#188: “Frogs In Boiling Water”

Posted Uncategorized

Poker players complain. It’s what we do. Often we complain about the smallest things; picking fights about breached etiquette, nit-picking about rulings or just simply moaning about the very luck factor which makes our game beatable in the first place. This week, however, Ireland’s most visible player complained about rake and registration fees and the Irish poker community sat up and listened, his words resonating with all of us and sparking the debate at the tables, on forums and on blogs.

Credit to John O’Shea for choosing this battle because for too long, the Irish poker public have been the proverbial frog in the water, being incrementally boiled alive, one percent on top at a time. Someone needed to make a stand and it’s great to see other big names rally in behind him. When John O’Shea and Dara O’Kearney agree on something, it’s worth investigating, especially when both of them are affiliated with poker sites which are themselves affiliated with live poker organisers who charge egregious rake. They have put their heads above the parapet on this one, risking the wrath of their paymasters to start an important dialogue on fairness in a competitive industry.

So what is a fair registration fee? It is impossible for live poker to compete with online poker in terms of overheads so we don’t expect parity. We also don’t expect lower buy-ins to have a 10% reg fee because we don’t expect professional dealers to charge a different hourly on a smaller event. But if the live poker experience is going to stand a chance versus its online counterpart, it cannot be seen to rip people off. It must still adopt a model that is viewed as value for money.

My recommendations are as follows:

Regular Events

  • €100+20: Fast, 25 minute levels, 200bb starting stack
  • €200+25: Fast, 30 minute levels, 200bb starting stack
  • €300+35: Fast, 30 minute levels, 240bbs starting stack
  • €400+45: Fast, 30 minute levels, 300bb starting stack
  • €500+55: Normal, 45 minute levels, 240bb starting stack (one drink voucher included)
  • €700+75: Normal, 45 minute levels, 300bb starting stack (one drink voucher included)
  • €1000+100: Slow, 60 minute levels, 300bbs starting stack (two drink vouchers included)
  • €1500+150: Slow, 60 minute levels, 400bbs starting stack (meal/drink vouchers included)
  • €2000+175: Slow, 60 minute levels, 400bbs starting stack (meal/drink vouchers included)
  • €3000+250: Very slow, 75 minute levels, 400bbs starting stack (meal/drink vouchers included)
  • €5000+300: Very slow, 75 minute levels, 500bbs starting stack (meal/drink vouchers included)

Turbo Events

  • €85+15: Hyper-Turbo, 15 minute levels, 100bb starting stack
  • €130+20: Hyper-Turbo, 15 minute levels, 120bb starting stack
  • €175+25: Turbo, 20 minute levels, 120bb starting stack
  • €270+30: Turbo, 20 minute levels, 160bb starting stack
  • €460+40: Turbo, 20 minute levels, 200bb starting stack (one drink voucher included)
  • €925+75: Turbo, 20 minute levels, 200bb starting stack (two drink vouchers included)

All of the above seem reasonable to me and while divergence from such standards might be adopted in order to create a gimic for a tournament (e.g. a Deepstack Turbo), it doesn’t seem right that players pay more for less. If operators say that these standards cannot be met profitably, then I fear the entire live industry in Ireland is doomed as professional players and recreational players alike are way too cottoned on to the small print and details when they hand over a buy-in. It’s getting sweaty in the pot and the frogs have just bought a thermometer.