Season 6 Discussion

[ian.ski309]

We will go with a series of different partners in 2012 which will give us the freedom to amend the schedule as mentioned earlier in the thread.  The reg fee will essentially enable us to add more events, so I would see us increasing from 6 to 8 or 9 as seems to be the popular request at the moment.

I might be reading between the lines here, but it sounds like most of the decisions have already been made  

[walwyn]

Reg Fees - I understand that the APAT ethos was to not charge players these. but I dont think anyone would be put off entering what are good structured deepstack tournaments for the sake of an extra fiver.

Scheduling - for me personally I really enjoy the online nationals, they are just as important for me as the live stuff and I would like them to stay on a Saturday please. as many as you can squueze into your schedule. APATs online stuff are the best (maybe only) deepstack events available for a reasonable amount of money.

Added Value - anything extra is a bonus

keep up the good work

[Des]

We will go with a series of different partners in 2012 which will give us the freedom to amend the schedule as mentioned earlier in the thread.  The reg fee will essentially enable us to add more events, so I would see us increasing from 6 to 8 or 9 as seems to be the popular request at the moment.

I might be reading between the lines here, but it sounds like most of the decisions have already been made  

That"s not the case Ian but we"re keenly aware of the challenges we will face should we make the wrong decisions.

[Swinebag]

I don"t mind paying a reg fee, but I agree with Ian that potential new members would struggle to differentiate between APAT events and other events that charge a reg fee.

With all the other tours going on and one off deepstacks being organised then 6 APAT events a year is fine IMO

Any added value is great, but limiting the prize to a one off festival is a bit poor. If players can"t get time off work to play the sides or are on holiday then the added value is worthless, unless they wait the following year. I think the prize of a WCOAP passport is excellent but I would be flexible and offer equivalent tickets for other events

[Paulie_D]

With all the other tours going on and one off deepstacks being organised then 6 APAT events a year is fine IMO

but, but the other tours aren"t APAT events...with all that goes with them.

Reducing the availability of your product when you are trying to sell more of it (i.e. attract new members) doesn"t make sense to me.

[jjandellis]

1. Reg Fees.

I don"t mean to sound snobby, but I always thought that anyone put off by them needed a reality check. Nowadays the poker community takes them as a given. Its the money you pay the casino to put on an event, where the winners scoop all the prize pool. I most certainly wouldn"t mind paying a registration fee if it went to APAT to make the organisation stronger and helped with operating costs etc.

I think those willing to stump up £75 - £150 for a tournament and then begrudge £5 - 10 on top need to look at their BRM. Reg fees really should be factored in.

2. Scheduling

Not really got much of an opinion as I"ve been away for a few years. The new online league looks great, especially as it also counts towards individual rankings. Its alot more simplistic.

The festival thing sounds great, but there are a few events I"ve looked at over the last few years and thought "meh". If theres anything for chopping it should be all the forum/team/pub type event stuff. Really doesn"t do it for me, but each to their own I guess.

3. Prize

This is one I think I can offer a bit of an opinion on. I"ve seen the prize packages (added value) offered by some of the sponsors over the last few years and didn"t think they were very attractive. At least not in comparison to the events that the likes of Kinboshi, RichEO and myself were able to experience.

The EPT experience will always be etched on my mind - and in some ways is what keeps driving me to keep playing and trying to improve. The reason is that I"m determined to get back to another one, the experience really was that good. The package that Stars gifted was amazing - flight money, hotel, clothing, spending money and tourney entry. Add to that the amazing event organisation and the general buzz, it was fantastic. In fact the only thing that comes close is an APAT event (but these have a different type of buzz).

I don"t know if its realistic to expect such added value ever again. A passport would be attractive to the Vegas event, otherwise I think you need an entry to a pro tour event for that wow factor (and the incentive to really go for the top prize rather than nitting it up near the bubble/FT).

[MintTrav]

I"ve never understood why there wasn"t a registration fee when every other big or small tournament has them; actually I have always thought that the sponsors were covering them - did I imagine that? Everyone expects to pay reg fees - the only complaints are when players feel that too much has been charged.

The chance of winning an entry into a £500 or higher event is much more attractive than a WCOAP passport. Someone who has played and won one of APAT's main events is likely to take part in the WCOAP anyway, but very few APAT players would ever have the chance to play UKIPTs, etc if they didn"t win a seat.

[ian.ski309]

We will go with a series of different partners in 2012 which will give us the freedom to amend the schedule as mentioned earlier in the thread.  The reg fee will essentially enable us to add more events, so I would see us increasing from 6 to 8 or 9 as seems to be the popular request at the moment.

