Tourney Bounty Chips Or Not? (1 Viewer)

[Poker1878]

Hey everyone just looking for opinions on using bounty chips in tournaments? The tournaments I’ve been playing in lately and hosting have had a $5 bounty chip per player. I don’t know if I like the bounty chip as much as just adding that money to the paying spots. What are your thoughts on bounty chips?

 

[BGinGA]

I like 'em -- they add interest and a small bit of strategy, plus they tend to spread the money around a little bit without heavily diluting the prize pool.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

I like em too. Imo makes newer players more apt to coming back for future games if they take a bounty or two instead of leaving completely empty handed.

Plus like @BGinGA said it keeps some interest going for players that drift off sometimes lol

 

[Anthony Ferguson]

I also think they are good for the game for the reasons stated above. It's nice to "win" something even if you are not in the money.

 

[bsdunbar1]

plus they tend to spread the money around a little bit without heavily diluting the prize pool.

The higher buy-in tourney I have the more likely I am to utilize a bounty, just gives more players a chance to get some of their buy-in back.

 

[Mac128k]

Big fan for the reasons stated above.

 

[DoubleEagle]

Most of our players enjoy having bounties. Gives everyone a chance to earn a bit of their buy-in back.

 

[Teach42]

What % of the buy in do you usually set your bounty at?

 

[BGinGA]

What % of the buy in do you usually set your bounty at?

I usually set bounty value at around 20%-25% of total buy-in ($20 or $25 of $100, $10 of $40 or $10 of $50, $5 of $20 or $25, etc.), but there's really no standard. The PCF online tournaments are typically $5 bounty out of a $15 or $20 total entry cost (33% or 25%).

Some tournament bounty amounts are pretty trivial if compared to the buy-in amount ($500 for a $10,000 buy-in, for example -- just 5% of the entry amount). Other bounty tournaments divert a really a large percentage of the entry fee -- up to 50% of the total cost (the bounty value is equal to the prize-pool buy-in amount). There are even "Bounty Only" tournaments (no buy-in cost other than the bounty amount).

Some players don't like bounties, especially weaker and passive players, but adding bounties can promote more aggression during play, since there is a more visible and tangible financial benefit that results from it. Because of this, I sometimes run a two-tiered bounty structure (using two different bounty chips) -- a $5 mandatory bounty, with an optional $10 'super-bounty' (only those players who purchase as super-bounty may collect the super-bounty of another player), which allows more 'gambol' by those who choose to engage in such practices, without forcing everyone to do so. Feel free to tailor bounties to your group's needs and desires, both financial and emotional.

 

[binisha]

Because of this, I sometimes run a two-tiered bounty structure (using two different bounty chips) -- a $5 mandatory bounty, with an optional $10 'super-bounty' (only those players who purchase as super-bounty may collect the super-bounty of another player), which allows more 'gambol' by those who choose to engage in such practices, without forcing everyone to do so.

If a player with a super bounty gets eliminated by someone not in the super bounty, do they just get their $10 back?

 

[Teach42]

One other question as I've never done bounties before.... Player A knocks out 3 other players. They now have 4 bounty chips in their possession. If they get knocked out by Player B, player B only collects ONE bounty chip, correct? And player A keeps the other 3? I figure that's gotta be it, but just verifying.

 

[mummel]

I’ve found that bounties only work if the amount is meaningful. 20% is too low for a small stakes game as the nominal amount isn’t much (like $5 on a $25 buyin). But 20% of a $100 buy in will definitely get more action.

In short, I would use bounties on tourneys with larger buyins.

 

[BGinGA]

If a player with a super bounty gets eliminated by someone not in the super bounty, do they just get their $10 back?

Correct.

One other question as I've never done bounties before.... Player A knocks out 3 other players. They now have 4 bounty chips in their possession. If they get knocked out by Player B, player B only collects ONE bounty chip, correct? And player A keeps the other 3? I figure that's gotta be it, but just verifying.

Correct.

Although there are variants where *part* of a collected bounty is banked, with part carrying forward and put at risk. Requires a bit more bookkeeping.

 

[pippen33]

We have a poker league where we have 11 tourneys with the 12th being the championship. In the 11 regular season tourneys we do bounties 3 or 4 times. I like it and most people do. We have tourney chips and cash game chips and we just use the appropriate denom of cash chip for the bounty.

 

[pippen33]

I’ve found that bounties only work if the amount is meaningful. 20% is too low for a small stakes game as the nominal amount isn’t much (like $5 on a $25 buyin). But 20% of a $100 buy in will definitely get more action.

In short, I would use bounties on tourneys with larger buyins.

Our league is $100 per tourney and when we do bounties it's $25. That $25 is in addition. It's still a $100 tourney but now a $125 buy in

 

[DeeVee8]

It's an excuse to have moar chipes, WTH do you think?

 

[links_slayer]

I like having one. I don't have dedicated chips though (shame, I know...). I just use cash chips or T5 chips from a set that's not being used.

 

[Kid_Eastwood]

I like them.

I decided to go with a 44 octogon plaque in my custom set :

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/princess-cathouse-now-private-club.46923/page-2#post-886316

 

[MattyMatt]

I like bounties as well.

 

[Max D]

Bounty chip for points

 

[Mr Winberg]

Big fan of bounty tournaments! And yes, give players a bounty chip instead of using cash. Although I like @BonScot's approach of using $5 plaques for bounties worth $5.

 

[Gobbs]

I’m going to provide a little different answer to the primary question - to bounty or not to bounty.

In addition to the weaker and passive players @BGinGA discussed, there are instances in which a player may tighten his/her game if the majority of players are primarily loose. I’ve seen players get involved in very few hands, win a few large pots, and take second or third place without collecting a single bounty or win tournaments while only collecting one bounty. (Yes, that player has sometimes been me.). These are the types of players who may prefer to not buy a bounty chip.

So, having said that, first and foremost, even though I am most certainly not a bounty-collecting machine, I like bounties. The difference is, I prefer optional bounties so that I can make an educated assessment of the players in the tournament and determine if buying a bounty is a good investment.

I think the double bounty option @BGinGA mentioned above is a very good system. The cheaper (and less significant) bounty is mandatory. The more expensive (and significant) bounty is optional. This seems to capture the best of bounties without making it overwhelming to those who would prefer not to buy one.

 

[Blaster]

.... There are also other variants for use of the bounties ....
For example, in a $5/per game, only 2 of the 10 players at the table(s) are "bounties" $25 ea to knock them out of the game .....
Or, Bounty prize pool is split into an amount of "goals", & you win a bounty chip by achieving the goal .. ( 1st player to make a flush, ... 1st player to lose w/ pocket Jacks or better, 1st player to show pocket aces, 1st player to bust out .... ect ,... )

 

[Poker Zombie]

Not really a fan of bounties. I have not seen any appreciable difference in how people play, and it cuts ~20% out of the prize pool and awards it to random(ish) players, rather than to the best players.

There is also the issue of who gets the bounty when 2 players chop a hand, eliminating a 3rd player.

When done though, I like the bounty to be noticeably different from the in-play chips (oversize, different shape, or at the very least a different construction material).

Yeah, just because I'm not a fan doesn't mean I won't occasionally use them.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I’ve enjoyed running progressive bounty tournaments lately.

$80+$20, where everyone starts with 4 $5 bounty chips. For each knockout you pocket half the bounty (rounding up) then add the remainder to your own bounty.