Finals Day Venue 21st JAN

[LPL_Mike]

I m going to put this up on the forum for debate..it only really affects the Manchester League.

Thanks to Nick Wright i have been offered a Venue for Finals Day, which can host 200+ players.
The Venue is in Oxfordshire and would mean the Manchester league travelling a fair distance to attend the Final

There is a very good railway connection and cheap accommodation at £39 a night.

Would the Manchester players prefer to have a two tier Final where the main event would only mean 24 players travelling or do they want a grand final with the top 70+ travelling?

[Alex_B]

Nice one Nick!!!

I think that if it's at all possible (and it looks like it just might be), the original format, ie. one big final should be kept.

[MancMick]

I prefer the idea of one big final. I was going to drive to Brumm anyway so an extra hour to Oxford makes little difference to me. (I had a look on the web for bigger venues around the midlands and came up with zip so Oxford is probably as good as anything.

What is the venue you had in mind? Is there a weblink to have a look?

Cheers

Mick D

[MancMick]

One other thing.

Assuming we do get a venue for 21st Jan, What time will the final be starting and what time do you expect it to finish?

I'd prefer an earlier start time (say noon) if only to make the drive back after at a more reasonable hour.

Anyone else have an opinion?

[LPL_Mike]

I think also one other problem that needs to be addressed in a one day Final with 150 players is the blind structure.
There would be no way we could start with the normal 8,000 chips, this would have to be reduced to maybe 5000 and with that many chips in play the structure would have to be quite aggressive to get the game finished in one day.....
To me there are a lot of disavantages to holding a one day event with 150 plus players...rather than doing the regional finals where the starting stacks can be increased and a slower blind level introduced no need to travel unless your lucky enough to get into the final 24 in your region, and then with only 48 players starting with a 10,000 stack and a slow blind level you are able to relax and play good poker..with the chance of getting one of those seats!..i know which one i prefer!!


In hindsight 150 players would and should be a 2 day event, but can players take the time on a saturday to attend?, the cost of staying over to attend the second day? all these concerns can be by passed with a Regional final and Grand final event....

i will gladly listen to peoples thoughts on this.

[Alex_B]

Magority is going to rule on this one obviously. I do still feel that if there is any way we are able to stick to the original plan, then we should try to take it.

A number of us have mentioned (amongst ourselves) about it being a two day event. If you were to start with anything less than 5k (and I would consider even that to be short stacked, especially when you've been playing for 3 months to get to the final) it could end up as a crap shoot within 2 hours. Make it a 10k starting stack to last over two days. You could have longer blind levels (at the start) and I think it would make for some good play.

I don't think you need much more of an incentive than a World Series of Poker Seat!!! I would make sure I was available for the two days, and i think it could be a lot of fun to make a weekend of it. With regards to staying in Oxford, there are numerous places to stay that should be able to accommodate all budgets.

[MancMick]

150 players with 5000 starting chips is 750,000 chips in play.

A blind structure like the one below would (I believe) have the final finished in 6-7 hours, easily do-able in one day.

50/100 15mins
100/200 15
150/300 15
200/400 15
300/600 15
400/800 15
chip up / break
500/1000 15
1000/2000 15
1500/3000 15
2000/4000 15
3000/6000 15
4000/8000 15
chip up / break
5000/10000 15
10000/20000 15
15000/30000 15
20000/40000 15
25000/50000 15
30000/60000 15
break
40000/80000 15
50000/100000 15
100000/200000 15
150000/300000 15 (5 hours + breaks)

You could also introduce antes to speed things up a bit as things will no doubt be slow at the final table with 3 first prizes people will no doubt be a bit less reckless.

[ian_distort]

I'd prefer a two day jobby if we're having 150 players down. In fact, it'd have to be a two day event. Seeing as people will have been grafting away for three months to qualify, the idea of kicking off with 5,000 chips and whizzing through to completion in 7 hours with deranged blinds is absurd.

If there are only 48 players there, it can obviously be done in a day with 8,000, 10,000 or whatever, and nice even blinds which enable you to play some proper poker.

I'd be up for a two day event, but naturally, I'm only speaking for myself. Big starting stack + sensible blind structure = good couple of days.

[DonkBox]

Hey Manc Mick,

Glad people are thinking about the possibility of a one day final, i'd prefer that but only if it's not a crapshoot. A regional qualifier to a 50 person final is preferable to that. I ran some numbers also and does anyone think this structure looks possible? I'm sure i must have gone wrong with my numbers somewhere...

Anyway, my rough workings... (doesn't include time for chip ups/breaks

Starting stack of 7500 (maximum total chips in play = 1,125,000)


Blinds at 25 minute levels

25/50
50/100
100/200 (75 mins)
150/300
200/400
300/600 (150 mins)
400/800
600/1200
800/16000 (225 mins)
1000/2000
1200/2400
1500/3000 (5hrs)
2000/4000
2500/5000
3000/6000 (375 mins)
4000/8000
5000/10000
6000/12000 (7.5hrs)
8000/16000
10000/20000 ----- if there are still 5 players left here there won't be for long as the average stack would be c.200,000. four left c.250,000 it's going to end somewhere around here as 5/6 handed those blinds go round quick.12000/24000 (525 mins)
15000/30000
20000/40000
25000/50000 (10hrs)

[ian-bath]

Im a pessimist so if i were to get to the final (which aint looking likely at the min) then the 3 months of hard graft should definately warrant a 2 day event. If it's in Oxford i might be able to sort a venue for a party too so it'd be good to meet every one for a "few" bevvies.