More Trends in Tournament Poker - Part III

One of the most significant changes in the world of tournament poker has been the increased interest in no-limit hold'em tournaments, resulting in much larger no-limit events than ever before. Virtually every championship event at every major tournament is a big buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament. The increase in attendance at the four no-limit hold'em events at the World Series of Poker has been phenomenal. Why? Because poker has become more available worldwide as a result of increased exposure through the Internet and television. People are fascinated by big-league tournament poker. Is there any poker player who doesn't dream of becoming the world champion one day?

The irony is that no-limit hold'em side-game action is virtually nonexistent. The inescapable conclusion is that tournament poker has saved no-limit hold'em as a viable poker game. In the past, the term "no-limit" has intimidated lots of poker players, making them fearful of playing the game. I like to think that Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, the book that I co-authored with T.J. Cloutier, has helped thousands of people overcome their doubts and fears about competing in no-limit events. Interest in no-limit hold'em was further stimulated by cable television broadcasts of the tournament sponsored by Ladbrokes Casino on the Isle of Man in 2000, in which the audience could see the holecards of the players. Being able to see those downcards undoubtedly helps the audience understand the strategy and skill involved in no-limit poker. And, it adds a touch of excitement and intrigue to what otherwise might be a ho-hum viewing experience.

Another change in tournament poker in the new millennium is that Southern California has become a veritable tournament mecca, perhaps replacing Las Vegas as the tournament capital of the world. The growth of tournaments in Europe – in particular, the ones at the Aviation Club in Paris, as well as others in the UK, Holland, Austria, Finland, and Russia – also has been phenomenal. For the first time ever, it is becoming trendy for top American tournament players to travel abroad for these fine events. This huge increase in international poker also has increased satellite action and sent many European players to Las Vegas for the WSOP.

Nonsmoking tournaments definitely are the "in thing" in the United States (but not in Europe). During the past several years that California has enforced its statewide nonsmoking policy, poker tournament participation has increased. With the inception of the Sam Boyd Poker Classic in 1999, I coordinated the first nonsmoking tournament in Las Vegas, which played to rave reviews. The World Poker Challenge in Reno quickly followed suit, and today the tournaments at The Orleans, The Mirage, and Bellagio are nonsmoking. On the East Coast, Foxwoods in Connecticut and the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City have made their cash games as well as their tournaments nonsmoking. This year, even the WSOP made all of its events nonsmoking.

For the benefit of everybody, many casinos have entered into cooperative, rather than competitive, tournament scheduling. Foxwoods and the Taj Mahal cooperate in setting the dates for their major tournaments each year, while the Gold Strike and Horseshoe casinos in Tunica, Mississippi, jointly host Jack Binion's annual tournament. Reno's poker rooms not only cooperate in scheduling their tournaments, they run mutual advertising and even share tournament staffs.

Internet tournaments seem to be the wave of the future. Pokerpages.com led the way in 2001 by sponsoring a freeroll tournament that placed one player in the $10,000 championship event at the WSOP. ParadisePoker.com began sponsoring one-table, $100 buy-in limit hold'em tournaments in 2000. There also has been an increase in the number of big buy-in tournaments with huge payouts: the PartyPoker.com tournament this year paid $1 million to the winner, and the new Bellagio tournament series featured a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em event.

In another major advance, tournament rules are becoming more standardized. European tournament sponsors have made significant strides toward standardizing tournament rules, with most venues cooperating with each other. In the United States, the Tournament Directors Association is working to achieve standardization of tournament rules. Standardized rules help make tournament players feel more comfortable and confident that quality floor decisions are always made, erasing some of the confusion that has been characteristic of past tournament decisions.

Finally, the increased promotion of satellites at one tournament for another in the future continues to swell the number of tournament entrants. Satellites for the WSOP and other major events are held in cardrooms all over the world, making the job of satellite director at major tournaments important to the success of tournaments. For tournament players, learning how to win satellites has never been more important than it is in today's changing tournament scene.

For a few tips on satellite strategy, read my column in the next issue. Until then, I hope to meet you one day soon in the winner's circle.

Editor's note: You will find many practical tournament strategies in Tom McEvoy's book, Tournament Poker (2001 Millennium Edition), which is available through Card Player. For more details, visit www.pokerbooks.com.