Post by jdaddy on Apr 3, 2008 17:39:47 GMT -4
The HPT Structure
(Editor's note: After a handful of successful events, we at the Heartland Poker Tour have had many inquiries sent in about how the HPT is structured, why the main events are structured like they are and a lot of other questions in regards to the HPT. After trying to answer as many questions as possible, we decided to sit down with Greg Lang, the co-founder of the Heartland Poker Tour and talk to him about the HPT and the structure.)
HPT: "Greg, thanks for joining us. Many HPT fans and followers
who have either been at the events or watched the final table at home, have often asked about the final table structure and how you came up with it. What was your criteria when deciding on a structure format?"
Greg: "When we (Todd & I) sat down and began to develop the structure of the Heartland Poker Tour, we had several things we wanted to accomplish."
"First, we wanted to develop a structure that could potentially accommodate 1,000 players. There are very few casinos throughout the United States, much less in America’s heartland,
that have the resources, space, tables, and chips to accommodate this. A multi-qualifier event structure allows us to accomplish our goal, by holding the biggest and best tournaments with moderate buy-ins. We needed to accomplish all of this, while catching the action on tape for a top notch televised poker show."
"Second, it had to be flexible. We realize, most Heartland Poker Tour players are NOT professionals! They have real jobs, families and busy schedules. Most people can not take off an entire week to play a poker tournament (even though we would all like to). This is real life and people are busy with varying priorities. To host successful tournaments, we knew had to be sensitive to that. Holding multiple qualifiers gives HPT players an opportunity to balance their busy lives and the ability to play a competitive
televised poker tournament that fits their schedule (not ours) with HUGE prize pools. NO ONE else in the poker world is providing this. Plus, if a player does take a few days off and travels a great distance to play, the multiple qualifier structure affords him or her to possibly play another qualifier. Our main event structure is not a re-buy tournament! The option to play another qualifier (at full entry fee) is a unique way to grow the prize pool and eliminate the “crazy” play that almost always accompanies a "re-buy" tournament."
"Third, the Heartland Poker Tour had to offer moderate buy-ins. We made a decision early on in the development of the HPT, that we wanted to stay true to our positioning statement that anyone can play our events. This meant keeping the buy-ins moderate and affordable for our core players. The Heartland Poker Tour is not a recreational $200 bar tournament, but it is not a WSOP or WPT level buy in either. We feel we have truly created a unique structure and buy in for real people, with huge prize pools for people that love to play poker competitively. As one TV executive put it, “The HPT players are more plumbers, than professionals and it makes for GREAT poker!”
"Last, but not least, we needed large prize pools. We were motivated to create a structure that would continually develop $250,000 to potentially $1,000,000 prize pools all while keeping the buy in between $300 and $1,000. With the multiple qualifier structure, we have been able to maximize hosting property resources and are proud to say that the prize pools continue to grow well beyond the $250,000 mark. No other structure I have ever seen allows players
to enter for $300 and compete for a prize pool exceeding $250,000. We are proud to say this structure was created by players, for players, and they love it."
HPT: "Why do you typically host two qualifiers in one day?"
Greg: "Weekends are short and time is precious for most of our players. So, this gives individuals the option of when they would like to play. If they plan on committing the whole day, they may be able to play twice, if they choose. We are also able to maximize the hosting properties’ resources that are available and ready for tournament use."
HPT: "How many chips do players start with and why?"
Greg: "Typically in our event players start with 10,000 in the qualifiers and 15,000 in the main event finals. It allows for more play and better poker. This is very rare in today’s poker world, as other poker hosts are always looking to “speed up the play”. With a deep stack, the best players should typically prevail. It protects a strong player from bad beats and suck outs. When we reach the final table, there is often more than three million chips in play."
HPT: "Most recreational tournaments in the poker community are typically 10 to 20 minutes, why 30 minute rounds in the HPT?"
Greg: "We wanted to make it more about the poker and less about the clock. With 10,000 in chips and ½ hour rounds, we feel this makes for solid play all around. Anything longer than 30 minutes would make it difficult to play four qualifiers in a weekend and tape the final table. We are however beginning to add additional tournaments at some events that feature larger buy-ins and longer rounds with a more traditional structure."
