For those that include bonuses in their tournaments (high hand jackpot, bad beat bonus, 7-2, etc) how do you pay them out? Cash from the prize pot? A separate bonus pot? Something totally different like scratch cards?
What I like about bonuses (or at least the idea of them, since I only implemented one for the first time at my last tournament so take this with a pinch of salt) is that they give players an extra chance at winning something besides getting in the bubble. For a casual, low-skilled group like ours I think this would be a positive thing.
I'd like to have two or three bonuses at each tournament (I have plenty of ideas based around different themes and holidays, which our tournaments are usually organised around). It's possible that all or none might pay out, so I'm trying to figure out what might be the best way.
Our typical prize pot is between £90–130 split between the top 2 (small group with a £10 buy in & rebuy). Last time, I took the bonus out of the main pot but going forward it feels a bit off for the end prize money to be determined on whether or not the bonuses are cashed. On the flip side I could collect a separate bonus pot but I'm still getting a feel of how much my group is willing to invest in a night of poker and there's the question of what happens to the bonus pot if one or more of the bonuses doesn't cash out?
Any and all ideas and feedback welcome!
PS. My upcoming tournament this weekend (7 handed as things stand) will be our first bounty tournament so I've gone with a wild west theme. A little bit gimmicky I know but nothing cringy like fancy dress (I've been tempted to offer a chip bonus for wearing a cowboy hat but I have resisted ).
Weekend bonus ideas:
What I like about bonuses (or at least the idea of them, since I only implemented one for the first time at my last tournament so take this with a pinch of salt) is that they give players an extra chance at winning something besides getting in the bubble. For a casual, low-skilled group like ours I think this would be a positive thing.
I'd like to have two or three bonuses at each tournament (I have plenty of ideas based around different themes and holidays, which our tournaments are usually organised around). It's possible that all or none might pay out, so I'm trying to figure out what might be the best way.
Our typical prize pot is between £90–130 split between the top 2 (small group with a £10 buy in & rebuy). Last time, I took the bonus out of the main pot but going forward it feels a bit off for the end prize money to be determined on whether or not the bonuses are cashed. On the flip side I could collect a separate bonus pot but I'm still getting a feel of how much my group is willing to invest in a night of poker and there's the question of what happens to the bonus pot if one or more of the bonuses doesn't cash out?
Any and all ideas and feedback welcome!
PS. My upcoming tournament this weekend (7 handed as things stand) will be our first bounty tournament so I've gone with a wild west theme. A little bit gimmicky I know but nothing cringy like fancy dress (I've been tempted to offer a chip bonus for wearing a cowboy hat but I have resisted ).
Weekend bonus ideas: