Just got in from "wow"ing at the plans for my cricket clubs new ground (whilst having a few guinness and a cheeky 5 handed STT) and I come home to this...
All I can say is "wow" again.
I wont miss the regionals as they were too crap shooty, had no dealers and had IMO an unfair points system towards the national rankings. Having said that, a lot of people will (it seems) miss them and it did create some great social occasions. Overall, I do agree with what Dan posted on this though.
As for the Online series, this is a massive improvement IMO on last season and hopefully they will be seen as proper "events" that carry more prestige. Last season had too many tourneys at too low a buy in (compared to the Nationals) and the turnouts were poor given the number of members APAT has. It remains to be seen what a $75 + $7.50 online tourney will bring in terms of numbers, but in terms of overall outlay it is pretty much the same as Season 2. The lower buy in satellites are also a great way to get bankrolls of all sizes involved in the online series and that is a good thing too IMO
The nationals seem to be "same old same old" but TBH very little is needed in the way of improving these. The only thing people wanted here was antes, and not only do we have them but we have a 500/1000 level and a 45 min clock. Its like asking for S4 of the sopranos for christmas and getting S5 and S6 thrown in too!! Not only that, but the variety of satellite buy in will include a wider range of bankroll too.
I know a lot of people are inconvenienced by timings and dates for season 3 (saturday is not a good day for me) but that is too bad. As Dan said, You could pick any day of the week and it would be inconvenient for a lot of members. You could pick a mixture of days and this would still not be suitable for a lot of members. At the end of the day, APAT have picked the dates, we now have a calendar, so its up to us to fit our lives around it....if we choose.
My penultimate point on what is a bit of a drunken post should be that we should extend a massive vote of thanks to BSQ for sponsoring APAT. Say what you like about the software but you will be hard pressed to find a sponsor that is so committed to Amateur live poker and helping to bridge the gap with the Pros. A lot of players have had significant success in GUKPT, WSOP, GCPT,(and EPT??) where APAT have given them that helping nudge along the way. This would not have been possible without a committed sponsor.
Lastly.....
.......Thanks Des and APAT
Looking forward to this...bring it on
