its previous level. I don't fit in that earnings category and had never played for more than a $50 buy in before but my BR can certainly take the $100 buy in. As I dealt the final table after I was knocked out I have a pretty good idea of the talent level there and none of the players were better than me. Some were equal but certainly not enough to fill the final table. My knock out came when I was dealt JT in the BB, saw the flop for no raise (J 3 T), check raised the button's 1/2 pot bet all in. He called instantly (putting 90% of his stack in when he had less than half in before my RR), showed me A 3 off. Turn was an A and I was gone in 49th and had the pleasure of seeing him ride my stack to the final table. I made a killing in the side games so it was a good evening for me overall.

The question comes with the blind structures. Start with T500 in chips, 5/10 blinds that DOUBLE every 15 minutes. I was knocked out in round 4 where the blinds were already 40/80 and we haven't even played an hour. I truly believe I was one of the 5 best players in the room and maybe the best player there. With at least half of the field being total fish with ZERO clue how to play is it worth it for me to take the gambool with the blind structure the way it is? Seems kinda crazy to put in nearly 25% of the initial stack size in blinds after only 45 minutes. Please help!

oneeye13 · #2 11-12-2004, 06:40 AM

when you have to overcome any juice... no good reason not to

aceragclubs · #3 11-12-2004, 05:59 PM

Yeah, with no rake and the quality of players it would be hard not to play. However, any edge you have is reduced by how quick the blinds go up. Doubling the blinds every 15 minutes isn't so bad if you at least start with a few thousand chips. 500 isn't a lot. Like I said, I would play but expect a high variance on results.

Big Country · #4 11-12-2004, 06:02 PM

I'd play... even if you don't do well in the tournament, you can still get in on the side games and likely make more as well as maintain a solid relationship with the players if you offer to deal again i you aren't fortunate enough to be the one with all the chips at the end.

Drac · #5 11-16-2004, 11:43 AM

Bumpage

dogmeat · #6 11-16-2004, 01:32 PM

Nothing wrong with this tournament. The blinds increase is easily balanced by the poor players. Your variance will be high, but your overall win will likewise be high.

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

UMTerp · #7 11-16-2004, 02:25 PM

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with entire buy in going to prize pool

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but my BR can certainly take the $100 buy in

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I truly believe I was one of the 5 best players in the room and maybe the best player there

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That's all you need to say. Of course you should play. As others have said, the blind structure will give you more variance than normal, but given the statements I quoted, it's still clearly +EV for you, and your bankroll can handle the times you won't cash (which will still be more often than not - that's the tough part about tournaments).

holman3rd · #8 11-16-2004, 04:03 PM

This blind structure doesn't seem to bad, given the school of fish. It's good that you at least consider the structure, though. Most home games that I play in are organized by people that don't have a clue. I quit playing in one b/c they insisted on raising the blinds every orbit and finishing each mini-tourney after 60 minutes. They were smart enough, however, to sit on big stacks and let the clock tick away.

On the other hand, I played in one last weekend that was 15 players, $100 buy-in, you start with T1500 and the blinds started at 1/2 for 45 minutes rounds. I'm not kidding. I'm a very impatient person, and I almost didn't want to play. Yes, I realize that I had an even greater advantage over the field with this structure, but for crying out loud, I didn't want to be there all night. Well, guess what? We started at 8 and ended at 4am...LOL. I took 1st for $600...$75/hour wasn't too bad, I guess. But, my wife was pissed when I got home at 4:30. Nice.