Manig Loeser Likes the Idea, Saying Standard NLHE Tournaments Can Become a Bit Boring at Times
If and when PokerStars is licensed to operate a legal New Jersey website, it looks like the state’s gamblers might be able to gamble in tournaments designed for the casual players. The events in question allow up to half of all players in the tournament to cash-out, allowing 42% to win back their buy-in.
Such innovative gaming options are one of the reasons PokerStars offers New Jersey its best chance to generate significant online revenues. Since New Jersey’s launch of licensed and regulated online casino and poker rooms in November 2013, the results have been disappointing.
Double Bubble Tournaments
PokerStars is planning to launch the new kind of poker tournament in late-January 2015. The promotion will be called “Double Bubble”. Its concept is to pay out half of the entrants in the field.
The gaming company believes such a promotion will draw in more casual fans, who enjoy telling friends they cashed in a tourament. Some professionals have indicated they are less than enamored with the idea of an easy way to finish in the money, especially since those payouts are taken mainly from the 1st place prize money.
PokerStars Caribbean Adventures Rollout
PokerStars plans to roll out the new style of tournament during its 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventures, which begins on January 28 in the Bahamas. According to Lee Jones, Head of Poker Communications, the new payout structure will see 50% of the entries have their buy-in returned. The remaining prize money would then be given as winnings to the top 8% of the field.
Lee Jones Discusses Reasons This Improves Events
Jones says that these payouts are meant to counter certain tactics that have raised criticism over the years. The first is the “chip and a chair” strategy, in which players try to fold their way into contention for a minimum cash position.
On the PokerStars Blog, Lee Jones discussed why the traditional rules sometimes lead to frustrating player tendencies. Jones wrote, “Look at the wave of ‘chip and a chair’ behavior as the bubble approaches. Those people are not making ICM-optimal decisions to maximize their chances for a final table.”
Cannibalize the Huge 1st Place Payout
When answering questions about the need to take away from a massive 1st prize pot to pay back all the buy-in money, Jones pointed out that players often prefer to forgo the risks of going for the top prize, in lieu of smaller payouts. Jones replied, “Look at all the final-table deals. If everybody really wanted that almost unimaginably large first prize, then deals wouldn’t happen. By point of fact, they happen all of the time.”
Quotes from Tournament Poker Experts
Manig Loeser, who had 7 World Series of Poker cashes in 2014 and 5 WSOP cashes in 2013, said that the idea appeals to him. He justified the new payout structure by saying, “I’m a fan of pretty much every new NLHE-format, as I don’t play many mixed games lately, and standard NLHE tournaments can become a bit boring after a while. This one sounds a lot of fun, since there are way more things to consider than in a standard 50/50 SNG online. When Im at PCA I will definitely give it a shot.”
Dylan Linde, a coach at RunItOnce, said the prize money allotment should appeal to casual poker players. Linde said, “I think anything that pays more of the field in large buy-in satellite fed events is a good thing. Casual players get super stoked to cash and it brings them back to the game. If that is just a random 1k event, or something, it loses that mystique of telling friends that you cashed. So I would like it a lot less. Plus you lose the large 1st place prize. Perhaps if it was 50% of the field gets buy-in back and then winner take all, it would be pretty sweet.”
Amaya Gaming Influence
This promotion appears to have been set in motion before the Amaya Gaming buyout of Rational Group, the parent company for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Amaya Gaming, now known as “Amaya Inc.”, purchased the world’s largest gaming company for $4.9 billion earlier this month.
Amaya’s CEO, David Baazov, has signaled he wants to push the PokerStars brand in live, land-based tournament events. Apparently, PokerStars will sponsor more poker tournaments, while perhaps hosting more events.
If so, then the Double Bubble poker tournament format might become influential in the card playing industry. It could be that the competition tries the same approach, and the new tournament structure could become a part of the mainstream of poker tournament formats.