HPT: "How many players qualify for the main event finals?"
Greg: "The top 20% from each qualifier. If there are 200 players in
a qualifier, 40 of them will make it to the main event finals. At the finals they re-chip to 15,000 and grind it out with 30 minute rounds until a HPT champion is crowned. A player that goes deep on a Main event day can expect 13-15 hours of poker "
HPT: "Why are antes in place?"
Greg: "This is common in larger, more competitive tournaments and thus makes for better poker. Relating to the HPT and the 20% qualifying structure, it prevents a player from getting lucky on a suck out early on and coasting into the top 20%. If a player just gets lucky and doubles or triples up, often they think they can sit on their hands and coast into the finals. With antes in place, they wouldn't be able to do that because the blinds and antes will eat them up. They need to keep their head in the game and play poker to survive. No coasting here in the Heartland Poker Tour."
HPT: "Why do the Main Event finals start so early ... many of them at 8am ?"
Greg: "I get this question a LOT. An early AM start allows us to
maximize our time, the number of seats available at a particular property, the number of qualifiers that can be run and the ability to run longer rounds and maximize the prize pool. With an early start, we can grind through 200 players or more, tape a final table, and finish before midnight. Remember, as much as we like to think we are, most of us are NOT pros and we do have real jobs. So most of us either playing or working behind the scenes have to be ready for work on Monday"
HPT: "What is the “direct buy-in” to the Main Event and how did you come up with the amount?"
Greg: "Again, it is about flexibility and appealing to all types of players. If a player does not want to play a qualifier or can't play in a qualifier, they have the option to direct buy into the finals. After all, it is poker and poker is about money. The direct buy in is calculated using 20% of the qualifier. If the qualifiers cost $500, that is 20% or $2,500 to buy in directly to the qualifier. That is five times the buy in. No deals here. If a player decides NOT to play a qualifier to enter the finals, they have pay their fair share. As a player that qualified for $500, it is important to remember that you now only need to make it through one additional player that contributed what it would have taken 5 other players to equal in terms of prize pool."
HPT: "Do a lot of people buy-in directly?"
Greg: "What do you mean by "a lot"? As our events grow and attract more players from around the country, direct buy-ins are becoming more and more common at each event. It is increasing the prize pool and raising the level of play. If you are going to plunk down that kind of cash, chances are you're not a donkey. Most of these players probably will not be calling down to the river only to turn their bottom pair into trips. However, these are the guys that may be pushing in late position pre-flop with 8-3 off, so be careful."
HPT: "How come your chips don’t carry forward from the qualifiers to the finals?"
Greg: "Another good question. In a perfect world, this could happen, unfortunately it just doesn't work out this way. There's not always the same amount of chips in play for every qualifier. Every player knows the structure before the game starts and should adjust their strategy accordingly. It really does make for great poker in the main event finals."
HPT: "Are you looking at making any changes to your main event structure?"
Greg: "When it is in the interest of fair play and a great tournament, changes are always possible. However, it seems to be working very well and players really seem to like it. We actually crafted our current structure after months of tweaking and hundreds of comments over the last year. We even opened up a forum on our web site to solicit comments from players. Our current main event structure is the result of those comments from the players and fans. However, we're now running more than one tournament at some events. These ancillary tournaments have limited seating, feature a larger buy in and represent a more traditional structure."
HPT: "Where can players get the specific structures for each event?"
Greg: "Right here on our web site. We're committed to having complete up to date information for all of the tournaments we host. Our site, heartlandpokertour.com, will always be the home for the official structure of every HPT tournament. Of course, you can always call or visit the host casino, which is also listed on our site too."
HPT: "Is there anything else you would like to add?"
Greg: "That is it. Pretty straight forward. We truly believe that we have developed a very unique and fair structure that promotes strong play and continuously finds the best players in the money. At the same time, we are maximizing schedule flexibility, property resources, and time available to complete the tournament. If you have played one of our events and have comments on how to make it better, we invite your comments. We can be reached through the contact us tab on our site."
HPT: "Thanks for your time, Greg. We'll see you at the next event."
