Do you like news about partypoker? Well, you are about to get more news about partypoker. The online poker room has announced that it will begin allowing players who wish to compete in the partypoker LIVE events the opportunity to begin the tournaments on the internet.
It sounds a little weird, but the structure is quite simple. Those who start the tournament online will compete during the first two days on partypoker and then join the live tournament on Day 3. Those playing at the live venue will just play poker as normal through the first two days.
Everyone who makes it to Day 3, whether they start online or live, will be in the money.
On the partypoker blog, partypoker Managing Director Tom Waters said:
This is a great concept and the fact that players will not have to travel to a live event until they are in the money is brilliant.
It means more flexibility for players and will save them on travel and expenses.
We’re trying to make our tournaments more accessible and I really hope this idea is a success, helping those players that find it difficult to take time off work, as well as reducing costs for everyone.
In a short video introducing the idea, partypoker LIVE founder and owner of the Dusk Till Dawn poker club Rob Yong said that he hopes that giving more players the opportunity to participate will bring more people out to the partypoker LIVE Main Events.
He added that this is in experimental mode right now and that if it’s a hit then partypoker will continue with it, but if players don’t like it, then they will ditch the concept.
There is no mention on the partypoker website of there being any break between Day 2 and Day 3, so one would assume that players who survive Day 2 online will still have to make it over to the partypoker LIVE venue for the tournament the next day. Thus, the players will still need to be within a reasonable travel distance. That said, it will definitely allow people to save time and money if they are knocked out in either of the first two days.
While different, the online-to-live format is not a completely foreign concept in poker. When the World Series of Poker introduced its first online bracelet event, it was scheduled to pause after the final table was determined and then moved to the Rio the next day to finish it up live. Players complained that those who lived several hours away would have a rough go of it if they made the final table and then immediately had to drive to Las Vegas, so a one-day gap was inserted.
After the first two years of online bracelet events, the World Series of Poker scrapped the live final table idea and kept all of the events completely online.
The next partypoker LIVE event is MILLIONS Vegas @ Aria from June 28th to July 2nd.
