Re: [ba-poker] tournament alternates

["Stephen H. Landrum" <slandrum(deleted the rest)>]

At 02:03 PM 5/24/2004, Nick Christenson wrote:

> > I've started seeing this practice used more often in tournament poker, as
> > folks bust out in the the preliminary rounds they are replaced by folks on
> > an alternates list.  In the WSOP $10k event, apparently the 200 alternates
> > to the 2400 in the main field have their chips "blinded" off at 50 chips
> > every 40 minutes, a relatively insignificant amount against the starting
> > level of blinds.
> >
> > Is it generally an advantage (reduced exposure to being snapped) or
> > disadvantage (missing playable hands) to being an alternate?
>
> I think this is complex.  In theory, I have no complaint against the
> alternate concept.  In execution, it depends.

Definitely.

My take on it is this - If the event is a rebuy event, then players 
(alternates, late entries, whatever), can enter during the rebuy period 
with a full stack.  Players that bust get to rebuy and re-appear with a 
full stack, so being replaced by a new entrant with a full stack is 
equivalent if they choose not to rebuy.

If the tournament is not a rebuy tournament, then late entries' or 
alternates' stacks should be reduced by an amount approximately equal to 
the blinds that they missed.  This should definitely be the case for 
tournaments where in general there is plenty of seating for the players who 
have signed up at start time.

A compromise solution for tournaments that sell out in advance is OK - 
alternates get in when a seat is available, or when the tournament staff 
can open an extra table, and then I'm OK if they start with a full 
stack.  The average player's expectation should be to still have a starting 
stack anyway.  I'm also OK if they start with a reduced stack, but they 
need to be informed in advance that this is going to happen, and what 
formula is to be used for the stack reduction, so that they can make an 
informed choice whether or not to enter the event.

A trickier question is how people feel about tournaments where seats are 
held for potential late entrants by having phantom stacks blinded down 
during the rebuy period, first hour or whatever.  There are pros and cons 
to this one.  My feeling here is that it depends on the venue and the 
customers you are catering to.

And of course, online tournaments bring other questions and solutions to 
these problems.


--
Stephen H. Landrum <slandrum(deleted the rest)>