Greg: "I'll see you in the poker room."
(Editor's note: After a handful of successful events, we at the Heartland Poker Tour have had many inquiries sent in about how the HPT is structured, why the main events are structured like they are and a lot of other questions in regards to the HPT. After trying to answer as many questions as possible, we decided to sit down with Greg Lang, the co-founder of the Heartland Poker Tour and talk to him about the HPT and the structure.)
HPT: "Greg, thanks for joining us. Many HPT fans and followers
who have either been at the events or watched the final table at home, have often asked about the final table structure and how you came up with it. What was your criteria when deciding on a structure format?"
Greg: "When we (Todd & I) sat down and began to develop the structure of the Heartland Poker Tour, we had several things we wanted to accomplish."
"First, we wanted to develop a structure that could potentially accommodate 1,000 players. There are very few casinos throughout the United States, much less in America’s heartland,
that have the resources, space, tables, and chips to accommodate this. A multi-qualifier event structure allows us to accomplish our goal, by holding the biggest and best tournaments with moderate buy-ins. We needed to accomplish all of this, while catching the action on tape for a top notch televised poker show."
"Second, it had to be flexible. We realize, most Heartland Poker Tour players are NOT professionals! They have real jobs, families and busy schedules. Most people can not take off an entire week to play a poker tournament (even though we would all like to). This is real life and people are busy with varying priorities. To host successful tournaments, we knew had to be sensitive to that. Holding multiple qualifiers gives HPT players an opportunity to balance their busy lives and the ability to play a competitive
televised poker tournament that fits their schedule (not ours) with HUGE prize pools. NO ONE else in the poker world is providing this. Plus, if a player does take a few days off and travels a great distance to play, the multiple qualifier structure affords him or her to possibly play another qualifier. Our main event structure is not a re-buy tournament! The option to play another qualifier (at full entry fee) is a unique way to grow the prize pool and eliminate the “crazy” play that almost always accompanies a "re-buy" tournament."
"Third, the Heartland Poker Tour had to offer moderate buy-ins. We made a decision early on in the development of the HPT, that we wanted to stay true to our positioning statement that anyone can play our events. This meant keeping the buy-ins moderate and affordable for our core players. The Heartland Poker Tour is not a recreational $200 bar tournament, but it is not a WSOP or WPT level buy in either. We feel we have truly created a unique structure and buy in for real people, with huge prize pools for people that love to play poker competitively. As one TV executive put it, “The HPT players are more plumbers, than professionals and it makes for GREAT poker!”
"Last, but not least, we needed large prize pools. We were motivated to create a structure that would continually develop $250,000 to potentially $1,000,000 prize pools all while keeping the buy in between $300 and $1,000. With the multiple qualifier structure, we have been able to maximize hosting property resources and are proud to say that the prize pools continue to grow well beyond the $250,000 mark. No other structure I have ever seen allows players
to enter for $300 and compete for a prize pool exceeding $250,000. We are proud to say this structure was created by players, for players, and they love it."
HPT: "Why do you typically host two qualifiers in one day?"
Greg: "Weekends are short and time is precious for most of our players. So, this gives individuals the option of when they would like to play. If they plan on committing the whole day, they may be able to play twice, if they choose. We are also able to maximize the hosting properties’ resources that are available and ready for tournament use."
HPT: "How many chips do players start with and why?"
Greg: "Typically in our event players start with 10,000 in the qualifiers and 15,000 in the main event finals. It allows for more play and better poker. This is very rare in today’s poker world, as other poker hosts are always looking to “speed up the play”. With a deep stack, the best players should typically prevail. It protects a strong player from bad beats and suck outs. When we reach the final table, there is often more than three million chips in play."
HPT: "Most recreational tournaments in the poker community are typically 10 to 20 minutes, why 30 minute rounds in the HPT?"
Greg: "We wanted to make it more about the poker and less about the clock. With 10,000 in chips and ½ hour rounds, we feel this makes for solid play all around. Anything longer than 30 minutes would make it difficult to play four qualifiers in a weekend and tape the final table. We are however beginning to add additional tournaments at some events that feature larger buy-ins and longer rounds with a more traditional structure."
