The Perfect Satellite Structure

[Chipaccrual]

There"s so many different ways to satellite into events.  Steps structure, rebuys, stages, chip and a chair, but what"s the optimum structure for qualifying for an event or big online tournament ?

I"m assuming it"s a standard starting stack with standard levels that could also be a turbo structure, but what"s everyone"s expectations on number of seats to the target event compared to the buyin ?

I"ve always thought that 1 seat for every 8 runners is about right.

That would mean :-

A satellite for an £82.50 APAT National seat would be around an £10+£1

A £430 Genting Poker Series Seat would be a 2 stager.  £8+£0.80 into a £55+£5


What"s others views on satellite structures in general ?

[Santino67]

I don"t play many satellites tbh Leigh, but i do make a point of playing the APATs when I can. Decent buy in, decent structure and a good opportunity to sit down with the gang keeping costs down. I"ve gained about 4 APAT seats through this route but generally don"t play many others as loads are turbo and don"t suit me.

[Swinebag]

I agree that the Genting structure (1 in 8 ) is just about perfect. The cheaper sub sattys are a bit faster than the £50 ones, which is fine for a £8 satty.

The 3x turbo rebuys on stars are the other end of the spectrum for me and are just ridiculous.

the APAT ones were always good and were just right as well (except when they briefly had $20 sattys into $50 online nationals - surely an error) in terms of payout and structure.

I don"t like turbos as sattys and think that slow deepstacks are too tedious to play for the potential reward.

Off the top of my head, I think 3K chips 10 min levels with blinds going at

10/20
15/30
25/50
50/100
75/150
100/200
100/200/20
150/300/30
200/400/40
250/500/50
300/600/60
400/800/80
500/1000/100
600/1200/120
800/1600/160 - should finish around here with a 1 in 8 payout
1K/2K/200
1.2K/2.4K/240
1.5K/3K/300
2K/4K/400
2.5K/5K/500

no more than 4 hours max to play this out - meaning you haven"t lost too much of your life if you bubble

[Sugarnes]

Personally prefer slightly better odds - 1:4-6 works for me, perhaps just a matter of what you"ve been successful at but I think there"s also something in the timing and what your aim is.  If I"m looking for a quick thrash to get cheaply into an evening $50-80 tourney I don't really want to be treating it like a proper tournament, so better odds works.  Alternatively though if I"m looking to secure something well above my wallet"s tolerance like the £500 Genting example I"m very happy to treat the second stage of that like a proper tourney so 1:8-10 works better.

Substantially more important point on structure though is bring in hand for hand play at sensible point!  There"s nothing more painful than watching little digital countdown clocks rotate.......zzzzzzz

[AMRN]

1 in out 8 is about right in a freezout satellite, with a semi-decent structure.

I would like to see satellites that run with the Pokerstars style frantic hour up front, with heavy blind structure, fast clock, short stacks, and cheap rebuys, but then at the end of the rebuy period, it goes back a few levels and the clock slows down.   This could generate significantly more seats from those people (like Ger) that like to splash the rebuys to try and get a stack, but once the rebuy period is done, the tourney plays out far more like a proper tourney.

I don"t like the 3x turbos on Stars - they are great at generating seats through rebuys, but there is no skill edge whatsoever at any point, other than knowing shove/fold ranges.   My thoughts above give both the crazy rebuy context to generate seats, but then allows for those seats to be played for with some modicum of poker skill.