I might be reading between the lines here, but it sounds like most of the decisions have already been made  

That"s not the case Ian but we"re keenly aware of the challenges we will face should we make the wrong decisions.

Hence my caveat. I"m sure that I speak for all APAT regs when I say that the organisation is in safe hands and we are all very grateful for your efforts.

[Zozzy]

Adding the registration fee is a must.
I don"t know the exact percentage of local players there are to Apat regulars at each event, but the local players often expect to pay a reg fee and wonder why it hasn"t been applied. They don"t have any intention of playing another Apat event unless it returns to their regular casino the following year.
What I am trying to say is that the Apat Tour regulars are the ones that will benefit from this in the long run.
Personally I think £75 + £7.50 or even £75 + £10 would be justified if it meant there was "Livestream" and commentary. Are there any plans for this in Season 6 ?

[Mikeyboy9361]

No to the online event being on a Thursday before the live event. Too much all in one go, spread out the fun!!

[Des]

I"ve never understood why there wasn"t a registration fee when every other big or small tournament has them; actually I have always thought that the sponsors were covering them - did I imagine that? Everyone expects to pay reg fees - the only complaints are when players feel that too much has been charged.

The chance of winning an entry into a £500 or higher event is much more attractive than a WCOAP passport. Someone who has played and won one of APAT's main events is likely to take part in the WCOAP anyway, but very few APAT players would ever have the chance to play UKIPTs, etc if they didn"t win a seat.

Yes APAT always paid the reg fees out of the sponsorship fee.

[thinsy147]

My 2penith

1. Reg Fee: I don"t see this being an issue with anyone, at the end of the day even at £75+7.50 it is still the cheepest buy-in for tournaments of this quality. However, if there is any intention of the tournament buy-in being increased to £100+10 this could make a huge difference! If there are less events then maybe £90+9 would be affordable for all/most.

2. Scheduling: For me this isn"t a great issue as I have only ever travelled to Nottingham and Luton. But, heres my thoughts anyway... If the quantity of events is reduced what are the chances of all played events becoming 3 day events (2x Day 1"s with 300-400 entries), with side events on both day 1"s and another side event on Day 2? Is there the demand for 300+ fields in APAT? Would the Worlds have demand for 3x Day 1"s. I have always thought the World Championship Event should be at the end of the season!

3. Winners Packages: For me I think that the WCOAP Package is not a good move. The chance of winning a seat into an event beyond my bankroll, in a field of  players beyond my ability was the most appealing thing to me. When I was down to the final three at Luton in 2010 (blatent "I"ve made the final three" brag) it wasn"t particularly the money I could win or that I was getting a medal, because I was already guarenteed them, I wanted to win for the opportunity to play in a bigger event! UKIPT, GPS, GUKPT, EPT, WPT, World Championship packages (we can only hope) would be better.

[galo5767]

My thoughts on this:

Reg Fee - It"s all down to personal views and circumstances but the addition of a Reg Fee wouldn"t stop me playing at an APAT event. Reg Free may be APAT's USP but what is that USP achieving?

Scheduling - I can see where you are coming from but 6 events really isn"t enough especially if 6 includes The Irish, Scottish & Team events as it"s really a hardcore that travel (particularly to the Irish) and not everyone can play the team event. A lot of previous posters seem to be landing on 9 and that feels about right; I"d like to see a 6-weekly scheduling including (Random order) English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, UK, Euro, WCOAP, Team +1 other.

Would the Festival idea really take off? It depends what the Friday get together entails. If it"s a "special" tourney at the casino on Friday night with a bit of added value, then maybe? Seats in events the following day could be added to the top "x" finishers. If you have already bought in, as most will have, then you at least you will be free-rollin" plus any cash you win in the tourney. It would add and extra impetus should events sell out also.

To get the Festival feel, please vary the Sunday sides whenever possible - i.e. not always PLO

I personally do not like the "online Thursday"s" idea. People committing their weekends are unlikely to want to give up Thursday nights as well. I like the Online Championships being on weekends as they currently are.

Added Value is the cherry on top - not a reason to play APAT but a bonus. Although I would never have played a GUKPT so far were it not for APAT.

+1

[AVFC.WILSON]

No to the online event being on a Thursday before the live event. Too much all in one go, spread out the fun!!

I can see the online event happening on a Thursday as a one off, I like the idea of maybe giving it a trial run as part of a festival for the WCOAP event. But to stage each and every online championship on a Thursday night would be illogical in my opinion. As I feel that player numbers wouldn"t reach the full potential due to work commitments etc.

[The Mook]