Since Matt (and maybe others) were looking for such a thread, hopefully this can be used to discuss the 9th season of the WPT including:

Structures
Online/offline satellites
Registration (especially late registration)
Tournament locations

and much more.

Matt:

I don't like reducing the levels to 60 minutes at final tables. At televised final tables people play slower than normal and the pace of play is also reduced by the television crew -- before every card comes out the TV people have to say OK first (preflop all-ins, for example, take way longer than they would otherwise). There are also a lot of preflop all-ins and stacks have to be counted, which takes time. As a result, the number of hands per level is greatly reduced versus what it had been leading up to the final table.

There are tournaments which have longer levels at the FT than during the rest of the tournament, to make up for the slower pace of play at the FT and as recognition of what's at stake. I strongly urge you to, at the very least, have the levels at the final table the same length that they have been leading up to the FT (which in virtually every WPT is 90 minutes).

WPT LONDON clashes with EPT Villamora and partouche, what is up with that? its also bad for americans coming in because its too early before WSOPE.
obv its probably unchangable now, but if wpt london was 1 week later, life would be great.

i also have:


WPT Amneville 30/10 3500e
France Aviation 30/10 3000e

really gotta schedule 2 tournaments in france on the same day? obv u have nothing to do with aviation club, but theere was a wpt there like 2 months ago, surely you could coordinate better.
2-3 days apart and people can play both. also amsterdam masters classic is late oct/early nov, which would be no1 priority over both the french tournaments.

It's possible to play EPT Vilamoura, WPT London and PPT Cannes if you bust early enough -- EPT Vilamoura starts 8/28, WPT London Day 1B 8/31, PPT Cannes Day 1B 9/3.

yeah but i expect to day 3 any tournametn i play....

also if i go to villamora i want to play the extensive turbo schedule too, not just the main. my current plan is to jsut play wpt london, and snap go to cannes once i bust


this is what tallins sides are:


ept tallin 11/8 (1A) €4250
ME sat 10/8 550e
turbo 11/8 550e
bounty turbo 12/8 1100e
13/8 2150e
bounty turbo 13/8 430e
HU 14/8 3200e
turbo 14/8 330e
15/8 1100e
turbo bounty 15/8 430e
turbo bounty 16/8 1100
turbo 16/8 330


i expect portugal to be the same. would be nice if the WPT sides could try and compete with this, would make the stops much more desirable.

I mean it would be nice if all the tours scheduled so as not to conflict with each other but I'm fairly sure some of them (not the WPT) intentionally try to conflict with others.

Yes, we are well aware of the conflicts and they are unfortunate. It became too late and a matter of availability. Avoiding scheduling conflict has become tougher to navigate but the WPT will do its best to try going forward.

I'll add the approved final table structure for WPT Season IX.

If the average big blinds upon reaching final table are below 40 the structure will be rolled back to the appropriate level with a 40BB average as a minimum. If the average is above 40 then just continue on the same level in the below structure.
Hour long levels/ 30 minutes heads up, frozen on level if structure goes below 20BB average
3,000-6,000 1,000
4,000-8,000 1,000
5,000-10,000 1,000
6,000-12,000 2,000
8,000-16,000 2,000
10,000-20,000 3,000
12,000-24,000 4,000
Change 1,000's
15,000-30,000 5,000
20,000-40,000 5,000
25,000-50,000 5,000
Change 5,000's
30,000-60,000 10,000
40,000-80,000 10,000
50,000-100,000 10,000
60,000-120,000 20,000
Change 10,000 chips
75,000-150,000 25,000
100,000-200,000 25,000
125,000-250,000 25,000
150,000-300,000 50,000
175,000-350,000 50,000
200,000-400,000 50,000
250,000-500,000 75,000
300,000-600,000 75,000


As you can see there is every level possible and some that have never been seen before. You know that I am a advocate for more play at the final table but with one down (Bellagio Cup-10.5 hours) I think this structure provides PLENTY of play.

I'm opposed to rolling back the blinds ever, actually. Freezing them at the FT when the average gets very low is fine, but having a potential rollback really affects tactical decisions. For example, if you're shortstacked on the TV FT bubble you should be forced to play, if you know there's going to be a rollback it might be optimal to keep folding.

I think it is fair for everyone as long as it announced in advance and I cannot actually see rolling it back happening very often if at all as you know the WPT structures for the most part are the best in the world.

Todd Terry, live grinder

I expect you're a better tactician than the vast majority of the field, this will be just one more chance for you to make the right adjustment and them the wrong one.

edit: Matt, can we get a WPT in Utah please?

Not sure if you are joking or not Dantes but I have always believed that the great players adjust to all aspects of the structures which is why I find the Chainsaw's complaints so often...... absurd.

Utah? I am really fond of Zion and Bryce Canyon!

hi matt: i asked you earlier in the wsop if the indiana wpt was coming back and you said "yes, with some changes". what are those changes if youre allowed to say? i hope more satties to make the field bigger and maaaaaaybe a smaller buyin to allow more recreational players from the area to play. also, will you be the TD for this wpt stop?

