WCOAP TEAM EVENT

[DodgyEnd (Tom APAT.be)]

I think that countries should have the option of choosing a squad of 5 but only 4 playing in any one round.  This eliminates the problem of countries only having 4 players as they"d all play each round anyway.  Having a squad of 5 also creates a dynamic where the captain has a tactical decision to make as to who to leave out for each particular round.

This could be a great alternative.

4 or 5 is a big difference I think. We, Team Belgium, would probably be able to find a 5th, but it"s a huge difference in transport and accommodation. We came to Prague by car... 4 people is ideal, 5 people would mean that we need 2 cars.

The hotel: most have 2-people or 4-people rooms/apartments... 5 would mean extra costs.

So I would prefer 4 people; but having 5 player teams and only 4 needed in any event, would be a good alternative. That way you could also have more non-holdem events... let"s say that you have a phase where 2 players have to play PLO and 2 players have to play (let"s say) stud.

[fandango]

FWIW and risking offending or upsetting last years victorious England Team, I would be very disappointed if other English players were not given the opportunity to represent England in this years event. Some of you have been lucky enough to play these events on many occasions, and others only once, but there are many capable players out there that never seem to get a look in, and to go with the "We won it last year so we"re playing again this year" is wrong IMO.

I for one is neither offended or upset Mike..

It has been the usual format that the top points scorer over the season for each country has automatically been given a place in the squad so they are there on merit.

This is not the case for this season for reasons unknown to me..

Then skip has to choose from the rest of the applicants, of course there are "many capable" players but I"m sure when the elected skip does choose he wants to pick who he thinks will perform best for his team, I"m sure there is no " favouritism" being dealt out here.. IMO for instance I would choose Chris Webber at a drop if I was skip for WCOAP this year, the guy has been immense this season as have Warren (Welsh) and they should be picked on merit.

Just my own thoughts on this...

[AAroddersAA]

I think that countries should have the option of choosing a squad of 5 but only 4 playing in any one round.  This eliminates the problem of countries only having 4 players as they"d all play each round anyway.  Having a squad of 5 also creates a dynamic where the captain has a tactical decision to make as to who to leave out for each particular round.

This could be a great alternative.

4 or 5 is a big difference I think. We, Team Belgium, would probably be able to find a 5th, but it"s a huge difference in transport and accommodation. We came to Prague by car... 4 people is ideal, 5 people would mean that we need 2 cars.

The hotel: most have 2-people or 4-people rooms/apartments... 5 would mean extra costs.

So I would prefer 4 people; but having 5 player teams and only 4 needed in any event, would be a good alternative. That way you could also have more non-holdem events... let"s say that you have a phase where 2 players have to play PLO and 2 players have to play (let"s say) stud.

I agree this is a good compromise and should be considered.

[AMRN]

Winning country gets the option of putting in two teams for next event, ie the champion team, plus a selected team. Optional so that countries that can"t provide two teams would not be hampered.

[HOLDorFOLD]

FWIW and risking offending or upsetting last years victorious England Team, I would be very disappointed if other English players were not given the opportunity to represent England in this years event. Some of you have been lucky enough to play these events on many occasions, and others only once, but there are many capable players out there that never seem to get a look in, and to go with the "We won it last year so we"re playing again this year" is wrong IMO.

I for one is neither offended or upset Mike..

It has been the usual format that the top points scorer over the season for each country has automatically been given a place in the squad so they are there on merit.

This is not the case for this season for reasons unknown to me..

Then skip has to choose from the rest of the applicants, of course there are "many capable" players but I"m sure when the elected skip does choose he wants to pick who he thinks will perform best for his team, I"m sure there is no " favouritism" being dealt out here.. IMO for instance I would choose Chris Webber at a drop if I was skip for WCOAP this year, the guy has been immense this season as have Warren (Welsh) and they should be picked on merit.

Just my own thoughts on this...

ooooo good call. Like.

[bear21]

Winning country gets the option of putting in two teams for next event, ie the champion team, plus a selected team. Optional so that countries that can"t provide two teams would not be hampered.

