APAT Season Four - Pre Launch Discussion

[bigalhx3]

like the HU comp idea put that in the worlds week, top 32 ranking players or gold and silver medal winners getting a invite

[Bodddders]

ONLINE LEAGUE

I realise that members from the smaller teams feel disadvantaged when it comes to the league, that was why I eluded to what a fantastic job Suzy did with the Bristol team this season. At the start of the season, back in February, the two biggest teams in the southern division (largest amount of players, not geographically) were Luton and North London. In the first game of the season Luton had 22 runners & North London 21, while Bristol, Cardiff & Plymouth who all went on to finish in the top four at the end of the season, had significantly fewer players. Size obviously helps but this shows that with commitment and a fair bit of badgering teams can grow and be succesful. With Promotion and relegation added into the mix this should help to keep all players interested. Maybe some kind of prize for the top individuals could also help keep numbers up.

[Hammerheid]

Having read with interest the amount of support for this years team event and being part of the success of last years team event would it be possible to have 2 team events , one run in the same format as last / this years event for forums / communities and another tournament run using the regional online event teams ? i know its another event and u guys at APAT have ur work cut out but im sure i speak for all in that u do a sterling job

[Honeybadg]

Online League:

Why not have two divisions - I think it would keep up numbers for the matches and relegate/promote say top 4?

I think Div 3 would be pretty sparsely populated.

A Sunday tournament has to be a great shout for APAT events. Deepstack - Turbo?

In terms of APAT team representation - I don"t follow the argument about picking players for their non APAT play. If people don"t have time to play APAT events then why should they ever get picked over players who do. For me everyone should start S4 with equal chance to represent. If someone has a great non-APAT record - good luck to them - but they"ve been rewarded once already for that. I would make all team things qualification based.

In terms of the live events - I would look to have more people qualify as opposed to direct buy in - Can there be more sat"s? I would also give people who make the final table in these a right to buy over clickfesters.

There was a tournament described as a £300 pro/am in S2 (I think) ... I like the idea of this.

The league itself : I would make it a bit deeper, with a slightly quicker structure via tougher antes : Given there are 35/45 runners it can drag on a bit.

Overall - very much enjoyed my first year in APAT - Bravo - looking forward to S4.

Louis

[HaworthBantam]

In terms of the live events - I would look to have more people qualify as opposed to direct buy in - Can there be more sat"s?

And those of us who don"t play online are then disadvantaged. I could argue why should there be online sats for a live event ? The two diciplines are completely different.

[Honeybadg]

I don"t think they are completely different.

I would be very happy to play face to face sat"s if that works logistically - in a perfect world you run both types as per other face to face events.

Last time I looked only about 30 qualifiers from 200 for APAT face to face - to me wrong balance.

Are sat"s ever played in the casino where the APAT is to be held to encourage locals to play/qualify?

L

[Swinebag]

Last time I looked only about 30 qualifiers from 200 for APAT face to face - to me wrong balance.

Its only 30 qualifiers because of a relatively poor turnout in the satellites. I dont think more satellites would give that more qualifiers.

If there was enough interest in the satellites then there would have been more qualifiers. Its not like APAT put a cap on the number of Internet qualifiers.

In terms of APAT team representation - I don"t follow the argument about picking players for their non APAT play. If people don"t have time to play APAT events then why should they ever get picked over players who do.

This is a bit short sighted IMO.

Please remember that APAT events are heavily oversubscribed and a lot of players dont get to play events, even if they want to. APAT does extend much beyond the people who play in the events.

A lot of players who support APAT may not be able to make clickfests due to shift times / work commitments.

I also think that a lot of APAT members play within a bigger bankroll and are not as motivated to play a £75 deepstack over a long weekend, especially if it has been during a period of time when they may have played GUKPT or DTD deepstacks and fancy a weekend with the family. I dont agree that these players should not be allowed to represent their country or their forum, simply because they haven"t played many APAT events or have had their success at non APAT events.

I"m sure Des would agree that the APAT community extends much further than the players who play in APAT comps.

[MintTrav]

I also think that a lot of APAT members play within a bigger bankroll and are not as motivated to play a £75 deepstack over a long weekend, especially if it has been during a period of time when they may have played GUKPT or DTD deepstacks and fancy a weekend with the family. I dont agree that these players should not be allowed to represent their country or their forum, simply because they haven"t played many APAT events or have had their success at non APAT events.

