Since the end of the last EMHD session, the Useless Ass Staff has met in a multitude of configurations at different locations with various combinations o staffers to work on making things better for the next go around. I’d expect that readers of that first sentence will have these thoughts: “DAMN That’s a Long Sentence” and/or “It’s already great, how could they POSSIBLY make it better?!”

Some big points that were covered. This time it’s a single series, but we’ll have some one off tournaments to try out some new things. We’ll also be bringing back the Full Tilt online tournaments. We’ve added a 6th event, a 3rd place series prize, and upped the player cap from 30 to 40. All that means that we had to make some changes to the point system, proxy rule, and pay out percentages for each tournament. Give the changes a read , and as always if there are any questions, just ask any of us.

Without further introduction, here is the Change Summary for the next EMHD series:

EMHD 2010-11 Summary of Changes

1. We are having ONE (1) series consisting of SIX (6) tournaments starting in December and finishing in mid-April.  The tournaments will be more spread out (basically one a month) with March being the only multi-event month.  Our decision was based simply on the spotty attendance during the fall months during the previous series and general tournaments.  The added event will be a $100+15 Single Buy
   • The Dates are as Follows:
     • Event 1: December 4th, 2010 , Re-Buy/Add-On
     • Event 2: January 17th, 2011 Single-Buy (Monday, MLK Day)
     • Event 3: February 12th, 2011 Single-Buy
     • Event 4: March 12th, 2011 Re-Buy/Add-On
     • Event 5: March 26th, 2011 Single Buy
     • Event 6: April 16th, 2011 Deep Stack
   • We are hosting two (2) “Sorta-Circuit” tournaments during which we will experiment with different formats and structures. There will be no EMHD withholding
     • Event S1: August 7th, 2010 (Probable Deep Stack with new Re-Buy blind schedule)
       
     • Event S2: October 2nd, 2010
   • Each player will receive 25 Participation points for playing in these events
     
2. We are adding $450 to prize pool and paying THREE (3) places. This will allow more of the field to be in contention for prize money later in the series:
   • 1st Place: $1600
   • 2nd Place: $800
   • 3rd Place: $300
     
3. We have cut the gap in equity between the Re-Buy/Add-On and Single Buy formats. Currently, the Re-Buy/Add-On tournaments hold more value in the overall points race than the Single Buy tournaments.  This will continue to be the case regardless!  However, to cut the gap, we have reduced the EMHD withholding for each buy-in after the first ten in Re-Buy tournaments from $10 to $8
   • This will reduce the factor but will not in any way make them even. With the reduction in withholding of course, the prize pool for those events will increase, but may decrease the potential for added money in the later tournaments.
     
4. We have made changes to the Proxy Rule. We will now allow TWO (2) proxies per series but with specific eligibility requirements (see below). The inclusion of Participation Points breeds the use of proxies.  However, this is not a bad thing as it spurs participation, introduces new players to the series and compels players to make an effort to be at all of the tournaments.
   • A proxy CANNOT have any previous participation points in the current series
   • If you have used a proxy during the designated series, your second proxy CANNOT be the same person.
     
5. Participation Points adjustment…after much deliberation, our goal was to make these points beneficial while not excessively penalizing a player for missing just one event. We feel we have come up with a fair solution that, most importantly, is easy to figure out for the not-as-mathematically-inclined player.
   • Each player will receive Participation Points based on the Buy-In Amount for each event played:
     • Single Buy: 100 points
     • Re-Buy/Add-On: 135 points (this number was determined based on the average buy-in amounts per player per re-buy event for the first three (3) series)
     • Deep Stack: 120 points
       
   • Players that participate in All Six (6) will also receive One per-cent (1%) of the total Event Points (not including kill points) in play for that series. e.g. using the figures from EMHD 2010 B, there were 16369 points in play so the players playing in all 5 events would have each received an additional 164 points
     
6. We have increased the maximum participation from 30 to 40 players (hard cap)
7. The Point System has also been altered to reflect the new player maximums and projected participation. Our informal polling has been nearly unanimous in that our players prefer to pay more places for less money than vice versa
   • The Bubble Player will now get a Percentage of the Event Points versus half the final place paid. This will be fewer points than before, but that is unavoidable.
     • These are ADDED ON points, not taken out of the actual event points
     • The main reason for this is that in the Re-Buy format, we are only adding 60 points per buy-in so at the cutoff to the next payout level , we were distributing the same amount of points to more players hence making it more than just a ‘mathematical anomaly’ that they were getting less points for finishing in the same place.
   • Point Percentages
     • 9-19 players: 3 places (50/30/20) Bubble: 5%
     • 20-32 players: 4 places (48/28/19/5) Bubble: 3%
     • 33-40 players: 5 places (47/27/18/5/3) Bubble: 2%
       
8. We have included Antes in Re-Buy/Add-On Blind Schedule. The two re-buy tournaments during the last series averaged 27.5 players and lasted on average 6 hrs, 31 minutes. With our intentions to increase the size of the fields, by including the antes, we hope to reduce the time by 30-45 minutes.
9. We will resume the online ‘Sorta Satellites” on Full Tilt. John Hurst is taking over the organization of these tournaments.
10. Rule Book/Procedures Manual language that has changed or been added (Proxy Rule included):
    • Half Kill: Should a player be eliminated by two players with the same holdings, those two players will split the kill points; 12.5 points for each player.
    • Wait List/Seat Forfeiture Procedures: The 40 players is a HARD limit!
      • The Tournament Director, or his/her designee, will activate the “Notify of Reply” feature and enter “40” in the “Maximum Amount of People Who Can Attend” text box on the Evite. This will create the max player count and create a time stamp for each reply.
      • This time stamp is the tie breaker for who will receive the final seats and the remaining players will be notified by the Tournament Director that they are on the wait list and may show up but are not guaranteed a seat.
      • A “No Show” time of FIVE (5) minutes prior to the designated starting time will be designated as determined by the TD.
      • At that point a player will be deemed a “no show” and forfeit their seat. Players on the wait list will be given their seats based on the time stamp on the time stamp of their Evite reply.
        • Should a player call the TD and/or any staff member prior to that 5-Minute deadline, informing them of their status to participate, they will NOT forfeit their seat.

    • Specific penalties for DELAYING a hand (not posting antes). Should a player intentionally delay the start of a hand by not posting an ante or blind, for the first offense, the player will be given a warning by the Tournament Director. For the second offense, the player will be penalized _TBD (before the start of the next series)_. For the third offense, the player will be disqualified and his chips removed from play.