Modified Chip/Buyback Tourney

A normal chip tourney works like this: If you have 16 tables and 42 players then you draw players onto a waiting list, then starting at the top of the list, pair up players until all tables are filled. Initially, you would lag for the break.Then the next (in this example, the 33rd) player waits for a game to finish. When a game finishes the winner stays on the table and plays this next incoming player (assigned via the TD). As in all chip tourneys, the winner racks, the incoming player would break. (In most usages of this format, the loser loses a virtual chip, and then gets placed at the bottom of the waiting list. This has a fundamental flaw. Slow play gets rewarded. One way to fix this could be to keep track of WINS and losses, instead of just losses. See modified format below.)

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Here’s my idea for a 3 day tourney, entry fee could be less than the normal since we're doing buyback. Maybe start at $50.

Day 1 is a full field 16 table chip tourney, unlimited FREE buybacks. Play starts at whatever starting time, noon for example, and concludes with no games being started after designated cutoff time, midnight for example. Both wins and losses are kept for each player. Players get added to waiting list immediately after a loss, as there are unlimited buybacks and wins and losses are recorded, so players will want back on a table ASAP.

Day 2 is (open to full field, but optional) 16 table chip tourney, unlimited $11 buybacks. Play picks up using the waiting list from previous day, starts and ends as specified just like first day. Both wins and losses are kept for each player. Winning players earn $10 per win, and $1 from each buyback goes to person running the tourney.

Day 3 continues with the top 16 players based on wins. In the case of a tie, all tied players will qualify to play on Day 3. One format option for the final day would be the following: As wins have been kept for two days, the qualifying player (or players) with the fewest is on a “last life” and cannot buy back after their next loss. The leader would have 5 buybacks, the others buybacks would be determined by difference in wins vs the leader. In addition, anyone with 5 fewer wins than the leader is also on their last life. This is to ensure large variances in losses can still be handled expediently.

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For Day 3 - In the case of no ties, 16 playing cards (8 different pairs A-8) are drawn by players to determine table assignments. After all games are completed, the remaining players are determined and cards are again drawn. (If there is an odd number, the person with the most wins (or best W-L record, in case of ties) gets the bye. Byes are kept track of, so the next time it goes to the person with the next most wins, etc.). Play resumes until one player remains or until the designated cutoff time is reached.

It may be the case where it becomes mathematically impossible to overcome a deficit to a leader in the allotted time. This is normal and expected, just like in golf match play. In these cases, a player may concede to save time, or two players may concede to the leader and elect to play each other for second place.

Payouts are based on who lasted the longest in Day 3, similar to how DCC does payouts. A standard template will be used, but adjustments will be made to divide up payouts when multiple players are knocked out at once.

(A variation could be that Day 3 consists of a seeded single elim tourney instead of the Final rounds of a normal chip tourney as outlined above, but in situations where records are close the chip tourney is very exciting.)

Modified Chip/Buyback Tourney

Coolest part about this is we could host as many players as we want, and there would be the absolute minimum possible amount of downtime due to slow play. The Grady rule would be good for this as well, as it serves neither player to have a long drawn out wedge game. The Grady rule could of course be waived if both players were old school stubborn grinders and agreed on it, but really would not serve their best interest. In fact, I would expect lopsided long running games to even get conceded often in order to expedite play.

Modified Chip/Buyback Tourney

I've been refining/updating the original idea/post, as "I've been thinking about nothing else all day." After reading the RR post and discussing skipping players, I realized that the chip tourney would be far more efficient and would run much smoother as a whole unit. I should have come up with this sooner, as I’ve run several and played in dozens of chip tourneys, but never for one pocket. The changes discussed below would strongly encourage players to avoid slow play and slow games without any interference from the TD. After all, it only affects the players involved, or rather much more than the incoming players, as the players waiting will just jump on the next available table.