Those changes are still being discussed but as I think I told you they were very happy with their 1st event and are excited to be a part of the WPT. I am not the Tournament Director there and think that Kevin Dawn will do a great job. I do hope to make it out to Hollywood during the event this year.

Matt, just wondering for rough ballpark estimate. How many entrants do you think the $5k at the bike will get next month?

My guess is 400-500

Matt-just saw your comment regarding Bellagio late registration in the Chainsaw joke thread, can you embellish on your thoughts slightly? I realize that having some of the "name" pros having the ability to reg late helped your turnout and is good from a media and TV perspective, but what about from a tactical or competitive perspective? There have been numerous posts speaking to the strategic advantage of certain players regging late and whether its +EV or -EV based on your skill level, etc and its overall effect on the avg stack etc etc Wouldn't having multiple day 1s solve this issue? You would still have an increase in turnout obv and everyone would start on the same level playing field...given that Bellagio hosts 4 WPT events a year, I believe this is something that should be addressed...maybe only Bellagio Cup has multiple starting days to accommodate for WSOP ME, Venetian 5k, etc etc?? maybe festa, 5 diamond, and 5 star just have late reg but only ONE starting day? IDK...just curious as to what your initial thoughts were ESP. given that you oppose late registration in general...

The way the schedule was with the WSOP the goal was to start it early enough so that people did not leave Vegas and enough players were out. There was also the issue of not having the preferred FT venue of the Fontana Lounge that was occupied on the 16th.

It was the Bellagio's decision to schedule it then, not the WPT's. I agree that multiple starting days would have worked as well and will find out Bellagio's plans for future WPT events.

Just because a person can adjust to a change better than other players doesn't mean he's better off EV-wise than if the change hadn't been made. In terms of edge, the difference between the best and 500th best player in the world playing 150 BBs deep is tremendous, the difference between the best and 500th best player in the world 15 BBs deep is minimal. Anyway, as Matt said the rollback will probably never be an issue so we can save our debate about it if it ever is.

I wouldn't worry much about 60 minutes being too short at the FT. At Matt's Bay 101 FT this year, I got tired from watching and went home after 10 hours, iirc. And that was a relatively small field (<400 iirc). A bigger field would have more chips in play.

Matt we have an amazing poker city in Vancouver and some great venues with the success of the BC Poker Championships,Johnny Chan Classic and others any chance of a WPT event in Vancouver in the future?

WPT CHAMPIONSHIP -- NO LIMIT HOLDEM
EVENT #23 @ 1PM – ((DAY 1A & 1B))
Friday & Saturday – August 20th & 21st Buy-in $4800 + $200 Entry Fee /
Each player receives 25,000 in tournament chips,
Players must present their Bicycle Casino Rewards Club Card to register
Level Ante Small Bl ind Big Blind Time
1 - 5 0 10 0 90 minutes
2 - 7 5 15 0 90 minutes
3 - 100 20 0 90 minutes
4 2 5 100 20 0 90 minutes
5 5 0 150 30 0 90 minutes
6 5 0 200 40 0 90 minutes
7 7 5 300 60 0 90 minutes
8 100 400 80 0 90 minutes
9 100 500 1 ,000 90 minutes
10 200 600 1 ,200 90 minutes
11 200 800 1 ,600 90 minutes
12 300 1 ,0 00 2 ,000 90 minutes
13 400 1 ,2 00 2 ,400 90 minutes
14 500 1 ,5 00 3 ,000 90 minutes
15 500 2 ,0 00 4 ,000 90 minutes
16 500 2 ,5 00 5 ,000 90 minutes
17 1,00 0 3 ,0 00 6 ,000 90 minutes
18 1,00 0 4 ,0 00 8 ,000 90 minutes
19 1,00 0 5 ,0 00 10 ,0 00 90 minutes
20 2,00 0 6 ,0 00 12 ,0 00 90 minutes
21 2,00 0 8 ,0 00 16 ,0 00 90 minutes
22 3,00 0 10,00 0 20 ,0 00 90 minutes
23 4,00 0 12,00 0 24 ,0 00 90 minutes
24 5,00 0 15,00 0 30 ,0 00 90 minutes
25 5,00 0 20,00 0 40 ,0 00 90 minutes
26 5,00 0 25,00 0 50 ,0 00 90 minutes
27 1 0,00 0 30,00 0 60 ,0 00 90 minutes
There will be a 10-minute break after each level. Tournament starts with 9 handed tables.
Day 1 & 2 will play 7 levels, Day 3 will play down to 27 players or 7 levels whichever comes first.
Day 4 will play down to 6 players, Day 5 will play until the conclusion.
We will redraw at the end of each day, then again at 27 players and at 10 players.
The duration of play maybe altered at the Tournament Director’s discretion
in order to meet with the televised taping schedule.
Dinner break will be 7:30pm to 8:30pm

