In the WSOP 2018 thread someone said the 2018 Monster had a better structure than the 2017 Monster. (https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/6...87/index6.html starting at post #145). My system (http://rainbowspuppiessunshine.com/pokercalc/) said it got worse.

Rather than derail that thread I started this one to solicit opinions. Look at both their structure sheets and tell me which one you think is better and why:

2017 Monster
http://www.wsop.com/pdfs/structuresh...1352_15647.pdf

2018 Monster
http://www.wsop.com/pdfs/structuresh...1487_16448.pdf

They are very similar - same starting chips, same level lengths, same blinds. The difference between the 2 years is in the antes for levels 3, 4, 5, & 18.

Main difference is the ante at level 18. What is extra cost for the extra 500 ante per round vs not having antes in the first four levels for 2018?

I would take the 2017 version. I would rather fight for blinds and antes after two levels vs after four levels with 15K starting stack with the hour levels.

It is slightly better this year. Last year skill rating of Monster stack was 50.71, this year it is 56.25. It was 70 back in 2015.

It looks like they wanted to give "average joe" more time to play early, which I think is good for the growth of the game.

Alternatively, in levels 8 & 18 (the 8th level of Day 1 and Day 2), it appears that they want to escalate the number of bustouts before bagging.

Below are the differences:

2017

Cost Per Orbit

Level 3: 475
Level 4: 550
Level 5: 950
Level 8: 1650
Level 18: 14000


2018

Cost Per Orbit

Level 3: 225
Level 4: 300
Level 5: 700
Level 8: 1900
Level 18: 19000

The cost for 2017 for level 3, 4, 5, 8 combined is much cheaper than the cost of level 18 in 2018.

What's your point? The combined cost is less than 2017's level 18 also.

structure is better in 2017.

Meh. It's still one of the best bangs for your buck.

Count me in.

Plog, perhaps you could modify your rating system to put weights on field size remaining at each level. So Level 1 might have a 99% weight but level 18 might only have 7% weight since 93% of field likely gone by level 18. I think there are some calculators around online that will show how many left based on field size and structure.

+1 this.

While I understand why the overall structure is faster this year (hence the 20%drop in rating according to plog's formula), it is only faster because of a change to one level when some 90% of the field will be eliminated. Frankly I wish it were a tad faster early on, but that is a debate for another time.

Anyhow, plog's methodology assumes the very early levels don't matter. One can agree or disagree, but at least he has a fairly logical reason for why he makes this assumption. By the same token, levels that occur when the vast majority of players have been eliminated don't matter as much either. There needs to be some way of taking this into account, otherwise the rating system has a flaw which makes it less useful.

I think my system got it right--the 2017 structure is better than the 2018. That big net jump at level 18 in the antes more than negates the smaller net increases earlier.

Level increases should feel like a minor scratch to your stack, not a deep cut. My system rewards smoother increases and the 2017 increases smoother in levels that matter. You have so many chips relative to the antes/blinds at the early levels, the specific costs of them just don't really matter. A new player coming in to the 2018 monster 3 hours and 55 minutes after it starts has 75 big blinds. But amazingly, doesn't freak out because the big blind is increasing 150% in 5 minutes. Relative to the starting stack, the specifics of those early levels just aren't important.

The deeper you go, that's not true. Structurewise, that makes later levels more important. My system specifically concentrates on the costs between Level 6 and Level 18 and how smooth they increase. And field size is not only a metric unavailable until well after the tournament has started, but is independent of the structure itself.

The problem is the structure at level 18 is far less consequential to most people than the structure in levels 6-12. Your system treats them the same, and they simply aren't given how few people will ever see level 18.