I played on Monday, made it through that day and finished at about 84,000 chips. Lot's of preflop poker once half the day passes, rarely do you get to see a flop unless someone is all in.
We started the day with 103 players, they said it will be about the same each day, and 1st will pay about $100,000.
I just talked to Ticketmaster and was told that The Fall Classic is now sold out.
Good luck to all who are playing.
I was there on Saturday and they weren't close to being sold out, although they were managing days so each day was about equal. Unless there was a last minute rush I"m surprised.
It was a long two hour drive to Casino Rama. It was snowing at the Barrie area, so it was treacherous in some spots. In hindsight, I should have taken one of the bus shuttles instead of driving a total of four hours yesterday, and playing while sleepy and not having the time to eat anything.
Players were given a black "Casino Rama Poker Room" light jacket upon registration. Too bad it's not usable until next year after winter is over.
Only 103 seats of the maximum 132 capacity was sold for Monday, so they capped the remaining three days at the same 103. So even though Casino Rama can claim that it's "sold out" and you can no longer buy a seat, there were actually over 116 unsold seats for the event. The prizes that were promoted "to exceed $500,000" dropped down to $412,000. The revised prize structure was not disclosed while I was playing, but I would estimate first prize to be $101,000 and 44th place to barely win their buy-in back. Two tables always remained opened for the cash games, while the other ten tables were used for the tournament.
Casino Rama neglected to have basic tournament details available online, such as qualification structure and blind schedule. When I phoned for the blinds, I was told a different schedule that what was actually used at the tournament!
Somebody had told me that each day's tournament would finish when there are 11 players left, then they would start a brand new tournament on Thursday with the finalists all having the same amount of starting chips. So I prepared my game plan on surviving to the final 11 instead of "playing to win" the biggest possible stack. I asked a floor person to confirm the undisclosed qualification structure and he said that they hadn't decided yet how many would qualify but the qualifiers would keep whatever chips they had instead of starting over on Thursday! So having been misinformed about the blind schedule and qualification, my pre-game strategies went out the window with the tournament about to start!
Here is the correct blind schedule.
1) 25/25
2) 25/50
3) 50/100
15-minute break
4) 100/200 + 25 ante
Casino Rama copied the same horrible blind increase that was used at Fallsview Casino for the WPT events. As Daniel Negreanu complained about in his blog, there should have been a 100/200 + 0 level first. It makes no sense for the cost per round to QUADRUPLE from one blind level to the next. You go from being comfortably in the Green Zone with an M of 33 to suddenly the Orange Zone with an M of less than 9, skipping the Yellow Zone altogether!
I was hoping my table would be full of fish who only won through Casino Rama's bingo satellites, but after hearing conversations about Bellagio, last week's BC tournament, Las Vegas tournaments and buying in for $1,100, I realized that I was the fish! :fish:
It seemed that only one hand went to showdown in the first 30 minutes. At the second blind level, I got pocket kings UTG and opted to just limp in. LP lady raised to 6x BB. A player whom I had categorized as an "oaf" (which means somebody who acts like a newbie and does not know what they are doing) acted out of turn yet again, said "call" and put 300 chips past the betting line. Expecting that his action is binding, I made a huge raise. However, Casino Rama has several weird rules which differ from both Robert's Rules and other casinos, and let the oaf take back his 300. Lady called. She checked on the flop and I bet with my overpair. She folds and I take down the biggest pot so far, becoming the chip leader of the table.
Another weird rule of Casino Rama is forcing you to check if you bet out of turn. The Pirana Poker Tour is the only other organization I know that uses this "forced check" rule. Robert's Rules states that your out-of-turn action is binding, while most card rooms let you change your mind without being forced to check.