Rank |Player Name | Player of the Year Points | WPT Earnings | Cashes | WPT Final Tables | Titles
1 Moritz Kranich 1,200 $875,150 1 1 1
1 Theo Jorgensen 1,200 $782,818 1 1 1
3 Ali Tekintamac 1,000 $421,502 1 1 1
3 Antoine Amourette 1,000 $405,906 1 1 0
3 Justin Smith 1,000 $594,755 1 1 0
6 Per Linde 950 $296,095 2 1 0
7 Phil Ivey 900 $363,650 1 1 0
8 John Caridad 800 $237,902 1 1 0
8 Mickael Guenni 800 $231,949 1 1 0
8 Roberto Garcia Santiago 800 $201,144 1 1 0
11 Harry Touil 700 $173,963 1 1 0
11 Mats Iremak 700 $101,829 1 1 0
11 Robert Akery 700 $169,930 1 1 0
14 Eric Afriat 600 $118,950 1 1 0
14 Manuel Blaschke 600 $89,258 1 1 0
14 Nourredine Aittaleb 600 $115,971 1 1 0
17 Arnaud Mattern 500 $101,480 1 0 0
17 Mads Hansen 500 $76,686 1 1 0
17 Zach Hyman 500 $84,965 1 0 0
20 Eric Panayiotou 400 $67,972 1 0 0
20 Jimmy Ostensson 400 $86,982 1 0 0
20 Tristan Clemencon 400 $64,115 1 1 0
23 Ilan Boujenah 300 $72,484 1 0 0
23 Per Mattsson 300 $51,543 1 0 0
23 Rick Salomon 300 $54,378 1 0 0
26 Steven Van Zadelhoff 250 $70,558 2 0 0
27 Leonid Lerner 200 $33,986 1 0 0
27 Maria Ho 200 $40,783 1 0 0
27 Paola Martin 200 $33,986 1 0 0
27 Patrick Bruel 200 $57,986 1 0 0
27 Quinn Sivage 200 $57,986 1 0 0
27 Tomeu Romero 200 $38,972 1 0 0
33 Alex Kravchenko 150 $57,986 1 0 0
33 Andrew Teng 150 $43,488 1 0 0
33 Christophe Benzimra 150 $43,488 1 0 0
33 Corey Hochman 150 $33,986 1 0 0
33 Jeffrey Lisandro 150 $33,986 1 0 0
33 Patrick Sacrispeyre 150 $33,986 1 0 0
39 Bruno Lopes 100 $43,488 1 0 0
39 Giovanni Massa 100 $27,189 1 0 0
39 Manuel Cuberos Lopez 100 $26,903 1 0 0
39 Michel Bouskila 100 $43,488 1 0 0
39 Ravi Raghavan 100 $27,189 1 0 0
39 Renald Zrnjevic 100 $43,488 1 0 0
39 Thomas Macey 100 $27,189 1 0 0
46 Carl Henriksson 75 $15,086 1 0 0
46 Edgars Strupka 75 $15,086 1 0 0
46 Herbie Montalbano 75 $15,086 1 0 0
49 Frederic Brunet 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Stephane Benadiba 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Alex Melnikow 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Ange Cucchi 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Annette Obrestad 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Antony Lellouche 50 $45,695 1 0 0
49 Ardavan Yazdi 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Brian Cospolich 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Caniele Mazzia 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Casey Kastle 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Cory Carroll 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Dan Pedersen 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Darren Grant 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Dave Ulliott 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 David "Bakes" Baker 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 David Paredes 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Eric Froehlich 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Eric Haik 50 $28,996 1 0 0
49 Frederic Brunet 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Gabriel Nassif 50 $28,996 1 0 0
49 George Medina 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Gjorgji Chuchuk 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Guillaume de la Gorce 50 $14,498 1 0 0
49 Jared Jaffee 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Joe Hachem 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Jonathan Plens 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Jordan Morgan 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Joseph Elpayaa 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Joseph Miceli 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Jyri-Petteri Linna 50 $10,057 1 0 0
49 Karim Bennani Smires 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Mark Entwistle 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Men Nguyen 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Mesbah Guerfi 50 $10,057 1 0 0
49 Michael Kwiek 50 $28,996 1 0 0
49 Nicolo Calia 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Ognjen Sekularac 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Olivier Chaignard 50 $14,498 1 0 0
49 Pamela Brunson 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Paul Bennazar 50 $28,996 1 0 0
49 Paulo Jorge Da Silva Pereira 50 $12,572 1 0 0
49 Payman Arjang 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Peteris Kruze 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Priyan De Mel 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Remus Marele 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Sergio David Ceron Soria 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Stephane Benadiba 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Thomas Nielsen 50 $14,498 1 0 0
49 Todd Brunson 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Tristan LHeure 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Vadim Trincher 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Viktors Vorobjovs 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Annette Obrestad 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Antony Lellouche 50 $45,695 1 0 0
49 Arnaud Esquevin 50 $14,498 1 0 0
49 Casey Kastle 50 $7,920 1 0 0
49 Cory Carroll 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Dan Pedersen 50 $6,160 1 0 0
49 Darren Grant 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Jared Jaffee 50 $13,594 1 0 0
49 Jordan Morgan 50 $16,993 1 0 0
49 Ognjen Sekularac 50 $20,392 1 0 0
49 Payman Arjang 50 $20,392 1 0 0

Is Party the only site offering sats to WPT London?