APAT online

[nosey-p]

To have a trophy would give it more of an event. Top three get medals at a live game as well.  

The added money could be in the form of a National seat.

I know this could not be dun with 50 games but if this was reduced to 7 as live, it would give the online game more importance and there for the field should be greater than it is now (well that's the theory)  

[RioRodent]

Season two as so far been a big improvement on season one, apart from the online games. Why have the numbers fallen? Is it because of it being on ipoker? Is it the cost or maybe the structure? What about it being on a Thursday as well as Saturday. Is there too many games? Why does there seem to be less interest in the online game. Is there too much emphasis on the live game? I know that APAT is all about getting us all out of our armchairs and into the casinos/card rooms but is the online game being over looked? If it was not for the internet, the majority of us would not be playing at all. So here is my early suggestions for season three.

1.   One game a month/4 weeks
2.   To be on a Saturday
3.   To have a structure off 5000 chips and a 15 minute clock
4.   Buy in of $50
5.   To run $5 STT 24/7. To run $5 MTT on all other Saturday's (to qualify)  
6.   To have added money to the tournament (from the sponsor)
7.   To have the top 20 places get points 1st 25, 2nd 22, 3rd 19, then 17 down to 1 ( to be the same as the live tournament)
8.   To have a trophy for first (not on the same scale as the Nationals)

Am I talking rubbish?
Any thoughts        

Definitely not talking rubbish and I agree  with pretty much all of your suggestions...

3. Without the antes on ipoker, 5000 chips / 15 min clock will get to be a very long tournament if we start getting 200+ players again.
5. STT satellites is a good idea but @ $5 even the 1st place won"t win a complete buy-in - $50 + $5. How about a $7.50 + $0.75... 1st wins $55 seat and 2nd gets $20.
7. As others have said, this is topic on it"s own.
8. Trophy Schmophy... lets just have a decent added cash prize from the sponsor.

[APAT]

There will be significant changes in the format of the online series in S3.  Can"t go into the specifics, but the events will become much more meaningful.

[MAF]

I have only played 1 online game this season, so am probably the sort of person you want the feedback from.

There are 3 main reasons why I haven"t played most of them:

- On Saturdays, I am usually socialising with friends.  I find this an odd choice of day to have an event like this as I would expect Saturdays to be a bad day for most people.  I"d be interested to know how popular it is as I was surprised to see it suggested as the only day for these tournies.
(I ought to make more Thursdays than I do).
- I find the long blind structure extremely dull.  It"s fine when playing live, but online, it"s just too slow.
- I no longer receive the reminders for these online events.  Is it APAT's policy to stop sending them now?

1.   One game a month/4 weeks
Possibly, but maybe one every fortnight might suffice.
2.   To be on a Saturday
Ugh.  I definitely won"t be able to  make any.  
3.   To have a structure off 5000 chips and a 15 minute clock
What is it now?  20 mins?  A shorter clock will be an improvement IMO.
4.   Buy in of $50
The cost isn"t a factor for me, although I do prefer like the $10 buyin.  I think $50 will put more people off.
5.   To run $5 STT 24/7. To run $5 MTT on all other Saturday's (to qualify)  
As above.  Would prefer to keep as is.
6.   To have added money to the tournament (from the sponsor)
This would always be nice, but I don"t think it"s really necessary to make the online tournaments work.
7.   To have the top 20 places get points 1st 25, 2nd 22, 3rd 19, then 17 down to 1 ( to be the same as the live tournament)
This is a good idea.  
8.   To have a trophy for first (not on the same scale as the Nationals)
Would be nice, but I think the medals will suffice.

I just want to stress that these are purely my own personal opinions.  I"m sure other people have different circumstances and will therefore with what I"ve said.

[SirPercival]

There will be significant changes in the format of the online series in S3.  Can"t go into the specifics, but the events will become much more meaningful.

Are you going to tell us next week Des  

[APAT]

No, next year

[Divitts.]

I really enjoyed playing the online tourneys in season one and while i have played most of season twos,i dont look forward to them quite as much.
After a wee think my reasons for this are-

Its hard to get excited about a ten dollar buy in,
Not a fan of the blue square site,
No antes-no good,
One a fortnight is ample.

Thats the main ones anyway. Dont mean to criticise,just my views.

[nosey-p]

There will be significant changes in the format of the online series in S3.  Can"t go into the specifics, but the events will become much more meaningful.

That"s good to here

- On Saturdays, I am usually socialising with friends.  I find this an odd choice of day to have an event like this as I would expect Saturdays to be a bad day for most people.  I"d be interested to know how popular it is as I was surprised to see it suggested as the only day for these tournies.