I got A-7s in EP, but with the table dynamics having changed after the sole LAG was moved to another table, I knew there was a good chance that I would to get to see a flop by limping in. Everybody else folded except the blinds. I got a flush draw on the flop, which I opted to bet. One player check-raised, which I later found out was a stone-cold bluff at that point. I called and got my nut flush on the turn. He bet a higher amount and I opted to flat call, to induce an even bigger bet on the river. I was over a 90% favourite to take down the biggest pot and increase my chip lead in the table. Unfortunately for me, I got rivered and became the short stack instead. With a big blind increase approaching, I knew that I would soon have to make an all-in gamble to have any shot at contending for the final 11, but I lost and ended up at the Couchiching Court Buffet. :redface:
didn't you win your entry in through a bingo satellite :-) At least you were there and have a story to tell (plus additional tournament experience); its only a matter of time before you make the big money. Thanks for the update.
keep it up Popkorn! the roll continues! good luck in the next round.
pokerJAH
Thanks pokerJAH.
My impression of the field was pretty weak, probably because of the crapshoot satellites. It looked like everyone was still in satellite mode.
I was watching people move all in UTG with 7000chips, when the blinds were only 400/800.
Or when the blinds were 50/100, someone would raise to 400, and another would go all in for 8000 chips with pocket kings. It just appeared a lot of guys didn't feel comfortable playing after the flop.
Blind structure is pretty awful, once your stack dips below average, you're pretty much doomed. I was told your chips carried over to the next day, so a lot of players that were short stacked on the first day, risked their elimination so they could try on the following days again to get more chips. As for the blinds, I heard that they are going to go with 1 below the lowest ending blind level of all 4 days.
And I heard mixed numbers of what 44th place paid, it was ranging from $1500-1700. And I think last year's Fall Classic there was a $10 meal voucher or was that for their monthly tournaments, but there is no meal voucher this year.
Also leave some extra time due to the snow up there, got delayed for 30-45 minutes when getting up there because I was stuck behind the snow plows.
didn't you win your entry in through a bingo satellite
No, the satellite I participated in had a Skill Level of 3, compared to Level 0 for the Casino Rama satellites. Our starting stack was 5,000 chips instead of 800. I will probably be participating in similar satellites to try to win seats to next month's Brantford Winter Classic tournaments.
I was watching people move all in UTG with 7000chips, when the blinds were only 400/800.
Popkorn, isn't that an all-in or fold situation? Assuming the usual 11 players/table at Casino Rama, the cost per round at the 400/800 + 100 level would be 2,300 chips. The player with 7,000 chips would have an M of only 3, in the critical Red Zone. Moving all-in is a much better option than a standard raise, which would consume over 1/3 of that player's stack. Harrington's "3-to-1 Rule" states that as long as you think that there's a 50% chance that your opponents will fold to an all-in bet, you can move all-in with a positive expectation even if you're a 2-to-1 dog to win if you are called.
Popkorn, isn't that an all-in or fold situation? Assuming the usual 11 players/table at Casino Rama, the cost per round at the 400/800 + 100 level would be 2,300 chips. The player with 7,000 chips would have an M of only 3, in the critical Red Zone. Moving all-in is a much better option than a standard raise, which would consume over 1/3 of that player's stack. Harrington's "3-to-1 Rule" states that as long as you think that there's a 50% chance that your opponents will fold to an all-in bet, you can move all-in with a positive expectation even if you're a 2-to-1 dog to win if you are called.
I've read Harrington's books, and it's just from my experience, unless you are moving in with aces or kings, you might run into aces or kings, and your tournament life is doomed with that many chips, and with aces or kings, i would do a raise of probably 3 times the BB anyways, because i would want action with that sort of hand, i mean you cant expect to win tournaments just by stealing blinds. And with marginal hands like AQ, AJ or pairs 10's and lower, i would do a smaller raise, and just go with my reads if people call or reraise me all in. I mean we are playing a 11 handed tournament, where the chance of someone picking up a monster is pretty damn high.
