SBR Lightning Poker 2019

[mpaschal34]

My conclusion of 1000 chips...

I’ll be all in every hand until I double up or I’m out (if I play).

See you guys in June.

[Crusherrr]

It's a lightening series. Short handed, fewer chips, one month series. SBR is trying something different. I don't understand the hate.

[mpaschal34]

It's a lightening series. Short handed, fewer chips, one month series. SBR is trying something different. I don't understand the hate.

just trying to get my fill of poker....if i want to gamble, i'll go play blackjack.

[bobbywaves]

It's a lightening series. Short handed, fewer chips, one month series. SBR is trying something different. I don't understand the hate.

Flipping was banned & now it's promoted with this structure, makes no sense.

[blankoblanco]

This is gonna blow some people's minds, but 1000 starting stacks means we're now starting with 50 BBs. In the previous format the average stack got to 50 BBs at... 15/30. The, gasp, second level

Just try to look at it as: now the hands matter right away instead of the first level feeling like a meaningless nitfest with occasional shoves from the people who don't care

Yeah, it's gonna be noticeably faster but this whole "might as well just shove every hand" thing is being overstated. There's room for play at 50 and 25 BBs and we're basically skipping the first level

[ArunSh]

This is gonna blow some people's minds, but 1000 starting stacks means we're now starting with 50 BBs. In the previous format the average stack got to 50 BBs at... 15/30. The, gasp, second level

Just try to look at it as: now the hands matter right away instead of the first level feeling like a meaningless nitfest with occasional shoves from the people who don't care

Yeah, it's gonna be noticeably faster but this whole "might as well just shove every hand" thing is being overstated. There's room for play at 50 and 25 BBs and we're basically skipping the first level

Yes, very good point. With 1500 starting chips, in the 10/20 level most of the time very little happened outside of shoves from people who don't care much/extreme coolers. If with 1500 chips we had started at the 15/30 blind level instead, I doubt most people would have made a fuss about that.

With 1500 chips and the current blind structure, the # of big blinds a person starts with are, by level, 75/50/30/15/10 while in the current structure they are 50/33/20/10.

So with that in mind, if one just imagines removing the 10/20 round in the old structure (which, as noted, doesn't tend to be very relevant anyway), the current structure would actually have a slightly higher # of big blinds per stack each level.

Again, obviously it's going to be more luck based, no question. But if someone had asked if removing the 10/20 round in the old structure would turn the tournaments into a total flip-fest, I think most logical people would have said no. And viewing the current structure in that way, why should it be either? As blanko said, viewing this as the old structure with just the first round removed, this new structure is actually slightly slower than that. So yes, more luck involved since you can't try to accumulate a big stack in the first round particularly from those who don't care, but I think people are really exaggerating how much of a flip-fest this change is going to turn the events into.

[ArunSh]

Drew: another suggestion. Now that the tourneys are faster, more like lasting an hour or thereabouts instead of an hour and a half, I personally would vote for removing the break altogether. With the # playing now, either you won't even reach the break, or there will be only a few people left. In the interest of saving time, I think most would want to get rid of the break too - not like there are going to be a ton of people left, and there definitely will be one who needs to use the restroom after the first hour of play!

[GUMMO77]

Yes, very good point. With 1500 starting chips, in the 10/20 level most of the time very little happened outside of shoves from people who don't care much/extreme coolers. If with 1500 chips we had started at the 15/30 blind level instead, I doubt most people would have made a fuss about that.

With 1500 chips and the current blind structure, the # of big blinds a person starts with are, by level, 75/50/30/15/10 while in the current structure they are 50/33/20/10.

So with that in mind, if one just imagines removing the 10/20 round in the old structure (which, as noted, doesn't tend to be very relevant anyway), the current structure would actually have a slightly higher # of big blinds per stack each level.

Again, obviously it's going to be more luck based, no question. But if someone had asked if removing the 10/20 round in the old structure would turn the tournaments into a total flip-fest, I think most logical people would have said no. And viewing the current structure in that way, why should it be either? As blanko said, viewing this as the old structure with just the first round removed, this new structure is actually slightly slower than that. So yes, more luck involved since you can't try to accumulate a big stack in the first round particularly from those who don't care, but I think people are really exaggerating how much of a flip-fest this change is going to turn the events into.

At the end of all this is that SBR, with this format, is pushing less skill and more luck than before.

[bonzaii]

There is plenty of skill involved in this format. You gotta adjust and adapt. I see less flipping so far than I saw in the previous structure.

