2009 World Poker Finals Structure

I am no sociology expert, but it is strange how one person's positive attitude can transform something... and in my case, a poker table full of people.

In my last blog, I spoke about how certain people in a certain higher stakes game were less than nice. Well, one person managed to change this person and everyone else's attitude from a rude and pompous one to one of gratitude, kindness and light-hearted jokes... a complete 180 from what this table has become to be known for.

This guy managed to do all this by simply being funny. Making jokes that were able to include everyone at the table, including the dealers. He actually turned the game human. I was no longer the robot and the other players were no longer the enemies. He made poker, at a high stakes level, fun and not a grind... imagine that.

I wish I made enough money as a dealer to hire a comic to follow me from table to table. It benefits not only my enjoyment and efficiency in a game, but also overall customer satisfaction. If every poker game equated to having the kind of fun that made you forget about the money you have on the line the room itself would be in a lot better shape.

Speaking of fun, The World Poker Finals starts next Monday.

There seems to be a lot of negative comments about the schedule in the forums. I guess most people's frustration is a lack of NLHE tournaments fitting into a Friday and Saturday start.

Maybe I am wrong in my analysis, as I really lack the experience to make judgement... but I think the way the schedule is set up is what fit the best for business, and not necessarily best for tournament circuit grinders or tourists. Whether I agree or don't is irrelevant, but it seems to be a plan that cuts out long-term goals for short-term success... which I guess is when Foxwoods needs help the most.

Here is a copy of the schedule...

http://www.foxwoods.com/uploadedFiles/Gaming/Poker/FWPF/WPF%202009%20Brochure%20Schedule%20rev%20color.pdf

My thinking is that they eliminated Saturday NLHE tournaments for two simple reasons...

1. This leaves that day open for more satellite entrants, thus more overall player participation in the 10k main event.

2. Saturday's is a busy day for poker room NLHE cash games, and perhaps having a smaller buy-in NL tournament that day might take away tables from the cash game participation. Not only that but there is only one room for tournament use, and with that kind of limited space the overflow from the tournament room could also hinder the ability to run more cash tables. And let's be honest cash games will bring a lot more revenue than the juice from a tournament.

The other concern I have seen in the forums is the addition of antes for the first-ever PLO tournament Foxwoods has put on.

I am excited about the event, but I am too am concerned about the antes. I think it just creates a different element to the game. Instead of 3.5x'ing, as a max, for the open-raise... it can now be as much as 4.75x, depending on the number of players at the table and ante size in relation to the blind. I know most people will probably stray away from pot-sized open-raises, but there are just people out there who are pot-bet happy... and depending on their thinking for future streets, may do it, to be able to get more money in on those streets.

I guess my other concern is the math. I, as a dealer, normally have pot and re-pot figured out in my head pre-flop in order to keep the game moving quicker... but it becomes more work when you add antes. I don't mean to bring my fellow co-workers down, but there are just some people that doing the math in PLO is tough enough, where they don't need another element added to make it even more difficult. I mean, I remember at the WSOP we ran mainly 5/5 PL games to make it easier for the dealers... if that kind of concession has to be made for the dealers at the WSOP than I don't think making it harder for dealers that generally never deal PLO is a wise idea.

Here is a copy of the structure for the event...

http://www.foxwoods.com/uploadedFiles/Gaming/Poker/FWPF/2009/15-$400%20Pot%20Limit%20Omaha%20High%2011-2-09.pdf

A couple of other things that I felt were odd...

- The limit tournaments starting with the same stack size in relation to the buy-in as the NLHE games and same blind structure (with the exception of having two 100-200 levels).

- Having t5 chips in the stud variation and mix game events, for the purpose of antes and lower bring-in's at the start of the event.

- Having antes for PLO but no antes for the Omaha 8 events.

*Sure, I realize you usually have antes for neither. But if you didn't think having it for one, for what seems to be the purpose of moving the tournament faster, was not strange... than why not added to the other who already has a a much slower pace of play, for both the way the game is played and the structure.

- Having a $400 dollar buy-in PLO event sandwiched between a 2.5k and 5k NL and on a Monday at 11 AM.

* The weekend regular will be gone and the lower-limit grinders usually have another job and would not be able to make a 11 AM start time. The tournament circuit regular I don't think will find it relatively valuable to play a 400 dollar buy-in tournament with such a little amount of players. If I was the tournament director I would have done a 1k entry-fee with a 5PM start on that Monday... or if not the same buy-in with a 5PM start on 10/31, the same day as the ladies event (there will not be enough participation with both to fill the room), and then fill-in the gap for Monday with a 2.5k Heads-Up NL tournament ( that would go fast enough to end the same day, with a 11 AM start, and not take away any runners from the next day's 5k).

Here is the main page where you can find the structure for any of the events, satellite information, hotel information and more...

http://www.foxwoods.com/fwpf.aspx

I am really excited about the start of the tournament and the fact that I am getting 5 days a week worth of work because of it! Hope to see some of you there.

Joao