And the line to check in is out the room and down the hall to Memoire. It's mayhem in here.

Ignore Poker Atlas. The sign in system is down and they are writing the list of pieces of paper...

Yep, you read that right.

those wait lists for like 5 dollars in equity

You know, you are allowed to actually play poker too. The games are so juicy with everyone chasing.
Or you could’ve been smart and got here early. I arrived at 9:45 and was on 34 on the list. Waited like 25 minutes

Presuming it's not worth the trip up there at this point, what's the actual wait time 2-3hrs+?

I heard from the floor half an hour ago that it would be around 3 hours.

It’s probably longer now. The line just keeps getting bigger. I got here around noon and I’m something like 250 on the 1-3 list.

Has the waitlist actually dropped to 40 for 1/3 or is there still an issue/a longer paper list?

Update: So I had arrived at noon, waited in line and checked in at 12:20pm on the written list . I waited around for an hour and then went home since my name hadn’t even showed up on the poker atlas list. Around 6pm I decided to go back to the casino and they were just getting around to the names taken on the written list on paper. Took my 1/3 seat at 6:20pm. Just a six hour wait, no big deal.

By 9 or 930p there was no wait. Which makes sense since the promo ended at 10.

Tournament record today for Boston I think:
508 entries @$360
Will beat $60k guarantee by at least 2.5x!
Great news for New England poker, as FW is running a $50k tourney today as well.
About 10 folks waiting for alternate seats off and on last hour.
Overall really well organized as usual.

That is great news about tourney turnout. Keep it up and going and that one after Christmas will be insane.

599 is the final tally. Registration has closed. $179,700 is the prize pool.

Very good turnout today.

Went to play 2-2 PLO8 Sat night and game got down to 5 handed around midnight and we switched it to 2-2 PLO8 with a $160 cap (no $5 bring in, just true 2-2 blinds) and 8-16 mixed games. Table filled up and we even had a list but everyone was dead tired by 6am and we all left and the people on the list didn't get to play. The entire 6 hours we decided that a limit and big bet mixed game would be a great idea and looked at all the games and stakes that would make this game a regular possibility. Please give feedback. (x) is number of cards dealt before first round of betting and switching it often makes it less likely someone plays the previous game by accident. 15-30 will get the 20-40 stud, hold'em, O8, and mixed players to give this a try as this is 'lower' stakes than they regularly play and the big bet games have a cap lower than the max buy in at 2-2 PLO/PLO8 ($500) so no one will feel like they have a lot to lose and hopefully attract NLHE/PLO/PLO8 players to try limit mixed games too. We can do two limit games then a big bet game then two limit games and a big bet game etc... We are also spreading out the split pot games from the non-split pot games. The minimum buy in for this game would be $150.

(4 down) $10 small blind $15 big blind $15-$30 Limit Omaha hi lo 8 or better
(5 down) $10 small blind $15 big blind $15-$30 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw
(2 down) $5 small blind $5 big blind NLHE $300 cap
(2 down 1 up) $5 ante $5 bring in $15-$30 Limit Stud 8
(4 down) $10 small blind $15 big blind $15-$30 Limit Badugi Triple Draw
(4 down) $5 small blind $5 big blind Pot Limit Omaha hi lo 8 or better $300 cap
(2 down) $10 small blind $15 big blind $15-$30 Limit Hold'em
(5 down) $10 small blind $15 big blind $15-$30 Limit Badacey (Badugi/A-5) Triple Draw
(4 down) $5 small blind $5 big blind Pot Limit Omaha high only $300 cap

Tell me if this is the dumbest thing you have ever seen or the best mix and you'll play as often as you can to everything in the middle.

The 8 players at the table that night were a mix of dealers, regulars, 2/2 PLO/PLO8 regs, 1/3 2/5 NLHE regs, stud players, and more and everyone was very interested and had a lot to say and contribute to this. I am just the note taker.

Thank you for your efforts to get the mix game(s) going. Since I have limited availability these days, I appreciate what you're doing here.

