[LearnedfromTV]

I like it.

I wouldn't want it to totally replace the current method, but I like it as an alternative. It would drastically reduce variance, play more like a cash game, and reward people who play well in the (lower-variance, deeper-stacked) early and middle stages to build a stack.

There would still be a bubble, certainly not as dramatic, but:

Say it's a 1000 player tournament, and a guy has 0.3% of the chips with 101 left. If the two buckets are 50/50, his prize if he makes it to #100 would be 0.15% of the prize pool, which is 1.5x his buyin (plus a small chance at the final table). This guy still feels the bubble. The only difference is, a 50/50 shot at doubling up is neutral EV for him, whereas it often wouldn't be in a normal payout structure. But people wanting to get their money back could still be exploited.