Since the birth of online poker, the landscape of the game has changed immeasurably but the format of the game and of tournaments has remained constant, that is until now. On January 10, the Dusk Till Dawn poker club in Nottingham will host the first ever Multi Prize Pool poker tournament.
The revolutionary new tournament format is the brainchild of our very own Roberto Romanello, and if it works it could completely revolutionise the way tournaments are played. The premise of the idea is that each tournament has three buy-in levels as shown in the picture at the top of the story. In this particular example players have the option to buy-in for either £25, £50 or £100. Prize pool 1 is considered the default pot and everyone who enters joins this prize pool. It is then up to players if they want to add another £25 to their buy-in (£50 total) and have a chance of competing for the first and second prize pool or another £75 (£100 total) and competing in all three prize pools.
Once play begins you are only eligible to win the specific prize pools that you are registered in, so if you were to go on and win the tournament but had only paid the entry-level £25 buy-in you could only win the first prize pool, where as theoretically the player who finished in third, might be the highest placed finisher in both the second and third prize pools (if 1st and 2nd had only bought in for £25) and would therefore scoop the other two pots.
Understandably, there is a lot to get to grips with, but the advantages are clear. Firstly, it means there will be much larger fields, this means larger guarantees and a wider range of players. Also it means players will potentially be able to compete in much more prestigious events for a fraction of the cost and also get the opportunity to sit and play alongside their heros.
Initially, the new format is being trialled with three prize pools, but who’s to say the number of pools will not increase and if all goes well, who knows, there might even be an MPP event at the WSOP in years to come.
For now though it’s all eyes on the Dusk till Dawn club this January for the first ever MPP event. The buy-ins will be £25, £50 and £100 and players will receive 10,000 starting chips. The £5,000 guarantee will be split between the three prize pools depending on the number of players who enter each pool, so get down there if you have the chance and let us know after how you got on.
Click here for all the details about the event and good luck if you’re going!
