After my spectacular Sunday playing poker, I woke up early to play in a small tournament Monday morning at Foxwoods. Helaine points out there were loads of things she wants me to do that I won’t wake that early for!
Honesty so often stings.
Foxwoods has small buy-in tournaments all the time. This particular one began at 8:00 AM. It cost $45 + $15. The $45 went into the prize pool. The $15 went to the casino.
Much as I’d like to kvetch about the high cost of entry (a comparable online tournament would cost $4.5 in fees, not $15), I’m not sure how they can make money with this charge.
Today there were 136 players. So, 136 * $15 = $2040. From that they have to pay dealers and supervisors and the general cost of the room. And, they need enough dealers for the large field at the beginning, meaning as it progresses, they’re paying people to stand around.
If this tournament is making money, it’s making small change.
I will complain about the speed with which the blinds, or forced bets, go up. Faster blinds puts more gamble and less skill in a tournament. These seemed really fast.
I think I played well, but I got hit twice in the first hour and never really recovered. Someone else took home my $45. I’m not at all upset.
The format and chips used in a tournament are different than a live action table. In the beginning I made a few mistakes that made me look like the tournament neophyte I am. Maybe looking naive is an advantage?
I did enjoy playing. And, I think I played well. I’ll play again. I was just unlucky.
It is much more important to be lucky than skillful.
In general I thought poker is kind of a “loss-leader” for the gaming industry, bringing some prestige and the casino equivalent of gravitas, but another room of slots will always make more money. I think thats even one of the less conspiracy minded theories of why Mohegan closed theirs.