Sorry Steve , don"t agree with this^^^ the only country able to do this would be england for obvious reasons so defeats the point !!, where sometimes some countries struggle to get 1 team whether its 4 or 5 in a team,
As to all the above points , agree that a 4 man team would be easier for some countries to get together, as to selection for me I would be happy to play for wales every time if asked but it all comes down to money in the end ( unfortunately ) and with travelling expenses etc ( eg prague ) too much for me I"m afraid, also I think more people should be given the chance to play for their country if they wanted, returning champions being the only team that should be given the chance of returning the following year to defend and if some can"t then captain picks replacement!!, (  e.g. If wales won 3 years on the run I wouldn"t be unhappy that I didn"t get picked but proud that my country has done so well - but that"s my thoughts,
whatever happens APAT won"t be able to please everyone  

[AMRN]

Winning country gets the option of putting in two teams for next event, ie the champion team, plus a selected team. Optional so that countries that can"t provide two teams would not be hampered.

Sorry Steve , don"t agree with this^^^

Haha sure you don"t need to apologise for disagreeing. I just put that thought out there as an alternative...

[bear21]

LOL NP  steve , if all countries could get the numbers that england can I would agree with the idea totally

[s4ooter]

I"d like to see the format changed.

I"d like to see 4/5 per team, and multiple disciplines.
PLO, NLH, Stud, Razz, HU, HORSE, 6 max
Captains then have to pick the best poker players from their countries and not friends/mates etc
Captains rank their players on each discipline and are matched vs other countries players of the same ranking.
Ie Carl is England"s #1 PLO player. His sng features all the #1 ranks in.
This would also allow captains to actually play tactically, instead of just giving a player a number and it"s pot luck.

I"d also like to see the seat draw being more random. At the euros I had England A on my left in all but 1 sng. That was a ball ache and just bad for game play for all.

As for selection it"s an odd one.

I played the Euros, in the B team. I would love to get selected for Worlds but I was under no false illusion that the team that won the year prior were coming back to defend. If I had known that before I arrived I prob would have played the sides and declined my spot in the team as I felt I had nothing to play for, bar winning a medal.

That sounds pretty selfish, but when speaking to Carl at homes that"s when I found out they were looking to use same team.  He may have posted before online, but I"d not noticed.

I wanted to go to Homes, play well, win gold and then get picked for Euros/Worlds/both.

When I got there, I was now in a position where I knew that even if I won every sng, I wouldn"t have a chance for the worlds. Pretty gutting.

Tod, Adam and I all performed well and got in top 10 individuals, and outperformed stalwarts like Carl and Stu, but still don"t have a chance for selection. some seemed more interested in alcohol, some not interested at all. [NB I am not knocking Carl or Stu"s ability here, merely looking at the numbers on the paper and how I felt on the weekend]

Maybe, and I say maybe, this is why the 3 English teams that have played so far this year have only picked up 1x Bronze.

Anyway that"s my 2ps worth.

I"m sure some may take offense in my words, but I like to be openly honest.

[AMRN]

Maybe, and I say maybe, this is why the 3 English teams that have played so far this year have only picked up 1x Bronze.

Ahem - you forgetting the English team that played in April this year and won Gold (and bracelets)??

[hi_am_chris]

Would like to see see some sort of selection procedure put in place for future years for at least home nation teams.

[s4ooter]

Maybe, and I say maybe, this is why the 3 English teams that have played so far this year have only picked up 1x Bronze.

Ahem - you forgetting the English team that played in April this year and won Gold (and bracelets)??

We both know I meant this season

[AMRN]

Maybe, and I say maybe, this is why the 3 English teams that have played so far this year have only picked up 1x Bronze.

Ahem - you forgetting the English team that played in April this year and won Gold (and bracelets)??

We both know I meant this season

hmmm my mistake - I thought "this year" meant this year

[s4ooter]

Jingle jangle

[Fatcatstu]

Can i also point out that picking a team is not just about picking the best players... its about picking a TEAM.

When i have picked teams i have gone for a blend of people i know would get on and support each other in the event, which helps each individual.

When we won the Worlds, it was because we stuck together as a team. We all railed each player when we were out. We didnt just clear off and talk to our mates. I know from talking to the guys that this made a massive difference to each and every one of us at some point during the tournament. Whether it was me in my Omaha SNG on day 2, or Carl in the last NLHE SNG or Tony in his headsup match. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

Just throwing a group of randoms together is not a - Going to make a winning team or b - make the experience enjoyable for all concerned.