A Derby Lane cash, but ...

The good news: I took down 4th place in last night's Stud Hi/Lo tournament at Derby Lane, tripling my buy-in after tip. It was only my second Stud Hi/Lo tournament (not counting HORSE events). The bad news: I can't believe that Rod Serling wasn't the tournament director, because we HAD to be playing in the Twilight Zone.

The good news: I survived with 10-11 players left by catching a one-outter - the case 10 for a chopped pot.
The bad news: I donked off my last 900 chips with what I thought was a low, but turned out to be only a pair of 4s. But I was so incredibly shortstacked at that point, I doubt my error cost me any higher of a place.

The good news: 8 players at my starting table. One very good player. Three players who said straight up they've never played Stud Hi/Lo before, including one who never really grasped the concept of a "low" hand. And three players who proved by their play pretty quickly that they had no idea what they were doing. (One called my final bet even though I had three Jacks showing and all he had was a pair and no low).
The bad news: Our table was the first to break up.

The good news: Started with 1,500 in chips, with a 5 ante and 5 bring-in and 20/40 limits.
The bad news: I can't believe I'm even going to type this. After the bring-in (which had to be 5 according to one dealer, and could be completed to 20 according to another dealer) anyone other player who wants to "call" (and yes, the quotes are necessary) MUST put in 20. MUST. MUST. MUST. So you are FORCED to complete if you want to play. Now, if this isn't the zaniest form of Stud I've ever heard of, it gets better. Say you're have the bring in, but you have a good hand. In a normal Stud game, you'd likely go ahead an complete here. But what is that really gaining you in this format, if that's the bet everyone else will have to make anyhow? Well, some players thought they could be crafty and bring it in for the minimum, and then raise it when came back around to them. I tended to agree, only because the rest of the structure is so zany. But every dealer and director that was consulted at each of my first 3 tables said no. You can't raise unless someone has "raised" after you (yes, quotes necessary again since any "call" is a "raise," but not a "raise" that's applicable here). But wait - there's more! So at the final table, a player brings it in for 400, two of us "call" the 800 and the bring-in player tries to raise it to 1,600. Here we go again! But this time, the director rules that yes, you can raise it! So I found myself arguing both sides of this decision, which made my fellow opponents think *I* was the one on the Twilight Zone. I was saying that, yes, I think he should be able to raise, but since we haven't played that way at any other table, how can we start now when we're down to 5 players?!?! Sigh........

I'm trying really hard not to be critical of Derby Lane's room. Dealers are great, players are bad. They bought new tables, and boosted the starting chip counts for their tournaments. But the problems with this tournament went beyond the zany structure. The structure also forced dealers to constantly make change, so we really only got in 5-6 hands per level, and since the limits raise so quickly, that takes an awful lot of the "poker" out of a tournament in which even a reasonable sound player could cash in every time since i doubt any more than 10 of the 44 entrants were solid players. When I asked a director how they came up with this structure, the answer was "that's just the way we've always done it."

So, if you have a bottle of Tylenol and $50 handy, get on over to Derby on Monday nights (once a month) and get some of this easy cash. If you can handle it.

Comments

[Zerbet]

Jeez Scott, you're a damn Inkernet Celebrity now - go "interview" the poker room Manager (somebody is ultimately in charge, right?) and tell 'em you're going to have to report that they won't bother to take the five minutes required and Google a standard 7CS tourney structure (currently 167,000 hits on Google!)

[Gambit727]

What a joke...but this is the best part: "One called my final bet even though I had three Jacks showing and all he had was a pair and no low" LMAO...did he say "Well, I gotta keep you honest" as he threw his chips into the pot?

[Scott Long]

Ha, good comments. Zerbet, I'll likely give the manager a ring on the DL just to voice my concerns. But one way of looking at it is that it helps a tight, solid player like myself. It certainly made me throw away a lot more hands than I normally would have, and that's a good thing. And it forced all of the bad players to put more in the pot when I did have a good hand. And Gambit, no I didn't get anything as creative as "Well, I gotta keep you honest." Instead, I got "That's a REALLY good hand." I didn't even know how to respond. (And BTW, I had the fourth Jack underneath.).

[8perfect]

Wow, what a nutty structure! Do they Stud high tournamets work the same? I can't believe it is that way on purpose. At least as a good player you know how to adjust.Congrats on the cash though! :-)

[Seen.After.Scene]

The whole inconsistency with raises and rules...that's just ridiculous. If I had been there, I think would have gone Phil Helmuth...not on the poor donks (also annoying)...but on the poor dealer/pit boss for being so muteable. There's no excuse for that. You are a better man than I for keeping your cool THROUGHOUT this tournament. Congrats on your finish.