Quote:
Originally Posted by akashenk
Giving large percentages of the prizepool to random people is not poker.
It's not really random though, as mystery bounties don't pay until the event is ITM. 85%+ of the field will not have any chance at a payday. Players with bigger stacks who make deeper runs will tend to have more envelopes and thus more odds to hit the big prizes. The good players are going to make more money in mystery bounties than the bad players. In a large sample size, it's still a contest of skill.
Like satellites or basic bounty tournaments, this format provides unique wrinkles that also dictate strategic adjustments (i.e. weighing survival vs. accumulation, making different equity calculations based on the prospect of eliminating players, etc). It's a bit old fashioned and rigid to argue that mystery bounty events "aren't poker".
It's the trendy format of the moment and we're seeing lots of venues jump onto the bandwagon. Only time will tell if the format will endure, but the early response has been enthusiastic, perhaps even to the extent that jaded players should still consider jumping into these events. The perception of them being a lottery will most likely result in softer fields relative to each price point, as you're more likely to see out-of-their depth shot takers register for a mystery bounty than a conventional MTT. The $1k mystery bounty at the WSOP last year attracted 14k entrants, which is nearly triple the $1k mini main and nearly 6x the turnout for the $1k freezeout (event 18). Part of that is down to having many flights, but clearly there's a lot of excitement to play these. That adds value. Large fields diluted by shot takers are great for the stronger players.
Last edited by DogFace; 04-11-2023 at 11:46 PM.