Playing on a Saturday seems to be the best option. It's up to every individual if they stop in and play or go out and get drunk, just as it's up to every individual to go and play live or stop at home (but they don't seem to be a problem in selling out in 2 minutes). During the week some people have to be up at 4/5/6 am for work. The only other alternative would be an earlier time.    

3. Without the antes on ipoker, 5000 chips / 15 min clock will get to be a very long tournament if we start getting 200+ players again.
5. STT satellites is a good idea but @ $5 even the 1st place won"t win a complete buy-in - $50 + $5. How about a $7.50 + $0.75... 1st wins $55 seat and 2nd gets $20.

I see your point about the STT/MTT, so yes it could have a bigger buy-in

The structure as it is now works fine (4000, 12 minute) for a $10 buy-in but with a $50 maybe it should go back to the old version. But like you say Rio if the fields go above the 200 mark and having no antes then yes this could be too much.

[monkeyman]

Can"t say I have any strong views on most of the suggested alterations to the structure, but if the online tournaments go up to $50, I"ll be waving goodbye to APAT.

[tumblet]

Can"t say I have any strong views on most of the suggested alterations to the structure, but if the online tournaments go up to $50, I"ll be waving goodbye to APAT.

I have to agree, $20 would possibly be my max, but I also think that there should be less medals, or that maybe there should be a monthly league where your best 2 or 3 results count.. I dont know, but at $50 per game I wont be playing.

[steveinhants]

I"m looking forward to Season 3 as I haven"t been able to play much this time round.  I have to agree with most of the comments though.  I do think that the online series has lost it"s prestige that it had in Season 1.  As someone said, it"s hard to get excited at a £5 buy in.  I think reducing the frequency of them and increasing the buy in is definitely the best option.
I completely disagree with the suggestion of reducing the levels.  To me, part of the attraction of Season 1 online was a decent starting stack and a good structure - there"s plenty of crapshoots out there for people who haven"t got the patience for a 5000 stack tournament.
The main reason I haven"t played online this year though is that I detest ipoker software.  But that"s just my own opinion and I"m sure that there"d be plenty of people out there to argue the toss.

Steve.

[WarBwastardo]

There will be significant changes in the format of the online series in S3.  Can"t go into the specifics, but the events will become much more meaningful.

Is that for real? Does this mean it"s pointless anyone offering up alternative structures and ideas for next season if you"ve already decided on how things will change?

Can you not even give us a clue?  Making significant change without consulting anyone has historically caused one or two teeny tiny bones of contention.  Come on give us a clue..how many syllables?

I"m not an online player, but I do think since so many people prefer online poker to the live events, the online series really ought to be structured to give it as much prominence as possible to make the events worth winning.  The $10 games I don"t think have worked in addressing the criticisms of season 1.

It"s very difficult to get enthusiastic about a £5 game, so the ideas already put forward about bigger buy-in monthly event, with three weekly satellites for those who don"t want to pay the bigger buy-in, sound like a good solution.

It looks like the only real objection to a Saturday night game is that people like to get mullered on a Saturday, but if it"s once a month I"m sure those people can miss a weekend - give your liver a breather etc. 

[nosey-p]

The regional games as been the biggest improvement in season 2 (when some of the casinos get there act together) but because of the variances in field sizes and the locality of the venues (some people have to travel up to 3 hours for a £20 game) the points should not be included in the overall championship. They should be kept as a separate championship and as a qualifier for the Nationals. Maybe each casino could have its own? I know each region as it's own but when they is 80 runners in Manchester and no event in Blackpool (although that is a one off) but still 80 runners in one place and 20 in another does not seem fair, does it? Are am I talking rubbish again  

[AMRN]

With respect to the online events, I have to say that playing an online deepstack game for 4+ hours for a $10 buy in is a little arduous. As a regular player who justifies playing every night to the missus by the size of the contribution to house keeping, I would prefer to use my Thursday nights playing $50 SnGs and returning a few quid.

I tend to agree with some of the posts on this thread. Make the online series a little more attractive by beefing up the buy in and adding a satellite structure, and reducing the volume to make them more special. The regionals and nationals are brilliant and well worth waiting for - not sure I would say the same if they were twice a week though.

Other option would be to add a National ticket to top place for the online games - the concept of Clickfest avoidance should keep the interest up.  Clearly though, unless the prize pool was increased through higher buy ins, this would have to be a sponsor provision.

[APAT]

A lot of this makes good sense and is in keeping with our current thinking.  S3 is still a long way away, so please keep the ideas coming.