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League format for cash games (1 Viewer)

thePokerClub

thePokerClub

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I think @louBdub used to have some cash king award given out for his cash games. But I haven't heard of many others using a tracking system. I agree with @Eriks that tracking and publishing wins and losses in cash games has the potential to drive away the losing players once they see how much they are losing.
 
Common theme for cash game players seems to be losses being tracked.

Here are a few things I mentioned in the other thread that are those non-performance related items that could be incentivized.
  • Participation
  • Knockouts
  • Hours played
  • Referrals
 
thePokerClub said:
Common theme for cash game players seems to be losses being tracked.

Here are a few things I mentioned in the other thread that are those non-performance related items that could be incentivized.
  • Participation
  • Knockouts
  • Hours played
  • Referrals
Click to expand...
What is it you’re thinking it’ll add to the cash game experience though? I like cash games because they are simple: you sit down, buy-in, play, add-on/rebuy/take a break as you please.

I like gambly additions like the nit game and bomb bots as well as playing circus games, but I’ve never felt the need to add anything other that isn’t part of the game.
 
DrStrange said:
If the host wants incentives for certain behaviors, do it with gifts, prizes, goodies etc. Tracking session results and posting them is a very bad idea.
Click to expand...
Yeah, at this point in the thread that is off the table. Last the running list had on it was...
  • Participation
  • Knockouts
  • Hours played
  • Referrals
 
High hands are nice too. Doesn't have to be the best for the session only, could also be highest hand for the season maybe?
 
upNdown said:
The idea of making knockouts a thing in cash games is making me crazy.
Click to expand...

I like cash games because they're easy to host. Give me money I give you chips. Then give me chips and I give you money. I don't want to score anything I don't want to track anything, show up play cards and have 1 to 7 drinks, and eat well!
 
Rule #1: Don’t tap the glass bro…

You want to do high hands or other props ok but not a league.
 
I played with some formulas but at the end of the day I came to the same conclusion everyone has: this isn't something I should do. Each cash session should be self-contained, people want to be able to put their past performances behind them.

The formula I came closest to implementing was this: sqrt(max chips on table / norm) * max( [(net profit) / (min buy-in) + 2], 1). In words, 1 point is down one buy-in, 2 is break-even, 3 is double up, etc. Minimum score of 1 to reward participation and not penalize rebuys. Then that value gets multiplied by a size-of-game factor ("norm" is a normalization factor I set to the expected average size of a game that season), the size of game factor is similar to a popular tournament formula.

What might work instead of publishing everyone's standings is to just publish the top 3 each week and crown a "player of the year" at the end of the season (but I don't really feel right about it yet).
 
thePokerClub said:
Primarily to promote consistent attendance and new player interest.

Overall rewarding engagement.
Click to expand...

I implemented a Bad Beat jackpot a couple years back, it has only hit twice and is currently at almost $600. New and old players are definitely incentivized to attend when it gets into those higher $ amounts. If you want more details on how I fund it lmk.

I try to reward attendance by keeping a running tally of how many games each of my players have played in (going back to 2016). The higher you are on the "leader board" the more likely you are to be invited for the next game. Securing a seat is not guaranteed if you fall out of the top ten.
 
TheYeti said:
I implemented a Bad Beat jackpot a couple years back, it has only hit twice and is currently at almost $600. New and old players are definitely incentivized to attend when it gets into those higher $ amounts. If you want more details on how I fund it lmk.

I try to reward attendance by keeping a running tally of how many games each of my players have played in (going back to 2016). The higher you are on the "leader board" the more likely you are to be invited for the next game. Securing a seat is not guaranteed if you fall out of the top ten.
Click to expand...

Building off what you mentioned here regarding tally/points for participation provide points for the following:
  • Participation (fixed for everyone that attends)
  • Hours Played (variable based on each players time in game)
  • Referrals (fixed for each referral players bring to the game)
Keep a running LeaderBoard and make that visible to the group before and after each game.