HPT: "How many players qualify for the main event finals?"
Greg: "The top 20% from each qualifier. If there are 200 players in
a qualifier, 40 of them will make it to the main event finals. At the finals they re-chip to 15,000 and grind it out with 30 minute rounds until a HPT champion is crowned. A player that goes deep on a Main event day can expect 13-15 hours of poker "
HPT: "Why are antes in place?"
Greg: "This is common in larger, more competitive tournaments and thus makes for better poker. Relating to the HPT and the 20% qualifying structure, it prevents a player from getting lucky on a suck out early on and coasting into the top 20%. If a player just gets lucky and doubles or triples up, often they think they can sit on their hands and coast into the finals. With antes in place, they wouldn't be able to do that because the blinds and antes will eat them up. They need to keep their head in the game and play poker to survive. No coasting here in the Heartland Poker Tour."
HPT: "Why do the Main Event finals start so early ... many of them at 8am ?"
Greg: "I get this question a LOT. An early AM start allows us to
maximize our time, the number of seats available at a particular property, the number of qualifiers that can be run and the ability to run longer rounds and maximize the prize pool. With an early start, we can grind through 200 players or more, tape a final table, and finish before midnight. Remember, as much as we like to think we are, most of us are NOT pros and we do have real jobs. So most of us either playing or working behind the scenes have to be ready for work on Monday"
HPT: "What is the “direct buy-in” to the Main Event and how did you come up with the amount?"
Greg: "Again, it is about flexibility and appealing to all types of players. If a player does not want to play a qualifier or can't play in a qualifier, they have the option to direct buy into the finals. After all, it is poker and poker is about money. The direct buy in is calculated using 20% of the qualifier. If the qualifiers cost $500, that is 20% or $2,500 to buy in directly to the qualifier. That is five times the buy in. No deals here. If a player decides NOT to play a qualifier to enter the finals, they have pay their fair share. As a player that qualified for $500, it is important to remember that you now only need to make it through one additional player that contributed what it would have taken 5 other players to equal in terms of prize pool."
HPT: "Do a lot of people buy-in directly?"
Greg: "What do you mean by "a lot"? As our events grow and attract more players from around the country, direct buy-ins are becoming more and more common at each event. It is increasing the prize pool and raising the level of play. If you are going to plunk down that kind of cash, chances are you're not a donkey. Most of these players probably will not be calling down to the river only to turn their bottom pair into trips. However, these are the guys that may be pushing in late position pre-flop with 8-3 off, so be careful."
HPT: "How come your chips don’t carry forward from the qualifiers to the finals?"
Greg: "Another good question. In a perfect world, this could happen, unfortunately it just doesn't work out this way. There's not always the same amount of chips in play for every qualifier. Every player knows the structure before the game starts and should adjust their strategy accordingly. It really does make for great poker in the main event finals."
HPT: "Are you looking at making any changes to your main event structure?"
Greg: "When it is in the interest of fair play and a great tournament, changes are always possible. However, it seems to be working very well and players really seem to like it. We actually crafted our current structure after months of tweaking and hundreds of comments over the last year. We even opened up a forum on our web site to solicit comments from players. Our current main event structure is the result of those comments from the players and fans. However, we're now running more than one tournament at some events. These ancillary tournaments have limited seating, feature a larger buy in and represent a more traditional structure."
HPT: "Where can players get the specific structures for each event?"
Greg: "Right here on our web site. We're committed to having complete up to date information for all of the tournaments we host. Our site, heartlandpokertour.com, will always be the home for the official structure of every HPT tournament. Of course, you can always call or visit the host casino, which is also listed on our site too."
HPT: "Is there anything else you would like to add?"
Greg: "That is it. Pretty straight forward. We truly believe that we have developed a very unique and fair structure that promotes strong play and continuously finds the best players in the money. At the same time, we are maximizing schedule flexibility, property resources, and time available to complete the tournament. If you have played one of our events and have comments on how to make it better, we invite your comments. We can be reached through the contact us tab on our site."
HPT: "Thanks for your time, Greg. We'll see you at the next event."
Greg: "I'll see you in the poker room."