I don"t follow your logic. If they are so important that the standard APAT events are beneath them or they can"t be bothered to play cos they want to be with their family, why should they leapfrog the people who attend all the APAT games to get a free pass into the team events?

[Swinebag]

My wishlist for S4

1. A non hold em 2 day Deepstack event with the same status (i.e. ranking points / added value) as a hold em National.
2. A live team event with teams from the National league poker clubs.
3. A few more Online Ranking events.
4. National online league to be a bit shorter, with smaller teams to be disbanded and consolidated into the bigger teams. The structure for this is spot on for a $11 buy in IMO.
5. Better value for APAT national winners. (CoC seat would be fine if players started with equal stacks)

[Swinebag]

I also think that a lot of APAT members play within a bigger bankroll and are not as motivated to play a £75 deepstack over a long weekend, especially if it has been during a period of time when they may have played GUKPT or DTD deepstacks and fancy a weekend with the family. I dont agree that these players should not be allowed to represent their country or their forum, simply because they haven"t played many APAT events or have had their success at non APAT events.

I don"t follow your logic. If they are so important that the standard APAT events are beneath them or they can"t be bothered to play cos they want to be with their family, why should they leapfrog the people who attend all the APAT games to get a free pass into the team events?

because of this

the APAT community extends much further than the players who play in APAT comps.

[Honeybadg]

Sat"s : True there is no cap : Hard to see how having extra sat"s would not produce more qualifiers.

The fact that APAT events are heavily over subscribed is an argument for more qualifiers of whatever type.

What are the stat"s here? How many more seats would sell?

In particular - I think the World Main Event should have more qualifying events - versus clickfest (which as you say is not convenient for many). These events could run through the year.

I agree that the APAT goes beyond those who play the APAT events - but when it comes to the APAT team events - it seems odd for the home nations to potentially draft people in to play over people who have had lots of success in the APAT events.

Aside - I would be keen on regular Heads Up events.

General question : what are the views on getting c140 players on a Sunday night from the 800 registered? This is about half of the numbers on the first night. The $50+5 events went from about 236 to 90 ...

The question of those with bigger bankrolls is interesting - is there scope for some higher buy in events which would bring these players more into the centre of the APAT. I would be very keen to qualify for/play in these were they ran?

My general feel on the APAT events is that the spirit is better than other comps - so other things equal I would prefer to play a £200 freezeout run by APAT than a side event in some other festival.

I look forward to thoughts.

L

[Honeybadg]

My wishlist for S4

1. A non hold em 2 day Deepstack event with the same status (i.e. ranking points / added value) as a hold em National.
2. A live team event with teams from the National league poker clubs.
3. A few more Online Ranking events.
4. National online league to be a bit shorter, with smaller teams to be disbanded and consolidated into the bigger teams. The structure for this is spot on for a $11 buy in IMO.
5. Better value for APAT national winners. (CoC seat would be fine if players started with equal stacks)

I agree with all of these points - spot on.

L

[Swinebag]

I agree that the APAT goes beyond those who play the APAT events - but when it comes to the APAT team events - it seems odd for the home nations to potentially draft people in to play over people who have had lots of success in the APAT events.

I can see your point here. Taking the England team as an obvious example, there are National live and online winners who have not been picked. However the format of the event (STTs and HU) demands that specialists are considered as well as people who have won 2 day deepstacks.

Dan had a horrendous task picking a balanced team and to be fair to him, I think his selection is 100% spot on.

[Waz1892]

The question of those with bigger bankrolls is interesting - is there scope for some higher buy in events which would bring these players more into the centre of the APAT. I would be very keen to qualify for/play in these were they ran?

This surely would go against the whole ethos of APAT....what % of the APAT community has a "bigger bankroll".  The $10, or $50 aren"t even full, so a $500, or $1000 would surely be even less players entrying?

I joined the APAT because I felt (correct if Im wrong please) it was aimed at the Amatuer playing looking to play more online and live at realistic buy ins.  With the knowledge I"d be playing with players at my level, and playing with players I could learn from.

[Honeybadg]

... the heads up selection problem could be reduced by having Heads Up events in the APAT regular season ... I think this would be a tremendous addition ...

As far as I can tell all the home nation captains have picked very strong teams - looking in - it would seem pretty hard to break into next season"s teams - which is why I would free at least some of the places up for qualification.

L