Rake each hand - keep this small. This goes into something called the 'Kings Game' Pool. Define what 'ends' the season and triggers the pool activation. Let's say 'First-to-50 Points'.

After that the Pool gets dispersed as cash to supplement player buy-ins (amount based on LeaderBoard standing at the end of the season) at the next game....'The Kings Game' or [enter name of your choice here].

Something that rewards players for engagement, but also gives them something fun to shoot for as an extra cash bonus.

Something like that could grow a game over time.
 
I have tracked knockouts in my cash games, we call them kills. The stakes are low so there are rarely huge cash outs but the Killer of the season? That sounds like an award
 
It reminds me of a cartoon where the Pig is teaching the Rooster complicated sex positions. Rooster: "What if you just wanna get laid?"
Similarly, what if you just wanna play poker?
 
Gunnar said:
I have tracked knockouts in my cash games, we call them kills. The stakes are low so there are rarely huge cash outs but the Killer of the season? That sounds like an award
Click to expand...

I can picture a '2025 Killer of the Year' card protecter coin lol
 
If you want to reward engagement I think going the route of mini games or games within the game is your best bet.

I recently started a “high hand bonus” which is paid to the one who holds the highest winning hand within an hour or so. I left the time limit up to the players who attended that game. Winner was paid out an agreed amount before the timer started. This also helped try to increase hands played overall.

We throw in the Nit game and bomb pots as well.

Although some might begin to dislike these games if they’re not the usual winners but you never really know what can happen.

I’ll be honest I usually throw together an info graphic of the results the following day in the group chat but it only includes the usual suspects. The response is typically shit talking and photo dumps from the players who attended. After thinking about it I may see what the consensus is about sending the info graphic.
 
thePokerClub said:
Building off what you mentioned here regarding tally/points for participation provide points for the following:
  • Participation (fixed for everyone that attends)
  • Hours Played (variable based on each players time in game)
  • Referrals (fixed for each referral players bring to the game)
Keep a running LeaderBoard and make that visible to the group before and after each game.

Rake each hand - keep this small. This goes into something called the 'Kings Game' Pool. Define what 'ends' the season and triggers the pool activation. Let's say 'First-to-50 Points'.

After that the Pool gets dispersed as cash to supplement player buy-ins (amount based on LeaderBoard standing at the end of the season) at the next game....'The Kings Game' or [enter name of your choice here].

Something that rewards players for engagement, but also gives them something fun to shoot for as an extra cash bonus.

Something like that could grow a game over time.
Click to expand...

I think tracking players' hours would be a PITA, but I do like the idea of players getting points for referrals, I may just implement that!

Raking every hand is also a PITA. We round down everyone at cash out to the nearest $5 (25¢/50¢ game), charge 1BB per street to rabbit hunt, and take 1BB per player from every bomb pot to fund our Bad Beat.
 
TheYeti said:
I think tracking players' hours would be a PITA, but I do like the idea of players getting points for referrals, I may just implement that!

Raking every hand is also a PITA. We round down everyone at cash out to the nearest $5 (25¢/50¢ game), charge 1BB per street to rabbit hunt, and take 1BB per player from every bomb pot to fund our Bad Beat.
Click to expand...

Delegation fine sir, delegation. For the hours piece the host could simply provide a log in/log out sheet. The player is required to note their time and bring to the host for approval. For those that find that to be too much work, the points will reflect that.

Interesting idea about the 1BB charge to rabbit hunt. Rabbit hunting is fun, but really a bad habit in my personal opinion. When the hand is over...it is over. Forget it and get into the next hand otherwise you get in your own head. At my club we strongly promote it as a competitive learning environment. I can see that charge to rabbit hunt eventually working that bad habit out of the mix.

Again, just my personal opinion on rabbit hunting.
 
Yup, after I implemented the rabbit hunting "fine" about a year ago, I've seen it twice. Before that, it was at least once per game. lol
 
What's the problem with rabbit-hunting among supposed friends in a home game?
 

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