Hey, poker playas!
With no real poker tournaments currently on right now, we decided to take a deeper look at the tournament that happened this March.
Things sometimes happen so fast that we missed a lot of things. it is best to always look at the back and check if there are things we have missed.
Starting from the last tournament. the Metro 750k GTD
The Metro Card Club 750k GTD
The Metro Card Club 750k guaranteed with only PHP 3,300 buy-in was the first full multiday tournament of the Metro Card club after the lockdown began in 2020.
Yes, there was the RVS Cup that was held last year. but all day 1’s of the RVS was held online.
Making this the first multi-table full live tournament of the Metro Card Club.
Other poker organizers have come out first. Everyone had their own ways of trying to capture the market. But why make tournaments?
The value of tournaments.
Tournaments attract players, period. There is no question that tournaments really do attract players to go to a poker room. some poker players travel around the globe just to join tournaments.
A lot of organizers understand this fact and that is why they make tournaments. Although there are a number of other reasons why a tournament succeeds and fails. but that is a different story altogether.
A new age has began
After two years of lockdown, tournaments were allowed late last year and a few were held. Others have their own gimmicks and promotion to attract the market.
From having a recognizable brand name to being innovative. 3 organizers approached things differently.
One organizer had a head start. but then the two caught up. Here is a little recap.
Real poker tournaments at an affordable price.
Real tournaments are a battle of skills and patience. The biggest tournament in the world, which is the World Series of Poker, has a 2-hour long per level structure that it became the gold standard of real poker tournaments.
Yes, some organizers will claim new players want fast tours. but in reality, any big tournament will still have a long structure.
The first multi-day full live tournament of the Metro Card Club offered players a good structure for an affordable price. but for people to understand. here is a close look.
The basic
Metro Card Club – 750k GTD
Buy-in 3,000 +300
Starting stack -15,000
Minutes Per level – 30 Minutes
Some brand – 3M GTD
Buy-in – 6,600(5,808+792)
Starting stack -15,000
Minutes per Level – 20 minutes
Let’s start with 2 important things. the buy-in and registration fee.
Metro Card Club preferred to stick with a 10% registration fee compared to a different brand.
As times are challenging nowadays, Metro decided to just charge with a small registration fee.
The blinds per level offered were actually also quite unique. starting with 30 minutes per level.
The First 6 Levels
Metro Card Club – 750k GTD
Level 1 – 25/50
Level 2 – 50/100
Level 3 – 75/ 150
Level 4 – 100/200
Level 5 – 100/200 100 Ante
Level 6 – 150/300 300 Ante
Some brand – 3M GTD
Level 1 – 100/200
Level 2 – 100/200 100 Ante
Level 3 – 100/200 200 Ante
Level 4 – 200/300 300 Ante
Level 5 – 200/400 400 Ante
Level 6 – 300/500 500 Ante
The starting levels are also different. but to compare two at once would be unfair. to give the readers the bigger picture.
Yes, WSOP does not have a 25-50 start as well. However, the lowest starting stack for the side event is 25,000 while the main event starts with 60,000. The super turbo event of a WSOP is also 30 minutes.
The 3 levels before registration closes
Metro Card Club – 750k GTD
Level 7 – 200/400 400 Ante
Level 8 – 250/500 500 Ante
Level 9 – 300/600 600 Ante
Some brand – 3M GTD
Level 7 – 300/600 600 Ante
Level 8 – 400/800 800 Ante
Level 9 – 500/1,000 1,000 Ante
AS the blind goes deeper. the difference as well would grow bigger.
As both will have a level 9 cutoff. the difference can be seen as the former you still have 25 big blinds while the other will have 15 big blinds.
The First 6 Levels
Metro Card Club – 750k GTD
Level 10 – 400/800 800 Ante
Level 11 – 600/1,200 1,200 Ante
Level 12 – 700/1,400 1,400 Ante
Level 13 – 800/1,600 1,600 Ante
Level 14 – 1,000/2,000 2,000 Ante
Level 15 – 1,200/2,400 2,400 Ante
Some brand – 3M GTD
Level 10 – 600/1,200 1,200 Ante
Level 11 – 800/1,600 1,600 Ante
Level 12 – 1,000/2,000 2.000 Ante
Level 13 – 1,000/2,500 2,500 Ante
Level 14 – 1,500/3,000 3,000 Ante
Level 15 – 2,000/4,000 4,000 Ante
But as far as the structure goes. giving everyone an idea of how big the difference plays later on as the level goes deeper.
Metro Card Club – level 30 – 30k/ 60k 10k ante.
Some other brand – level 30 – 60,000 – 120,000 – 120,000 ante
Myths and then some
The standard was always cutting it off at a certain level. Some brands would push for coming back only with 5% so that players are in the money already.
Two questions come into mind.
- Are players only playing for the money?
- Do most players not come back to play the side events anyway?
Bear in mind with the 5% cap. the only difference it really does make is that players come back with a much higher level. Only one organizer seems to promote that it is better.
Looking at things in the long run
Poker is a great game. it is a battle of skill and patience. The truth is that most of the legends we know today grew up in a great structure tournament.
We do not claim that turbo events are not good. but one pro said it better.
“It is not there is no skill level involved, there is still skill there and poker players will still have an advantage. but making one mistake will cost you your tournament life. Bawal magkamali. di tulad ng maganda ang structure makakabawi ka pa, lalamang talaga skills pag maganda structure”
That is why the Metro tournaments are good!
Well-structured tournaments are the training grounds for the future. playing in well-structured tournaments polishes your skills as a poker player.
Hence, we can not wait for their next big event. The Metro Summer event is just around the corner (April 20-25) Because the next poker superstar will definitely come from the Metro.
