Tourney Bounty on a specific player (1 Viewer)

[Hillgrove]

Hi,
I'm about to arrange my first bounty tournament. Thinking of having a bounty on last tournament's winner, but how do you all usually arrange such a tournament when it's only on a specific player? Should everyone except that player create a bounty pot or is there another way to do it like giving the hitman some extra chips as reward (makes it useless though after a heads-up unless it's saved to the next tournament)?

 

[tabletalker7]

I have done this. If you do this, you can't play.
You pick someone at random. You let everyone know that there is a bounty on someone's head, but DO NOT TELL ANYONE who it is. You let the tournament play as normal until it is time to pay out the bounty. Then you pause the clock, let everyone know the bounty has been hit, and while you pay that person the bounty, make the screens show some kind of funny WANTED poster. Here is one from the last time I did this

 

[allforcharity]

A few years ago, I participated in a 5 table tourney, and 10 players were preselected for special bounty. Those who collected the special bounty got a mystery envelope of prizes like a tech doodad, or lottery scratch tickets, or gift cards.

 

[upNdown]

Yeah the bounty money just comes out of the main pot. And the bountied player is eligible too, because if they win the tournament, they get the bounty.

 

[umbkcshah]

I assume you have multiple decks of cards for a single or multiple mystery bounties.

I would just put a random card (black if 26 or less players) in an envelope after shuffling. Then hand out red cards to players- players keep their card secret. Bounty is a mystery until end. Could also have eliminated player check.

Or sealed player envelopes and bounty card is known.

Either way, just pull 25-50% of a buy in for each bounty from the prize pool. Could be more, but that generally enough imo.

 

[SlowPokeTony]

The answers about how to randomize it or keep it a secret are fine but OP is saying everyone knows the defending champ will have the bounty on his head. It sounds a little unfair but if the idea is to always have the previous winner have the bounty then it’s fine. Just make it part of the prize pool.

For example if a 10 player game with $100 buy in pays out $500, $350, $150 then you could use the $150 as the bounty instead of 3rd place. Or you could payout 1x to 2x the buy in as the bounty and keep the same percentages for payouts with the remaining prize pool.

 

[Coyotesetter]

If you want the last winner to have a bounty just do that. It's unfair, and that's what makes it good. Heavy is the crown. Just go with it. It's your game. I used to worry about stuff like this but there's no need. Just have fun. People are glad you're hosting and having a target is awesome.

 

[Hillgrove]

Thanks for all the inputs! Seems to be hard to find a fair way of doing this. I think I'll go with an ordinary bounty this time, and in case I decide a "tournament winner bounty" will announce the idea in all fairness prior to the tournament deciding the winner.

 

[TexRex]

I have a tournament where we have a secret bounty. This year we had 2. Here's what I did. I have chips labeled with #1-30, and a matching set. For every player in the tournament, they each draw and are to keep their number separate. Then I put the matching chips in, shuffle them, and draw the winner or winners. No one knows who the secret bounties are until they take them out. Everyone has the same chance of being the secret bounty.

 

[ThrowBack]

If you want the last winner to have a bounty just do that. It's unfair, and that's what makes it good. Heavy is the crown. Just go with it. It's your game. I used to worry about stuff like this but there's no need. Just have fun. People are glad you're hosting and having a target is awesome.

I agree, public bounty

“Heavy is the crown” I like it. The best player at a home game usually deserves people coming for him

 

[GrindstonePoker]

We do $5 bounties. Everyone pays that, then I pull $15 from the prize pool and make last tournament’s winner the “Gold Bounty”

Our tournament’s are low buy-in. $30 with one rebuy option.

I had custom plaques made for standard bounties and I have a gold colored $20 plaque

 

[CSW]

We do $5 bounties. Everyone pays that, then I pull $15 from the prize pool and make last tournament’s winner the “Gold Bounty”

Our tournament’s are low buy-in. $30 with one rebuy option.

I had custom plaques made for standard bounties and I have a gold colored $20 plaque

This is similar to our approach to what the OP asked about. We do $20 buy in, $5 bounty on each player, and a “Most Wanted” double bounty ($10) on the winner of the previous event. If the previous winner doesn’t make it to the next event, it carries over (so, we occasionally end up with double bounties on two players in one game). If a player wins back-to-back events, the bounty on him/her is triple ($15) at the next game.

Each player starts with one bounty chip and gives that chip to the player who busts them. I customized some card protectors from Chip Lab to be the special Most Wanted bounties; the players with extra bounties on them start with one of these Most Wanted card protectors instead of a bounty chip, and they give that card protector to the player who busts them (I typically switch that out immediately for two bounty chips once the player is knocked out to avoid any confusion later in the game).

All bounties are taken directly from prize pool; no extra buy-ins for the bounties (including the double bounties). I don’t see anything unfair about this. Everyone pays the same entry fee. And everyone (including the previous winner) has a fair chance to win (or keep) the extra bounty.

For what it is worth, I have also run a Mystery Bounty event. Again, everyone starts with one bounty chip (or one Most Wanted bounty for the previous winner). Instead of paying out $5 for every bounty collected, I had a list of prizes ranging between $2 and $25, and each prize was listed next to a specific number. Then I put all the numbers in a bingo spinner and let each player have one spin at the bingo machine for each bounty collected (two spins for those who collected the Most Wanted bounties). This worked out great.

 

[Frogzilla]

For sure take it out of prize pool.

As to fairness (and if it’s league champ it’s probably fine to be a little unfair), but anyways I’m not convinced whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage (or neither) to be the player with a bounty. Discussion in this thread seems to treat as disadvantage. But conversation a couple months ago in pokerland about that bounty on the dude in the Florida ladies event (the dude ended up winning) was leaning towards that maybe it’s actually an advantage. But even then surely the pros who put the bounty on the dude didn’t want to give him an advantage. I’m leaning neither camp, fwiw, but not confident in it.