I learned from my mistake in the WPT, where I moved in with AJ when I had about 9-10 times the BB, and wished that I raised less to find out more information when I was up against AK so then maybe I could've gotten away from the hand, and I would still be alive with more chips. Because I had a decent read on the players, and had picked up some tells too.
The organizer is willing to host the rake-free satellite on December 12/14/17 or 22 in Mississauga, so let me know which night is good for you. The same blind schedule as BCC will be used, starting at 25/25. The Skill Level will be at least 3, compared to Skill Level 1 for the crapshoot satellites at BCC. The winner gets the $540 seat, with any remaining money going to second place. Every participant will get a 2% share if the winner makes it to the money.
Comments
Wish me luck!!!:) :as :ad
Good luck to all who are playing.
We started the day with 103 players, they said it will be about the same each day, and 1st will pay about $100,000.
I was there on Saturday and they weren't close to being sold out, although they were managing days so each day was about equal. Unless there was a last minute rush I"m surprised.
pokerJAH
Players were given a black "Casino Rama Poker Room" light jacket upon registration. Too bad it's not usable until next year after winter is over.
Only 103 seats of the maximum 132 capacity was sold for Monday, so they capped the remaining three days at the same 103. So even though Casino Rama can claim that it's "sold out" and you can no longer buy a seat, there were actually over 116 unsold seats for the event. The prizes that were promoted "to exceed $500,000" dropped down to $412,000. The revised prize structure was not disclosed while I was playing, but I would estimate first prize to be $101,000 and 44th place to barely win their buy-in back. Two tables always remained opened for the cash games, while the other ten tables were used for the tournament.
Casino Rama neglected to have basic tournament details available online, such as qualification structure and blind schedule. When I phoned for the blinds, I was told a different schedule that what was actually used at the tournament!
Somebody had told me that each day's tournament would finish when there are 11 players left, then they would start a brand new tournament on Thursday with the finalists all having the same amount of starting chips. So I prepared my game plan on surviving to the final 11 instead of "playing to win" the biggest possible stack. I asked a floor person to confirm the undisclosed qualification structure and he said that they hadn't decided yet how many would qualify but the qualifiers would keep whatever chips they had instead of starting over on Thursday! So having been misinformed about the blind schedule and qualification, my pre-game strategies went out the window with the tournament about to start!
Here is the correct blind schedule.
1) 25/25
2) 25/50
3) 50/100
15-minute break
4) 100/200 + 25 ante
Casino Rama copied the same horrible blind increase that was used at Fallsview Casino for the WPT events. As Daniel Negreanu complained about in his blog, there should have been a 100/200 + 0 level first. It makes no sense for the cost per round to QUADRUPLE from one blind level to the next. You go from being comfortably in the Green Zone with an M of 33 to suddenly the Orange Zone with an M of less than 9, skipping the Yellow Zone altogether!
5) 150/300 + 25
6) 200/400 + 50
15-minute break
7) 300/600 + 75
8 ) 400/800 + 100
9) 600/1200 + 100
Only 30-minute meal break
10) 800/1600 + 200
11) 1000/2000 + 300
12) 1200/2400 + 400
13) 1500/3000 + 500
14) 2000/4000 + 500
15) 3000/6000 + 500
16) 4000/8000 + 1000
17) 5000/10,000 + 1000
18 ) 6000/12,000 + 1500
19) 8000/16,000 + 2000
20) 10K/20K + 3K
21) 12K/24K + 4K
22) 15K/30K + 5K
23) 20K/40K + 5K
24) 30K/60K + 5K
25) 40K/80K + 5K
26) 60K/120K + 10K
27) 80K/160K + 10K
28 ) 100K/200K + 20K
29) 150K/300K + 20K
30) 200K/400K + 30K
31) 250K/500K + 40K
32) 300K/600K + 50K
33) 400K/800K + 60K
34) 500K/1,000K + 60K
It seemed that only one hand went to showdown in the first 30 minutes. At the second blind level, I got pocket kings UTG and opted to just limp in. LP lady raised to 6x BB. A player whom I had categorized as an "oaf" (which means somebody who acts like a newbie and does not know what they are doing) acted out of turn yet again, said "call" and put 300 chips past the betting line. Expecting that his action is binding, I made a huge raise. However, Casino Rama has several weird rules which differ from both Robert's Rules and other casinos, and let the oaf take back his 300. Lady called. She checked on the flop and I bet with my overpair. She folds and I take down the biggest pot so far, becoming the chip leader of the table.
