Fitzwilliam Pokerfest 2008 ***Note change of date and events***
Wednesday 26th November: Super Satellite to Main Event. €50+5 unlimited rebuys and add-on @ €50. 8:30pm Single Table Satellites running all night.
Thursday 27th November: Fitz End of Month Tournament. €250+20 Freezeout 8:30pm
Friday 28th November: Scalps €45+10+5, Unlimited Rebuys & Add-on @ €50 8:30pm
Saturday 29th November: Main Event €1000+75 Freezeout. 5pm
Sunday 30th November: €250+50+20 Omaha Scalps Freezeout 8pm
Day Two Main Event 4pm
Monday 1st December: €75+5 Hold’em, 1 Rebuy/Add-on.
Day Three Main Event 6pm (if needed)
After much though and discussion, we have decided to change the dates and the format of this year’s festival. There are three reasons for the change of date. One is that we don’t want to clash with the IPO, which clashed directly with our original main event. Secondly, there are two other festivals in October with large buy-in main events, including the Irish Winter Festival which we wish to support with a satellite ourselves. Finally, the change of date gives us an extra six weeks to run satellites for the Main Event, which we hope will be fully subscribed.
As you can see there are some major changes to the format of the festival. We have cut the number of events, in the hope that more people will play the Main Event, and the supporting events are either much cheaper or vastly different to the Main Event. In my opinion running a €540 tournament within a few days of a €1075 event dilutes the player pool for both. The Fitz 500 is extremely popular though, and we will look at running another one early in the New Year. As you can see, two of the supporting events (Monday and Friday) are based on our regular weekly tournaments, with extra or unlimited rebuys. Both of these tournaments are very popular, regularly getting over 70 players. It is my hope that the structure of these events will mean that their cost is not prohibitive to the regular punters while attracting extra numbers and much bigger prize-pools. The End of Month tournament attracted 106 players in July with a first prize of €10,000. I didn’t see any reason to change it!
There are also some changes in approach to how we run the tournaments. We have been legitimately criticised in the past for having a ramshackle approach to our big events.
Previously due to a lack of staff there could be 3 or 4 different people running the tournament throughout the weekend, making it difficult for players to know who was in charge. For the Main Event this year there will be one dedicated Tournament Director, who will always be on the floor to make announcements and rulings.
There will also be one person responsible for registration, and tournament registration will be entirely separate from the main poker desk. Payouts will also be handled separately.
New Alternates System: The capacity of the Fitzwilliam’s Card room is currently 150 players. Another criticism levelled at us is that tournaments do not start on time, or that when they do, players arriving late are put onto the table without any chip penalty. Obviously this is not best practice in a freezeout tournament.
With a view to making the whole system run smoother and with greater transparency, REGISTRATION WILL NOW CLOSE 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT BEGINS. Player names and seat numbers will be projected onto the big screen, and then play will then begin on eight-handed or nine-handed tables. Late registrants will join the tournament after it has begun, filling up the empty seats at the table, with a chip penalty of one round of blinds per completed 20 minutes. Late registration will be open for one hour after the tournament begins. If the tournament is fully subscribed at 150 players, there will be an alternates list. Again these players will be put into free seats as players bust out with a chip penalty of one round of blinds per completed 20 minutes.
An example of how this works in practice: Registration closes at 5:45 pm. There are 123 registered players. At 6pm these 123 players will start on 15 tables: 12 tables of 8 and 3 tables of 9. Registration continues and another 45 players register. The first 27 of these are put into the free seats at the tables, with no chip penalty. The next 18 will be alternates. As players bust out, these players will take their seats. If an alternate is put into a table 1 hour and 45 minutes after the tournament begins, he will be given the starting stack less five rounds of blinds (3x75 and 2x150, 525 chips). These chips are put into play at the rate of one small blind (50) per hand.
Alternates will be able to get into the tournament up to two hours afters it has begun (ie until the first dinner break). Late registration will still close one hour after the tournament has begun. Any alternate who does not get into their seat before the first break will receive their full buy-in back.
I do not expect there to be many alternates, if any at all. However it is much better to have a system in place should the need for them arise, and I think everyone playing the tournament will hope that it does!
For the first time, there will be a printed set of rules that players can consult at any time.
We will be running satellites for the Main Event from the first week in September. These will be €50+5 tournaments with one rebuy or add-on available in the first hour. As of yet we have not decided what day these will be on but I will post a new thread to let everyone know as soon as we do.