 

[Frogzilla]

Just looked up results of the WSOP Hall of Fame bounty…15 players had the $2000 bounty (full buy-in, big bounty). 15% cash so expected 2.25 players, actual was 3. Small sample but it is a data point.

https://www.pokernews.com/tours/wsop/2023-wsop/event-86-poker-hall-of-fame-bounty/

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

For sure take it out of prize pool.

As to fairness (and if it’s league champ it’s probably fine to be a little unfair), but anyways I’m not convinced whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage (or neither) to be the player with a bounty. Discussion in this thread seems to treat as disadvantage. But conversation a couple months ago in pokerland about that bounty on the dude in the Florida ladies event (the dude ended up winning) was leaning towards that maybe it’s actually an advantage. But even then surely the pros who put the bounty on the dude didn’t want to give him an advantage. I’m leaning neither camp, fwiw, but not confident in it.

Interesting thoughts. In a tournament I'd lean towards disadvantage but like you said definitely not 100%. If I know people are calling me lighter than usual because of outside forces I tighten up and in theory can take better advantage of those spots, but tournaments have less of those spots and added pressure may stop me from using leverage I might otherwise have. Guess the bounty-layers can't assume the other players will correctly apply pressure, just that they'll apply pressure.

Just speaking in circles, you'd think I was paid by the word.

 

[Preditor]

We do $5 bounties. Everyone pays that, then I pull $15 from the prize pool and make last tournament’s winner the “Gold Bounty”

Our tournament’s are low buy-in. $30 with one rebuy option.

I had custom plaques made for standard bounties and I have a gold colored $20 plaque

I would love to see these plaques if you don't mind posting a picture. I am looking for bounty markers, and debating between having plaques made vs oversized chips.

 

[BGinGA]

If you want the last winner to have a bounty just do that. It's unfair, and that's what makes it good. Heavy is the crown. Just go with it. It's your game. I used to worry about stuff like this but there's no need. Just have fun. People are glad you're hosting and having a target is awesome.

We do this in our league tournaments. First event of the season, the 'Previous Winner' bounty is on the last season's champion. For all subsequent events, it's on the winner of the previous league tournament.

Proceeds to pay the bounty winner come from the League Finals pool, which is funded by money withheld from each event.

 

[Preditor]

We do $5 bounties. Everyone pays that, then I pull $15 from the prize pool and make last tournament’s winner the “Gold Bounty”

Our tournament’s are low buy-in. $30 with one rebuy option.

I had custom plaques made for standard bounties and I have a gold colored $20 plaque

Just spit-balling here based on this thread. Planning to add a $10 bounty to our $30 tournament, and love the idea of a "most wanted".

But I don't love funding it from the prize pool.

This wouldn't quite work with your system since you triple your most-wanted bounty, but I was thinking "double-bounty on the previous winner" and funding it with that night's tournament winner's bounty.

I.E., if you win the tournament - since you're already getting at least one bounty from the second place winner and the prize money - instead of getting your initial $10 bounty back, your bounty goes to pay the most-wanted portion on last tournament's winner.

Only issue is if the same person wins two tourneys in a row or if last winner didn't show up to the next event. Trying to figure out how to fund it without the house withholding money event to event.

 

[GrindstonePoker]

$20 plaque is from Apache and the custom $5 I did through BRPro

 

[CSW]

Just spit-balling here based on this thread. Planning to add a $10 bounty to our $30 tournament, and love the idea of a "most wanted".

But I don't love funding it from the prize pool.

This wouldn't quite work with your system since you triple your most-wanted bounty, but I was thinking "double-bounty on the previous winner" and funding it with that night's tournament winner's bounty.

I.E., if you win the tournament - since you're already getting at least one bounty from the second place winner and the prize money - instead of getting your initial $10 bounty back, your bounty goes to pay the most-wanted portion on last tournament's winner.

Only issue is if the same person wins two tourneys in a row or if last winner didn't show up to the next event. Trying to figure out how to fund it without the house withholding money event to event.

This seems like it works. But wouldn’t this functionally be the same as just decreasing the first prize payout by $10 (thereby funding the double bounty from the prize pool)? Just not sure what you are trying to avoid by not funding the double bounty from the prize pool.

For what it is worth, I fund the ”most wanted” bounty from the prize pool. Usually this results in taking $5 from first place (we have a $5 bounty on a $20 buy-in). If the same person wins back-to-back tournaments, no double bounty is awarded and their “most wanted” bounty is triple in the next game. If the previous winner doesn’t attend the next game, then his/her double bounty is in play during the next game that they attend. That results in some games having two “most wanted” bounties in play.

 

[Preditor]

This seems like it works. But wouldn’t this functionally be the same as just decreasing the first prize payout by $10 (thereby funding the double bounty from the prize pool)? Just not sure what you are trying to avoid by not funding the double bounty from the prize pool.

Funding from the prize pool dilutes the winnings from all players who place (unless you do it your way), when funding it from first-place's bounty only dilutes from the person who wins most of the money for the night anyway.

I also like that it keeps bounty-money funding bounty-money, and tourney-money funding prize-pool-money. Keeping them separate seems cleaner to me.

It also means that everyone only gets bounty-money for knockouts, not for merely surviving.

Still, the problem with my way is if a person who won last time doesn't come next time. You would probably need to dip into the prize pool then, like you suggest.

 

[GrindstonePoker]

I should clarify that this is only for our league tournaments. We have a championship pool that pulls $5 from every entry and rebuy throughout the season and the extra $15 comes from there. The winners of the specific tournament gets full compensation.