I like the mix, and if it attracts players, great. However, it does seem like a lot of games. Perhaps removing PLO (or PLO/8) and Badacey would simplify it a bit?

On the other hand, maybe the types of players who want to play at 15/30 (who you've talked to more than I have) are OK with this mix.

The ante, bring-in, and cap sizes seem OK to me.

The game would be rake and not time.

9 games total
6 limit games Hold’em, O8, Stud8, Badugi, 2-7, Badacey
3 big bet cap games NHLE, PLO, PLO8
4 split pot games O8, Stud8, PLO8, Badacey
5 non-split games Hold’em, NLHE, PLO, 2-7, Badugi
3 draw games 2-7 TD, Badugi, Badacey
5 flop games O8, PLO8, Hold’em, NLHE, PLO
1 stud game Stud8
3 lowball games 2-7 TD, Badugi, Badacey

We'd like to just call it something like Encore Mix and that's it. No arguing about adding/subtracting games and all this other mess that causes a lot of players to not ever want to sit down and politic. This game would just get going and run and people can play or not play.

If the limits were lower on the limit games I'd play every time it was available, but for me 15-30 is too high for a bunch of games I have no experience at. Typical buy in would be 800 or so right?

I hope this happens though. If I run my bankroll up some then I'd love to know this game was available.

This is the other proposal for an entry level game. Basically the only complaint about this vs the other 5-5/15-30 structure is the rake is basically going to be $5 every time in both games as pots will be usually over $50 so for this lower structure it is a significant part of the pots but I guess the same can be said for 4-8 Hold'em or O8 which runs regularly at Encore.

$4 small blind $8 big blind $8-$16 Limit Omaha hi lo 8 or better
$4 small blind $8 big blind $8-$16 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw
$2 small blind $2 big blind NLHE $160 cap
$2 ante $2 bring-in $8-$16 Limit Stud 8
$4 small blind $8 big blind $8-$16 Limit Badugi Triple Draw
$2 small blind $2 big blind Pot Limit Omaha hi lo 8 or better $160 cap
$4 small blind $8 big blind $8-$16 Limit Hold'em
$4 small blind $8 big blind $8-$16 Limit Badacey (Badugi/A-5) Triple Draw
$2 small blind $2 big blind Pot Limit Omaha high only $160 cap

Now if they can get both this 2-2/8-16 and 5-5/15-30 going but that would be nice. Not sure if there are enough players for both.

I agree that there aren't currently enough players for both. It appears that there are two opposing arguments:

1. Rake is more significant at the lower level
2. It's easier to get new players at the lower level

I'm not sure which of these is more important in the near-term when it comes to creating a critical mass of players, given the current and prospective player pools.

I guess the middle would be a 12-24 game with 3-3 blinds $240 cap which is not too bad for rake/entry level.

Having 2-2 PLO and 2-2 PLO8 in the middle section with the 5-5 PLO and 20-40 stud, hold'em, mix games is much better than the area before North Elevator, bathrooms, and ATM. So much more spacious and having the podium/floor at the entrance is nice and I do feel like drink service is much faster/reliable.

Do they rotate drink girls between poker and other areas like VIP, downstairs pit and slots, etc...? I would say I frequent poker room often but it seems like there are new girls every time I visit.

I'd play this for sure. I'd prefer something like NL 2-7 Single Draw in place of NLHE or PLO but I get the idea of attracting new players with it

I'm happy to help start any kind of mixed game possible whenever I can make it to Boston. Only a couple hours away in CT. Bigger stakes is better but I'd even play just for fun as low as 20/40ish or around there. Happy to help start the game hu/shorthanded with anybody just lemme know. Feel free to PM to exchange numbers if you want. Love the idea of a mix that includes big bet and limit games but I'm really down for whatever as long as there's at least a handful of games in there.

As one of the new players who will probably end up donating a good chunk of money in these games, the proposed 8/16 mix sounds great.