So I just recently discovered a new home game every Thursday here in Atlanta. I thought the structure was interesting.

It's a group of about twenty people here in Atlanta that meet up every Thursday for a $40 tournament that starts at 7:30 sharp. They host a 1/1 or 1/2 cash game afterwards.

Starting stacks are 400, and the blinds open at 3/6, so around 66bbs isn't good obviously. However, the first level is an hour long, and the following levels are all 30 minutes. Rebuys are $20 and are allowed through 9:00. If you arrive on time, you start with an extra 50 chips, so 450 instead of 400. There are always 3 payouts, with the winner getting 50%, 2nd place getting 35%, and 3rd place getting 15%.

Also, 10% of the prize pool goes in to a pot that grows each week. After every 6-8 weeks, nine players based on standings created over the course of these weeks get to play for this prize money.

The standings are formatted like this. Everytime you make the final table, you get a certain amount of points. If you knock out a player, you get points. If you finish higher than others, you earn points. If you win, you earn the most points possible.

What truly helps is that the majority of the player pool is both really friendly and really bad. Not a single 2p2 poster in the player pool.

So with all the factors listed above, I'm not sure how to feel about going to this. The levels are awesome, but the starting stack in relation to the blinds kinda sucks.

Would you, the 2p2 community, play in this game? Why and why not? My usual thursday game has ceased operations permanently, and I need a fill in for the time being... Wanted to ask if this is a decent idea or not.

I think it sounds okay. The stack is somewhat short, but not critically.

Let's say they gave you 120 BBs to start, with 30 minute levels. In 30 minutes your starting stack would be 60 BBs, less than what you start with at this tournament, and the first level is an hour.

With 20 players, they should pay more than 3, and the payouts are a little top heavy.

I know a game with a similar point system and free roll. I have two issues with it. They are likely to lose players when the fish in this game see how they stack up week after week, and more importantly, when they see that everyone else sees how they stack up week after week. It must be humiliating. This does not mean you shouldn't play. It is a hosting error, imo. The game will be less sustainable.

The other issue is that unless you play every week, or almost every week, you are financing the free roll for the regulars. If you plan to play regularly yourself, no problem.

I don't play tournaments much , but the fairly long levels really help to make up for the shorter starting stack IMHO. To get the best from this group you would need to be a regular I think. With twenty players, 3 payouts is not awful, but some homegame hosts would likely increase that by one or two! A 1-1 or 1-2 cash game for bustouts seems a bit high to me for a low buy in ($40) home game tournament. Does the host rake that game? Since your choices are limited , I think this game is decent enough as you describe it. Good luck!

BTW me and one other player in our crew are the only 2+2 posters that I know of. It is fairly common to have a group where you are the only one according to other posters.

You should also consider the entire blinds structure, not just the first level. Are there big jumps? How long does the tournament usually run?

It's not a great stack/blind structure, of course, and it's a little awkward, but it's not bad.

Most notably, unlimited $20 rebuys for full re-entry into a tournament built on $40 buy-ins? Yes, please! Play whatever strategy works with your crowd, but feel free to tend on the more gambley side before 9:00, and be prepared to rebuy at every opportunity. If it's for a full 400 chips, that rebuy is the best bet you'll probably ever see in this game. Anyone (who's not a complete donkey) who busts and leaves before 9:00 is missing out, big time. There's a volume of Malmuth's Poker Essays or one of Sklansky's essay books that addresses this concept nicely. I strongly recommend you read it if you haven't.

The 10% to a "freeroll" is the only other thing that requires special attention. If you play every week (which seems to be the case) and are even reasonably good, all of the fair-weather and recreational players are basically subsidizing your entry to that game.

So, despite the somewhat shallow structure, which isn't even that bad, this game is a sweet bet overall. Expect to consistently make good money for your investment. The downside is that most of the elements that make it a good game for you make it a terrible game for donators. The top-heavy payouts, the rebuy structure that rewards gamblers with deep pockets, and the subsidized "freeroll" all lend advantage to more experienced players who play frequently—on top of the fact that they'll often beat the weaker players anyway. And, as eneely mentioned, keeping track of results means the fish who don't track their own results will not be able to delude themselves anymore about their losses and wins. Naturally, that's not good.

Bad as that may be for the long term, it's not a reason for you to avoid the game. It's still a great structure for dedicated, experienced players. If the host keeps the recs coming, you keep on fleecing 'em. Maybe someday you can get his ear about adjusting things to make it more sustainable, but as the new guy, you should probably just enjoy that you're in such a profitable game.

Oh, the rebuy! I meant to mention that as well. And for a full hour you get what you started with.

