S3 Small teams v Big Teams

[Roscopiko]

Last night in the northern division Newcastle and Edinburgh were tied on points 16 v 16 and Edinburgh awarded the 3 points as they had 4 point scores v 2 for Newcastle although one of those Newcastle players won the game overall  .

I know this is covered in the rules and so fair enough wp Edinburgh and they get the win.

My biggest gripe is just that the disparity of the team sizes in the Northern Division means there can only realistically be one of 3 winners and 3 teams are basically drawing dead. 

These are the team sizes:

Team        Players
Aberdeen   5
Belfast      24
Carlisle      3
Dublin       15
Edinburgh  30
Glasgow    36
Newcastle 17
Stockton   12
Sunderland 4

So not only do the big clubs have a massive advantage in the game by having most of the field, the additional rules also reward them for having more players vs smaller clubs (some dont even have 4 players to score points).

I realise this is the first time this has been run but perhaps some sort of incentive can be given to players from the smaller to teams to retain some interest. i.e. individual highest scorer awarded something or I feel like this is going to lose peoples interest pretty quickly.

Not sure if this is the case across all the divisions but as it stands the current format really doesn"t provide a level playing field in the Northern division.

[Jon MW]

This is the reason most sports are split into divisions, and have cups for different levels. So that the smaller teams still have something to aim for.

[Honeybadg]

... I like the idea of rewarding indiviudal players who do well in the league ... is their logistical scope for a "best of the rest" team for those teams that do not qualify for the tournament at the end.

I am a bit of a nomad at the moment ... so I choose to join Edinburgh ... my home town ... who now trade at a bit of an advantage through weight of numbers.

Numbers were quite a lot down last night as it was ... any thoughts as to why?

Louis

[MAIR]

There are still 17 games left, and still time for captains to add players to their teams, be it through word of mouth in their area or recruiting players through apat who live locally.

Edinburgh had 14 players in the game last night out of a possible 30, not sure how many Newcastle had playing, but that was less than 50% of the team and we were fortunate to have 4 at FT.

Previous week we had 1 points scorer, it really does depend on the day the game is played and how well the team members do in that round.

I can see where you are coming from with regard to the different team sizes, but with 17 games left it is still all to play for and for new players to come on board.

[Roscopiko]

There are still 17 games left, and still time for captains to add players to their teams, be it through word of mouth in their area or recruiting players through apat who live locally.

Edinburgh had 14 players in the game last night out of a possible 30, not sure how many Newcastle had playing, but that was less than 50% of the team and we were fortunate to have 4 at FT.

Previous week we had 1 points scorer, it really does depend on the day the game is played and how well the team members do in that round.

I can see where you are coming from with regard to the different team sizes, but with 17 games left it is still all to play for and for new players to come on board.

Totally agree all still to play for and not trying to knock the general idea which I think is a very good one.  Just a shame for the whole thing that the difference in team sizes will effect everything so much imo.

I"m still out recruiting and will happily play the rest of the season whether we have a decent chance or not as the games stand alone fine anyway.  Just hope this idea can be tweaked a little to make it more competitive for some of the teams.

[Honeybadg]

... personally I would change the ruling on the tie (going forward) that it went to the team with the highest finisher ... the gold medalist as it were.

17 games left ... OMG ... what a thought!

L

[lukybugur]

Running a prize for Highest Individual Scorer would be a good idea but it hasn"t been mentioned thus far. I don"t know whether Leigh has any chipsets left ... ?

Can I just try to explain a couple of the thought processes behind the planning of this League.

1) The Clubs were named with area population and by the fact that they have a Casino nearby in case we decide to roll this out to Live Venues in S4.In North for example, we have 10 Clubs. Glasgow has a population of around 615,000, Dublin 500,000, Edinburgh has 450,000 and Belfast have 300,000. Stockton-On-Tees and Carlisle are the least populated of the 10 clubs with around 180,000. If we were to believe that Glasgow have an advantage over Edinburgh, I reckon we"d be wrong. Edinburgh have Mary leading from the front, recruiting a large number of players so the odds will stack up that within a larger squad there will be more quality players.

2) Captains were appointed in the hope that they would promote the League in and around their area, to their friends and family etc. ultimately to help their Club stand a chance of being able to compete against the "bigger" Clubs.

3) Quantity would have a large bearing on the Club Rankings so we have put the "no more than 4 players from one Club can score in any Leg" rule in place.

4) Each Club can only win a maximum of 3 points per Leg. We could easily be handing out 10 for the winning Club down to 0 for last position each Leg. We haven"t done this as it would benefit the Clubs with larger membership and we WOULD most likely have run-away leaders at some stage.

5) As it is in any MTT, each player is rewarded with a Cash prize at the end of each leg if they finish in the top spots. By playing our Events, they"re up against people they know, like-minded people with a passion for APAT and Amateur Poker, and testing their skills against people who play in GUKPT events etc.

[scouse3465]

i believe the rules are right in the event of a tie . It should be the most finishes on final table . Just like goak difference. If you are in a small team and believe you are at a disadvantage do something about it and get more players instead of moaning about it ! It is a cheap tourney and you can get people who only just learning so no ex cuses!
Also you cant change the rules half way threw it !
Just my opinion .

[Honeybadg]

It could be changed (or not) for next season.

Aside does Carlisle has a casino?

L

[RioRodent]

It could be changed (or not) for next season.

Aside does Carlisle has a casino?

L

No, does Belfast?

[scouse3465]

Belfast has a sort of casino well its just outside in bangor !
Under a bingo hall
goiod game of cards every night

[AMRN]

Not sure if this is the case across all the divisions but as it stands the current format really doesn"t provide a level playing field in the Northern division.

Yes it must be tough for Newcastle playing in the same division as Liverpool and Manchester. 

Sorry, we talking poker or football? whichever - same situation.

[scouse3465]

Not sure if this is the case across all the divisions but as it stands the current format really doesn"t provide a level playing field in the Northern division.

Yes it must be tough for Newcastle playing in the same division as Liverpool and Manchester. 

Sorry, we talking poker or football? whichever - same situation.

Newcastle playin football where do they do that ??

[fraac]

I"d limit it to top 3 from a club scoring and maybe unflatten the points payout structure a bit. It"s definitely unfair. People will start to join teams based on who has a chance of progressing rather than their local.

[lukybugur]

People will start to join teams based on who has a chance of progressing rather than their local.

This is not permitted and some players have been pulled up for it already.