How to fix the morning tournaments

[Desertcat]

I love playing tournaments, but unfortunately can't make it to many. I've recently tried a few of the morning tournaments and can't say how frustrating I found them.

Specifically my complaints are the following

1) Payouts for making the bubble are atrocious. I made a profit of only $2 for making the top twenty of a nearly 200 person tournament. At a $130 buyin weekend tournament I just missed the final table in a 150 person table, and netted $20!

One TD said in my presence, you should only expect to get your buyin back unless you make the final table. That attitude is why many tournaments suck, spending all day and beating 90% of our opponents should be worth something. At the WSOP ME, they guarantee double your buyin if you make the money. That should be the CAZ norm, double your buying for making the money.

Obviously, increasing the bottom rung payouts hurts the top level payouts, so where will the money come from? I understand the entry fee is getting bumped to $75, that will help, but you need to do more. I have a few ideas.

2) Currently, the prize pool isn't big enough. Assume I'm twice as good as the average player, that means my expectation is $80 on a $60 investment, so I can only expect to average $20 for every couple hours commitment. It's a $3-$6 level prize pool at best. And what if I'm only average, now my expectation is -$20, i.e. I'm losing a huge house fee. Now I understand the house isn't getting $20, I'm told that $15 goes into the "points challenge".

Well, the points challenge only benefits unemployed degenerates who can hang around the casino every day. Well, like many players, I'm an employed degenerate, and I'll have enough time to play enough tournaments to earn enough points to qualify for the challenge. Given 20 tournaments a month, 100 entries a tournament, would equal $30,000 a month I will never have a chance at!I feel like a schmuck playing the tournaments given that a huge percentage of the prize pool is given away to others.

I'm not even sure of the purpose of the points challenge, presumably it's to reward your regulars for coming to the casino more often. But when the house is only raking $5, every hour of tournament play is costing you table rake. So you should be careful not to overincent the points challenge, or you'll be giving a lucrative free roll (given the dead money in the pool from irregulars like myself) to regulars and incenting them to play more tournaments and less side games. Wouldn't $5 of the fee accomplish enough to make the points challenge valuable, without disincenting irregular players like myself?  I'd like to play twice a week when I have the time, but feel like I'm taking way the worst of it if I do. So by reducing the points challenge tax, you increase incentives for irregulars to become more regular...

3) But the biggest improvement you can make is to consider limited rebuys. I've been told that you think customers don't like rebuys, and I'd like to hear what they've said. From what I"ve heard, most of the gripes against rebuys I hear revolve around three areas, they make the tournaments crazy crapshoots, they make the tourneys too expensive, and they create opportunities for collusion (i.e. players think partners go in against each other to maximize the chances of building big stacks and winning big money).

There is a simple way to overcome these objections. Allow a single rebuy before the first break at the cost of the entry fee minus fee, i.e. $40 now, or $55 in the $75 tournament. There are two substantial advantages to doings so. First, the action player who wants to play tournaments, is less wiling to make time to go to a tournament if he faces elimination in the first five minutes. A "second bullet" makes the cost of the tourney experience (the drive over, getting out of work/other oobligations) so he knows he can last a bit longer. This attracts more action players. Secondly, since rebuys go straight into the prize pool, they increase it substantially and makes the tournament payouts more attractive for everyone, whether they rebuy or not.

And a single rebuy doesn't make the tournament significantly more expensive, cheap players can skip the rebuy and play for the same costs.  Even the rebuy itself makes a $60 tournament only $100. And a single rebuy doesn't create a much wilder tournament, nor lend itself to collusion scenarios.

But don't take my word for it. Test it by making the friday tournaments single rebuy, and see whether participation improves. Don't just listen to the squeeky wheels, the regular nits who just want everything cheap and plenty of freerolls. See what the players as a whole do in response to a regular weekly rebuy. I'll commit to playing it every week if you do it, esp. if you reduce the points challenge tax.

thanks,
Randy

[CrazyLond]

I have been a regular at these tournaments for a while and also am frustrated by the current structure.  Like you said, it is impossible to have any decent long-term winrate with such small prizepools for the # of entries.  I was playing a lot when they had the 6K guarantee and had amassed enough points to be in the money standings in the points challenge.  I was extremely upset when they took away the guarantee halfway through the points challenge.  However, I felt that if I could cash just once more, I would have enough points to be in the $500 bracket without having to play any more tournaments with such an insane amount of the prizepool withheld.  Unfortunately, I played a few more and was unable to cash.  I've now gotten to the point where I refuse to play any more just to try and get that $500.  I'm going to school right now and living off the GI Bill and savings.  I actually just got a job for the tax season that will fill my schedule for the next few months.  I'm tired of spending so much time chasing points that I've started to not even enjoy my time playing anymore.

The fact I was going to school online and not working is the only reason I was able to play in enough tournaments to remain competitive in the standings.  Most of the players who are in it are living off pensions, investment income or other unearned income.  It is almost impossible for anyone with a full-time job to be able to compete in the standings.

Aside from the points tournament in February that I will be in, I am not planning on playing any more for a while.  I'm finishing up my degree this year and taking care of some other personal things.  I figure, poker will always be there, and I'm content to wait to play until I have the rest of my affairs in order.  I may still play in an occasional special tournament for fun (That super bowl one was tempting) but it will be a long time before I play to go after something like points again.

[Desertcat]

Need to correct one comment. According to the stickies the points challenge fee is only $5. So ignore that comment, I apparently was misinformed by one of the TDs. $15 vig isn't outrageous, but once again, offering a single rebuy reduces the vig percentage from 33% to 20% of the prize pool, very significant.