[GUMMO77]

This is gonna blow some people's minds, but 1000 starting stacks means we're now starting with 50 BBs. In the previous format the average stack got to 50 BBs at... 15/30. The, gasp, second level

Just try to look at it as: now the hands matter right away instead of the first level feeling like a meaningless nitfest with occasional shoves from the people who don't care

Yeah, it's gonna be noticeably faster but this whole "might as well just shove every hand" thing is being overstated. There's room for play at 50 and 25 BBs and we're basically skipping the first level

True if there were still 10 player tables.

[GUMMO77]

There is plenty of skill involved in this format. You gotta adjust and adapt. I see less flipping so far than I saw in the previous structure.

So fewer chips and less players per table = less flipping?

[bonzaii]

So fewer chips and less players per table = less flipping?

Flipping meaning flipping a coin or a roughly 50 percent chance for both opponents to win the pot. Not the meaning that some people use which is to pre determine with your opponent before you even see your next two cards to go allin preflop.

[ArunSh]

True if there were still 10 people tables.

Yes, this is certainly a reasonable assessment. The change of moving to 6 max tables I think is a very reasonable change/mix up to the format - after I don't know how many years of tourneys with full tables, freshening things up a bit like that has a lot of merit.

And I think the change to 1000 chips from 1500, while making it more luck based/higher variance, has the nice side effect of making the tourneys about 50% shorter in amount of time or so - which I think most will appreciate.

That said, implementing BOTH of these changes at once is quite extreme. Not to say it's a good or bad idea, but it is a huge difference for sure. I do still think people should give it a chance though, try it out before immediately proclaiming a strong opinion about it in either direction.

I think bonzaii's statement is perhaps half right. Granted only one day of this not enough to make a firm conclusion, but unquestionably in the new structure there is way more "flipping" early on given the shorter stacks. However, once we reached the final table (six left), given how much faster we reached that compared to in the old structure (in old structure reaching six left would usually take about an hour and fifteen minutes or so while I think the tourneys today it generally occurred in about forty five minutes) so the blinds were still 150/300 with six left compared to generally being 600/1200 in the old structure with that number of players. Thus, even with the smaller stacks, there was a lot more play within the final six, it wasn't just shove or fold as it pretty much always is with six left in the old structure.

Again, this is only one day's data, but this seems likely to be the norm. This is the reason why I think people should give the format a chance before immediately pronouncing death on it. A format where when you are down to only a few players, and there is some real play involved has to be a good thing given that's where the difference in payouts gets big which has a big impact on qualification. Again, in the old format once you got down to six or so left, whether you got first or sixth mostly came down to luck.

[TheMoneyShot]

With the 6 seat change... you might as well lower the chip total to save time. It's worth a shot. Of course... there's pros and cons to everything.

You're going to get more all ins than ever before... at least you can get these tournaments done in under an hour. I agree with GUMMO77 though... this isn't a true game of POKER.

I don't think SBR really has a choice now... you've changed the seats... from 10 to 6. You're only going to pay out 6 spots? Might as well shorten the game.... I can't justify playing for over an hour and you get smoked in the 8th or 7th spot... and you go home with nothing. I mean... it's absolute waste of time. You have to shorten the game.

[RudyRuetigger]

all you have to do is raise the level times, esp in the finals

[RudyRuetigger]

nevermind

[MalikHusam]

This is gonna blow some people's minds, but 1000 starting stacks means we're now starting with 50 BBs. In the previous format the average stack got to 50 BBs at... 15/30. The, gasp, second level

Just try to look at it as: now the hands matter right away instead of the first level feeling like a meaningless nitfest with occasional shoves from the people who don't care

Yeah, it's gonna be noticeably faster but this whole "might as well just shove every hand" thing is being overstated. There's room for play at 50 and 25 BBs and we're basically skipping the first level

Yeah like who are you feeling out? It's the same 30 people playing every day. I watched twice this week and I like the 6-max and I think I like 1000 chips a lot

[RudyRuetigger]

Yeah like who are you feeling out? It's the same 30 people playing every day. I watched twice this week and I like the 6-max and I think I like 1000 chips a lot

[pavyracer]

I like the new format. It takes less time and I like the more all ins since the starting chips are lower. This is what poker is all about! Big risk, great reward, less time.

[SBR Drew]

Seems we still have a few that arent open to trying new formats. We will stick with this format up to and including the Finals next Month. Then we can review the event and adjust if needed.

[GUMMO77]

Maybe we could have a vote when this is finished and see where everyone stands. If people are for it, keep it, if not change it back or adjust it some other way.

[mpaschal34]

Make sure the old 600...400...300 payout format (with no promo) is on the ballot.

[USCPHILLYGUY]

Seems we still have a few that arent open to trying new formats. We will stick with this format up to and including the Finals next Month. Then we can review the event and adjust if needed.

