Stars VIP Wild speculation

[1p0kerboy]

Bob-

Thanks for the advice on the limit front. I think I'll take it.

A lot of limit players don't realize how much variance there is in NL as well. During my worst stretch this year I dropped 17 buy-ins, which is the equivalent of 850 big bets in the limit world.

The more I'm thinking about this today the more I am getting discouraged. Perhaps I really need to spend some time comptenplating if this is really something I want to do.

But I guess if I try to make a run and it doesn't work that I will be okay.

I was surprised to see you say:

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Personally, I just don't have the concentration for it.

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Didn't you play a bunch of hands for days on end to make the Party Poker Million ship a few times back in the day?

Are you playing more no-limit these days?

[MicroBob]

When I play 8-10 tables or something in an effort to get points I can only maintain concentration for so long.

Yes, I played the necessary hands to make the Party cruise.
I also lost a ton of money doing it although not as much as the total value of the package.

I actually did the Party-marathon twice. But the first time Party still had a 4-table max so I earned my points while being able to see what was going on pretty much the whole way through.

On Stars or anywhere else,
I can sit there and play the hands. But I start daydreaming and I lose focus.

That's my biggest obstacle on all the points stuff. I try to squeeze in an extra table or two to earn more points. And then I start to lose, lose, lose.
And then I tell myself that was a stupid idea. And then I make the same mistake.

It's been a frsutrating year.

[Henry17]

If you make a run for it and don't make it you still get great value. Making SNE at 1M points is worth $120k-125k. If you end up short you still walk away with some decent value. It isn't an all or nothing situation.

[1p0kerboy]

RE: the tournament packages

Something that we didn't consider is the different payout structures from these events.

The PCA paid out 19.2% last year, while the EPT Grand Final and the WSOP both paid out in the 9-10% range. This could be important to players whom even a mini-cash is a decent boost to their bankroll.

[RikaKazak]

playing 10 hours a day for a month.....doable

playing 10 hours a day for 50 weeks.....VERY HARD!

Personally, I'd rather work on my game and increase my ptbb/100 then work on my "grinding game" and just sit in front of the computer a ton in 2008.

[MicroBob]

1pokerboy - that is something that I did consider actually although had not mentioned here.

While it doesn't really change the overall EV of Monte Carlo vs. Bahamas I did think of, "well, if I decide to take the Bahamas package anyway I should at least have a greater chance of cashing."

But I just don't know if that alone can justify it.
Maybe.


IF it turns out that the WSOP-ME is a 'have to play' situation instead of being able to just keep the cash like last year then I would definitely do the PCA instead of the WSOP-ME.
And that was when I thought the PCA was worth slightly less than the WSOP-ME package.

The WSOP-ME is worth $11k if they still allow you to just keep the cash...and is worth $12k if you actually play the event since they give you another $1k for doing that.

This is not an easy one though because the PCA is held in January and it's possible Stars won't know the status of their WSOP buy-in's and if they are going to do it the same way until much closer to the actual event in May or June or whatever.

I just like the fact that the PCA has a larger total of tournament stuff for the entire vacation.

PCA package - 33% on hotel/travel/food
WSOP if you play - 20% on hotel/travel

Plus, as you mentioned, a better chance of squeaking your way into the money at the PCA which is more attractive to me than some gigantic final-table prize-pool because even the lowest prize has significant value to me whereas I feel my chances of winning the whole thing are pretty unrealistic.

[1p0kerboy]

Some other things to consider...

This "package" is just that. It's not just a high stakes donkament. It's a vacation. I assume that you would be taking your wife? I would be taking mine...and likely my 2 step-sons too.

The cost of 4 plane tickets to Europe would be much more for me than tickets to the Bahamas. (I live in Florida). I'm not sure about the difference, but I assume it would be in the 1k to possibly 2k range. (Maybe someone with a better idea could chime in).

I know my family would have a blast at the Atlantis. And I also know that there are plenty of things to do in Las Vegas. My wife even has a close friend nearby that she would like to visit. So strangely enough, even though the EPT package is the best value, if I were to make Elite it might be the one I opt-out of.

Ideally Stars will see the dilemma they are putting us in and change the program to just give us all 3. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[MicroBob]

I think now when looking at the two I am an agreement that availability and convenience of taking along my GF for one trip or the other would be a significant consideration.

GF really wants to go to Europe too. But it just doesn't look like there's THAT much included with that tourney-package.

She had an absolutely awesome time on both of the Party cruises and I'm positive she would be blown away by Atlantis resort and the whole experience.


whereabout in Fla? I know my way around the state pretty well.

[1p0kerboy]

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whereabout in Fla? I know my way around the state pretty well.

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I think I read that you were in the state for a while near the panhandle I believe.

I'm on the other side just south of Daytona Beach.

[MicroBob]

we're in Panama City and will be heading to Miami for a few mths in January.
I've been to Daytona Bch several times.
One of my favorite old minor-league ball-parks.