Another weird rule of Casino Rama is forcing you to check if you bet out of turn. The Pirana Poker Tour is the only other organization I know that uses this "forced check" rule. Robert's Rules states that your out-of-turn action is binding, while most card rooms let you change your mind without being forced to check.
I got A-7s in EP, but with the table dynamics having changed after the sole LAG was moved to another table, I knew there was a good chance that I would to get to see a flop by limping in. Everybody else folded except the blinds. I got a flush draw on the flop, which I opted to bet. One player check-raised, which I later found out was a stone-cold bluff at that point. I called and got my nut flush on the turn. He bet a higher amount and I opted to flat call, to induce an even bigger bet on the river. I was over a 90% favourite to take down the biggest pot and increase my chip lead in the table. Unfortunately for me, I got rivered and became the short stack instead. With a big blind increase approaching, I knew that I would soon have to make an all-in gamble to have any shot at contending for the final 11, but I lost and ended up at the Couchiching Court Buffet. :redface:
pJ
Thanks pokerJAH.
My impression of the field was pretty weak, probably because of the crapshoot satellites. It looked like everyone was still in satellite mode.
I was watching people move all in UTG with 7000chips, when the blinds were only 400/800.
Or when the blinds were 50/100, someone would raise to 400, and another would go all in for 8000 chips with pocket kings. It just appeared a lot of guys didn't feel comfortable playing after the flop.
Blind structure is pretty awful, once your stack dips below average, you're pretty much doomed. I was told your chips carried over to the next day, so a lot of players that were short stacked on the first day, risked their elimination so they could try on the following days again to get more chips. As for the blinds, I heard that they are going to go with 1 below the lowest ending blind level of all 4 days.
And I heard mixed numbers of what 44th place paid, it was ranging from $1500-1700. And I think last year's Fall Classic there was a $10 meal voucher or was that for their monthly tournaments, but there is no meal voucher this year.
Also leave some extra time due to the snow up there, got delayed for 30-45 minutes when getting up there because I was stuck behind the snow plows.
Popkorn, isn't that an all-in or fold situation? Assuming the usual 11 players/table at Casino Rama, the cost per round at the 400/800 + 100 level would be 2,300 chips. The player with 7,000 chips would have an M of only 3, in the critical Red Zone. Moving all-in is a much better option than a standard raise, which would consume over 1/3 of that player's stack. Harrington's "3-to-1 Rule" states that as long as you think that there's a 50% chance that your opponents will fold to an all-in bet, you can move all-in with a positive expectation even if you're a 2-to-1 dog to win if you are called.
I've read Harrington's books, and it's just from my experience, unless you are moving in with aces or kings, you might run into aces or kings, and your tournament life is doomed with that many chips, and with aces or kings, i would do a raise of probably 3 times the BB anyways, because i would want action with that sort of hand, i mean you cant expect to win tournaments just by stealing blinds. And with marginal hands like AQ, AJ or pairs 10's and lower, i would do a smaller raise, and just go with my reads if people call or reraise me all in. I mean we are playing a 11 handed tournament, where the chance of someone picking up a monster is pretty damn high.
I learned from my mistake in the WPT, where I moved in with AJ when I had about 9-10 times the BB, and wished that I raised less to find out more information when I was up against AK so then maybe I could've gotten away from the hand, and I would still be alive with more chips. Because I had a decent read on the players, and had picked up some tells too.