This is the game that you see on TV, in the casino's and in most of your bar leagues or home games.
This is the fundamental game style. You need to understand well, this style of play.
Again, Standard NLH is the game, but with a little twist. Half of the buy-in money is held onto by
the player. For instance, if the game has a $10 buy-in, the player would retain $5...essentially
putting the buy-in at $5. The player holds onto their $5 cash until they push all in. When a player
goes all in by pushing all of their remaining chips into the pot, they also must put in their $5. If the
player loses the pot and is knocked out, the player that wins the pot not only gets the losing players
chips, but also the $5 bounty of the knocked out player.
Obviously, we're still playing the same game with a nightly pot, but now we add an element of actually
wanting to bust out a player. Not only because it will move your rank up closer to the money, but because
you can get some money immediately by busting out a player.
This helps teach the more non-aggressive player to be a little more aggressive. This also helps the short
stack learn to think more about their spot for the all-in shove, as being called has a higher chance of happening.
$20 is taken out of the nightly pot and placed in the Knock-Out pool. The person that knocks out the first player
from the game, wins the Knock-Out pool.
So, what does this do? Well, at first it was put in just for fun, but what we've learned is that a loose-aggressive
player will think more on their all in push in the early stages of the game just to win a pot. No one wants to be
the first person out of a game, so adding this element forces an early short-stack player to consider their option more
carefully, as well as temper the loose-aggressive players nitty all in shove just to win a pot.
The blind schedule stays the same, but the starting stack is less than normal. Currently, I run it at about 68%
of the normal starting stack. For instance, the standard starting stack as of Season 16 is 8,000 in chips. The short
stack game is playing with 5,500 chips. It's not a big disparity, but it does make a difference.
Short stack play puts the player in a position where they have to accumulate chips earlier in the game than normal,
prompting for more aggressive play. Learning to play more aggressively can help a player last longer online, as well
as in home games and the casino's. The current trend in the casino's show that aggressive play is more profitable.
For me, this game is by far, the most interesting. In this game, first place gets $50. The only other way to win any
money in this game, is to knock out players. Similar to the Half Bounty game, however the players full buy-in (not just half) is the
bounty. When a player pushes their chips all in, their buy-in must get pushed in as well.
Psycologically, this is a rough game. Think about it for a minute...if you're knocked out of the game, you
have to hand over your money to the player that knocked you out. Even if your best friend takes you out of the
tournament, it's a little painful handing over your money. It's like being kicked while you're down...metaphorically
speaking of course.
What's the learning track here? There are two important lessons to learn in this game, as far as I'm concerned.
First, it helps you focus on moving in for the kill on the shorter stacks at the table. Remember, the goal of
the game is to win, and in order to do that, players have to be knocked out of the game. When you have short stacks
at the table, they are the easy targets to thinning the heard, moving you up in the ranks and closer to the money. Position,
chip stacks, player tendencies, among other things, help you in determining if you can make the move to take someone out
of the game. In home games and bar leagues, a lot of this information is lost on you as a player because of the socializing
nature of these games.
Secondly is character. Tempers can fly at a poker game, even amongst friends. How a player goes out, and how you take
out a player, says alot about a persons character. If someone has a tendency to get aggravated easily, you can easily determine
their tilt factor and plan your moves accordingly. Really, who doesn't want to take out their friends? That's part of the fun.
However, a sense of awareness, common courtesy, and professionalism will help you in the long run, if you ever plan on
playing at the casino's.
After the 8 game series, a satellite game is played to give the players that didn't score enough points in the regular season
games, a second chance to get to play in the Championship Game. Typically, a satellite game is a fast-paced game. If you've
ever played a satellite game at a casino, you'd know what I'm talking about. When the WSOP had games at our local casino, I
played in several satellite games to try and win a seat to the main game. These games were fast and furious. I've designed
our satellite game to be similar in order for our players to get used to this type of situation, in case they find themselves
at a casino playing in one. First place gets their $20 back and a seat at the championship game, and second place gets the
seat to the championship game.
Ah, the main event! This is what the entire season is all about...getting to the Championship Game. At Felting Hendo Poker,
all regular season tournaments and the satellite game have a $20 buy-in. I take $10 off the top from each player in attendance
of every game and the full buy-in ($20) of every player playing in the satellite game. That money is banked. At the end of the
satellite game, the money banked is now the purse for the championship game. So the more players at each game means the championship
game has a higher purse. I pay out top 3 at 50%/30%/20%.
Who gets to play in the Championship Game? All 8 regular season games use a points formula. The higher you place in a game, the
more points that you get. Miss a game, and you lose points. At the end of the 8 games, the top six in points automatically
advance to the championship game, and no buy-in is required. First and Second place in the Satellite game also advance to the
championship game at no buy-in, for a final table of 8 players.
This game is played with the same starting stack as the normal regular season games, as well as the same blind schedule. This is
a standard NLH tournament with no twists. The hope is that those that have made it to the championship game have gain the knowledge
from the lessons learned throughout the regular season games to better prepare them for the "big money" game.