And some of my complaints, like the payout structure, are for the longevity of the game. What is good for the good players is bad for the bad players (and bad for everyone in the long run). But make hay while the sun shines!

67bb is not a big deal. Tournaments are by nature a short-stack game. We try to force them into a different state by giving people giant starting stacks, but that just delays the inevitable moment when the blinds advance and make the average stack is in that frustrating middle range. That's the whole point -- force people to go big or go home. In a fast deepstack game, it's an often practiced strategy to simply wait out the carnage in the early rounds and basically fold to get close to the money.

66bb starting stacks actually sounds like a good idea for this game. It puts the "random" back in to offset the steep payouts and other factors that favor solid players.

$20 rebuy is not that special. It's a good deal, so play aggressively early (again, good policy for a fun game), but you can't just be stupid (profitably). I've heard of plenty of games where a starting stack is like $20 and for $5 more you get a double stack, or something along those lines. Chips have non-linear value in tournaments. The average stack will have increased by the time you go to rebuy, so some discount is perfectly appropriate.

Game sounds fun to me, I'd definitely be willing to play it.
So the $20 re-buy gets you the same size stack as you originally bought in with at $40? Crazy, I've never heard of that. I'd be playing hyper aggressive.

I do think the 10% taken out to go into a pot not everyone has a chance to play in is a bit unfair.

Way back in the day, before tournaments were such a huge deal, they were seen as cheap easy ways to get people in the casino. The buyins were low and the levels were fast, and when it was all over there was plenty of cash game action, which was the whole point in the first place.

The real question here is how is that 1/2 cash game? A $40 tourney before a 1/2 game seems intended to be for splashing chips and getting people through the door. The tourney is what it is; don't spend too much energy analyzing it. The meat of this prize is on the other side.

That doesn't appear to be the case.

That's a hell of a lot slower than our rare tournaments, which are designed to last 3-4 hours.

I still wonder if there is a rake on either the tourney or cash game, though.

I suppose with all the rebuys, it could last a while. I may have missed if it was said what the blind progression is. That makes a big difference. $400 at a 3/6 NL game is not likely to last very long, so I'm sure there are many rebuys. I'd definitely play this tournament.

But if there's a regular 1/2 game that happens afterwards, then this tourney is possibly not much more than an excuse to splash around cheaply for a few hours before the real action starts. How late does this game go? 7pm is pretty early for a serious late night game. I wouldn't be surprised if it started as a way for early arrivals to pass the time waiting for others, and sort of grew from there. Degens tend to keep late hours.

Or maybe this tourney is the main action here. Dunno, but I think it's likely there's more to be made later in the night.

Yeah, that is a good point, and a question I raised earlier. If the blinds go up like an Titan rocket, it could be over in 3 hours. But I'd be surprised...that's only 5 levels. With the slow blinds and generous rebuys, if this thing doesn't last more than 5 hours, the OP left out a crucial consideration.

Here's a 5.5 hour tournament structure from Blind Valet, assuming 10 rebuys.

Rebuy Tournament

Starting Stack: 400
Rebuy Chips: 400
Players: 20
Duration: 5.5 hours

Created by the Blind Valet structure creator at http://blindvalet.com

A home game tournament where the starting stack is above 60 BB for a full hour? With bad players? Gold mine. Go every week.

Assuming there's no rake, this is a golden opportunity. Home tournaments often start with 50 BB or even less, and the starting stack often falls below 30 BB within an hour or even half hour.

Add in a cash game, again with bad players, at higher stakes than the average cash game after a $40 tournament; awesome. I'm jealous.

Hey guys, here's an update after a week.

This past tournament, I actually won. Top prize was $340 for a $40 buy in. 12 people showed up total, and there were 4 re-entries. No matter what (it never gets bigger than 20 people) it stays at top 3 for payouts.

There's a 1/1 and 1/2 cash game afterwards, where in some of the games, you receive double the chips but can cashouts with only half. I don't know what the point of this is, but the only positive is that the game will play deeper at least than normal. It's usually very short handed, a lot of people just come for the tournament, so it may be just 6-7. However, it is NOT raked. Neither is the tournament other than the weekly addition to the building prize pool.

I actually did enough in a measly 3 weeks to make the "final table" for this 12 week season, but I had to head up to Louisville to graduate so I had to miss it unfortunately. I really did like the experience, the players are friendly, and pretty straightforward. I'll definitely be going back all the time.

The structure isn't terrible and if you're better than most players you're in a good spot.
Also it's cheap, well I guess that determination is up to you, and you get to play poker and have fun so that could be +ev in and of itself.
If you have nothing else to do you may as well.
Also don't try to be a hero and suggest any kind of restructuring to the host.