Brantford Deep Stack - Trip Report
I finally got to play a Deep Stack tournament again at Casino Brantford. The structure was actually the same as the OLG Tournament of Champions so this trip report will include a comparison with the electronic version.
15,000 starting chips, 30-minute blinds; also used the slower "B" blind structure. :cool2:
Some people made the mistake of not playing because there were few players registered when they phoned. By the time the Deep Stack started after 11 AM, there were almost 60 players and the Brantford players that had decided to arrive later for a cash game were disappointed they missed it.
There was a glitch when the big tournament screen blanked out. I like to look at the information in the screen so it seemed like hours before they were finally able to fix it. This Deep Stack ended around 10 PM, so it took 11 hours. It could have taken much longer because the final two players both had a lot of chips, but there was a quick all-in and finish.
To compare, the same structure at the electronic TOC took only 7.5 hours to finish. There were breaks every three levels, unlike at Brantford with breaks only every four levels or 2 hours. Here are some of the disadvantages of the live dealer/chips format compared to the electronic format, especially when the antes and all-ins start:
- After counting out the 52 cards per silly AGCO rules then washing, dealer is finally ready to deal out the cards, but has to wait for the fish :fish: in the big blind to put both his BB and ante.
- :fish: knows he was just BB, but has to be reminded again in the next hand to put in his SB and ante before the cards can be dealt. :rolleyes:
- Clueless :fish: keeps forgetting to put in his ante almost every hand. The blinds clock keeps ticking as the antes are counted to be short and the dealer tries to find out who didn't ante.
- After player 1 raises, player 2 asks how much and the dealer has to count. Player 2 SLOWLY counts out his chips to himself & re-raises. Player 3 asks how much more & dealer has to count. Player 3 counts out his chips to himself & re-raises all-in. Player 1 asks how much to him, then counts out his chips, then calls. Player 2 does the same and takes his time trying to count the pots before declaring all-in. After all five cards are finally shown, the dealer has to figure out the side pots and count the stacks. It is already the next blind level! :arghh:
In the electronic tournaments I played, all of the above time-consuming stuff is done AUTOMATICALLY no matter how clueless the :fish: are. There were a lot of hands seen in every level, compared to the old way where several all-in hands can take up most of the level.
Anyway, while the electronic Deep Stacks are the nuts (next one on June 27), the Brantford tournaments especially the Deep Stacks are better to play than the ones I've played in Las Vegas since you don't have to buy-in for $1,000+ or pay 30% in withholding tax. The next playable event is the $130 Super Satellite to the $1,090 Deep Stack with up to $100,000 in prize pool.
Cashing in a specific tournament not only requires skill but also a lot of luck or "karma" from the dealers that day. Judging from recent posts, it seems that most don't tip after cashing in a tournament as opposed to a cash game pot, but my good karma continued. I was among the chipleaders before the first break and this continued all the way to the final table. I cashed and obviously tipped.
OLG casinos such as Brantford/GBH/Point Edward are among the few casinos that don't charge the hidden ~3% fee "withheld for poker room staff" such as Las Vegas and Niagara Falls. But if most OLG tournament cashers continue to neglect to tip a single cent, they'll probably try to make the extra 3% mandatory too.
15,000 starting chips, 30-minute blinds; also used the slower "B" blind structure. :cool2:
Some people made the mistake of not playing because there were few players registered when they phoned. By the time the Deep Stack started after 11 AM, there were almost 60 players and the Brantford players that had decided to arrive later for a cash game were disappointed they missed it.
There was a glitch when the big tournament screen blanked out. I like to look at the information in the screen so it seemed like hours before they were finally able to fix it. This Deep Stack ended around 10 PM, so it took 11 hours. It could have taken much longer because the final two players both had a lot of chips, but there was a quick all-in and finish.
To compare, the same structure at the electronic TOC took only 7.5 hours to finish. There were breaks every three levels, unlike at Brantford with breaks only every four levels or 2 hours. Here are some of the disadvantages of the live dealer/chips format compared to the electronic format, especially when the antes and all-ins start:
- After counting out the 52 cards per silly AGCO rules then washing, dealer is finally ready to deal out the cards, but has to wait for the fish :fish: in the big blind to put both his BB and ante.
- :fish: knows he was just BB, but has to be reminded again in the next hand to put in his SB and ante before the cards can be dealt. :rolleyes:
- Clueless :fish: keeps forgetting to put in his ante almost every hand. The blinds clock keeps ticking as the antes are counted to be short and the dealer tries to find out who didn't ante.
- After player 1 raises, player 2 asks how much and the dealer has to count. Player 2 SLOWLY counts out his chips to himself & re-raises. Player 3 asks how much more & dealer has to count. Player 3 counts out his chips to himself & re-raises all-in. Player 1 asks how much to him, then counts out his chips, then calls. Player 2 does the same and takes his time trying to count the pots before declaring all-in. After all five cards are finally shown, the dealer has to figure out the side pots and count the stacks. It is already the next blind level! :arghh:
In the electronic tournaments I played, all of the above time-consuming stuff is done AUTOMATICALLY no matter how clueless the :fish: are. There were a lot of hands seen in every level, compared to the old way where several all-in hands can take up most of the level.
Anyway, while the electronic Deep Stacks are the nuts (next one on June 27), the Brantford tournaments especially the Deep Stacks are better to play than the ones I've played in Las Vegas since you don't have to buy-in for $1,000+ or pay 30% in withholding tax. The next playable event is the $130 Super Satellite to the $1,090 Deep Stack with up to $100,000 in prize pool.
Cashing in a specific tournament not only requires skill but also a lot of luck or "karma" from the dealers that day. Judging from recent posts, it seems that most don't tip after cashing in a tournament as opposed to a cash game pot, but my good karma continued. I was among the chipleaders before the first break and this continued all the way to the final table. I cashed and obviously tipped.
OLG casinos such as Brantford/GBH/Point Edward are among the few casinos that don't charge the hidden ~3% fee "withheld for poker room staff" such as Las Vegas and Niagara Falls. But if most OLG tournament cashers continue to neglect to tip a single cent, they'll probably try to make the extra 3% mandatory too.
Comments
Didn't make it down for the satty..came down with this stupid cough that is going around. Haven't played in any of the $1090.00 satellites yet...hopefully next time.