Drew gotta say 1st time playing today and love the new format. Deff more strategy involved and you really have to pick your spots. Case in point. Snapperclown chip leader w 10 left. Instead of understanding the situation and getting to the final table (yes I know, 6 now) he does his typical all in with shit and gets caught. The new format is quick and to the point. No need for any horseshit voting. The guys who have had some success with the old format are of course not going to want change. I would suggest going hand for hand (as Bonzai mentioned today at table) when you get down to 8-10

[SBR Drew]

Drew gotta say 1st time playing today and love the new format. Deff more strategy involved and you really have to pick your spots. Case in point. Snapperclown chip leader w 10 left. Instead of understanding the situation and getting to the final table (yes I know, 6 now) he does his typical all in with shit and gets caught. The new format is quick and to the point. No need for any horseshit voting. The guys who have had some success with the old format are of course not going to want change. I would suggest going hand for hand (as Bonzai mentioned today at table) when you get down to 8-10

Appreciate the feedback USCPHILLYGUY from you and everyone. Change is good!

[franklee168]

Change is good to add some flavor. No one should complain about free poker. I know, have to pay your yearly dues but so what. If you don't like the set up, don't play. Easy as that. Not sure if I like it though since I got knocked out after 4 hands yesterday. LOL!

[SBR Drew]

Guys one more tweak that was brought to my attention by a SBR Nation member...we needed to drop the final tables from 20 people to 18 as there needs to be a multiple of 6 for this to work correctly.

New format for this event! Only the Top 18 players QUALIFY for the Finals.

[ArunSh]

Guys one more tweak that was brought to my attention by a SBR Nation member...we needed to drop the final tables from 20 people to 18 as there needs to be a multiple of 6 for this to work correctly.

New format for this event! Only the Top 18 players QUALIFY for the Finals.

Well that's a bit unfortunate obviously - naturally a tad harder for everyone to qualify now. Really hope I don't wind up 19th or 20th at the end - that would sting rather badly

As I mentioned above Drew: I would favor getting rid of the break (or making it later in the tourney say 90 minutes in instead of 60). No point in having a break when it's down to heads up or three way as it was yesterday, at least imo.

[USCPHILLYGUY]

Well that's a bit unfortunate obviously - naturally a tad harder for everyone to qualify now. Really hope I don't wind up 19th or 20th at the end - that would sting rather badly

As I mentioned above Drew: I would favor getting rid of the break (or making it later in the tourney say 90 minutes in instead of 60). No point in having a break when it's down to heads up or three way as it was yesterday, at least imo.

Ehhh. Break at the 3pm was with 4 players left. I was fine with it. It’s only 5 mins.

Brutal 4 handed double elimination by Bonzai. 3 players dealt PP. 4-4 8-8 & K-K. Wonder the odds

[sweep]

Everyone is a dog here if I decide to play

[mpaschal34]

Guys one more tweak that was brought to my attention by a SBR Nation member...we needed to drop the final tables from 20 people to 18 as there needs to be a multiple of 6 for this to work correctly.
New format for this event! Only the Top 18 players QUALIFY for the Finals.

Why not round up to 24?

[bonzaii]

Everyone is a dog here if I decide to play

I agree. Will all be barking and you will running away for you life.

[bonzaii]

Drew gotta say 1st time playing today and love the new format. Deff more strategy involved and you really have to pick your spots. Case in point. Snapperclown chip leader w 10 left. Instead of understanding the situation and getting to the final table (yes I know, 6 now) he does his typical all in with shit and gets caught. The new format is quick and to the point. No need for any horseshit voting. The guys who have had some success with the old format are of course not going to want change. I would suggest going hand for hand (as Bonzai mentioned today at table) when you get down to 8-10

Yeah people don't want change thats why there are complaints.There's still strategy involved and the new format keeps you engaged the whole time with quick pace instead of waiting around like a sloth watching a game or looking up porn waiting for someone to make a decision. Hand for hand would be a nice addition to have. Most of the chips at the final two tables earlier were all on one table. Luckily, most of us made it out alive.

[pavyracer]

Even the NBA after 50 years is considering a change to the 82 game season but SBR Poker can't change. It must be the same as it was originally started..lol Some people need to have a life outside playing poker for points. Take a 4 week vacation if it sucks. Go hiking in the Himalyas. No one will notice you are not playing poker.

[mpaschal34]

Even the NBA after 50 years is considering a change to the 82 game season but SBR Poker can't change. It must be the same as it was originally started..lol Some people need to have a life outside playing poker for points. Take a 4 week vacation if it sucks. Go hiking in the Himalyas. No one will notice you are not playing poker.

i'm going to take the month off and bang a married woman and post pictures of it on the internet to brag.

[bonzaii]

i'm going to take the month off and bang a married woman and post pictures of it on the internet to brag.

Make sure there HD and you take enough close ups. Have you narrowed the list down yet?