I was just wondering - when signing up for a BJT. The prize pool. How important is the overall prize pool to you? Comments/suggestions
Would say if you happen to be in the area of a Tournament then Guarenteed Prize Pool does not matter so much, But when travelleing East to west Coast or like in My case 6000 miles from UK, Think you would be crazy to do so without a Guaranteed Prize Pool, A look at the recent Laughlin event is a typical example, People who may have travelled East to west to find only twenty something players and a tiny prize pool must have been livid after being told hundreds would attend, If i would have flown from UK for a prize pool that turned out would not have even covered my air well lets not go down that street! If you look at the last 2 events i have attended the Ventian and Barona they both seem to have got the right idea with Guaranteed $100k prize pools, This attracts people as A. they are guranteed certain level of prizes and B. they think there may be an overlay created by this, So in fact both cases there ended up with much bigger prize pools then the guranteed one as both had good turn outs. This to me seems to be the most important aspect on putting on a sucessful tournament regardless of format. People who say $150 or $300 or $1000 entries are to much and puts people off, I don't really agree with there are different levels of players who are always ready to put money in if the chemistry is right.
With regard to entry fees - that's a different topic. BTW I agree with you that no matter WHAT the level if promoted properly and with good value almost any entry level "could" be successful. Once again I wasn't clear enough in my initial question. I guess would you rather attend a $10,000 guarentee event with a $100 buy in (where there were 300 players expected) or a $250+$25 event with no guarentee where there were 100 players expected?
balance I think it is not just a matter of size of prize pool or if it is guaranteed or ? - but how the over all situation balances out for you - the recent open tourneys at Viejas - where you've got a $100 buy-in - and a guaranteed $50,000 prize pool and maybe 250 players - with payouts starting at $300 in the third round (of six) and all the tables in the one I played being three of six advance, except for the semi-final which was two advance - that's a must play for me - just figure out the ev - it's guaranteed - and look at the format - when I compute out my ev for playing this tourney - I would be a fool not to make every one - since it is within driving distance and/or a cheap overnight stay - the River Palms/TBT tourneys are almost the opposite - good tourney and format - but high buy-ins - no guarantee - and small prize pools - and don't even think about the vig - it's ugly - but - it is an opportunity for me to play against a much better class of players than I usually get a chance to - and some very nice people as well - and that counts a lot - a very good learning experience - improving my game - and a lot of fun - and a chance to measure my play against that of some good players - so every player has to balance out all the factors and make a decision - I avoid tourneys with big travel expenses - as they eat too much into my ev - so you aren't very likely to see me in any Mississippi tourneys right now - but with reasonable travel expenses - I'll be at those where I can make some money - or - where they offer me something other than money as an incentive for me to show up -
I think its very important to open my wallet to a big tournament. Pechanga had 500 buy in for a 300k guarantee pot and I look every day to see if the next one is on their web page! Whats taking them so long!
