Comparison of online MTT structures as of 3/3/06

[burningyen]

Once again here's a chart comparing the MTT structures at Ultimatebet, Pokerstars, Party, Full Tilt, Paradise, Pokerroom, Bodog, Absolute, and Bugsy's Club. In order to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the different starting stacks, blinds, antes and level lengths, I divided the cost of a round (SB + BB + a round of antes) for each level by the starting stack, sort of an inverse M calculation. For the sites that use 9-seat tables (Pokerstars, Full Tilt and Bodog), I multiplied the cost of a round by 10/9 since you will see 10/9 more rounds per level. A truly anal comparison would take into account differences in hands dealt per hour. From my small sample of Pokertracker stats, it seems to me that UB deals more hands per hour than the other sites, which effectively makes their structures even slower. But I didn't bother adjusting for that here (maybe next time). Finally, I compared the effective cost per round at the end of each hour of actual playing time -- i.e. not including breaks -- to account for the different level lengths.

I didn't look at turbos, rebuys and certain special events, which often use different structures.

So here's what I found in terms of the effective cost of a round as a percentage of the starting stack by the end of each hour of play:



My abbreviations:

UB1 = UB smaller than $100+9 (1500 chips, 12-minute levels)
UB2 = UB $100+9 and bigger, smaller than $500+30 (2500 chips, 15-minute levels)
UB3 = UB $500+30 (5000 chips, 20-minute levels)

All UB MTTs start with blinds at 5/10.

BC1 = Bugsy's $50+5 or smaller (10,000 chips, 10-minute levels)
BC2 = Bugsy's $50+5 or bigger (10,000 chips, 15-minute levels)

All Bugsy's MTTs start with blinds at 25/50. $50+5s can use either 10- or 15-minute levels.

PT1 = Party smaller than $215* (3000 chips, 15-minute levels)
PT2 = Party $215 or bigger* (5000 chips, 20-minute levels)

All Party MTTs start with blinds at 20/40. *Some of Party's bigger buy-in MTTs (e.g. the $270 WSOP Gateways) use the PT1 structure.

PS1 = Pokerstars smaller than $200+15 (1500 chips, 15-minute levels)
PS2 = Pokerstars $200+15 (2500 chips, 15-minute levels
PS3 = Pokerstars bigger than $200+15 (2500 chips, 20-minute levels)
PS4 = Pokerstars "deep stack" MTTs (5000 chips, 30-minute levels)

All Pokerstars MTTs start with blinds at 10/20.

FT1 = Full Tilt smaller than $100+9 (1500 chips, 10-minute levels)
FT2 = Full Tilt $100+9 or bigger (2000 chips, 10-minute levels)

All Full Tilt MTTs start with blinds at 15/30.

PA1 = Paradise smaller than $25 (1500 chips, 10-minute levels)
PA2 = Paradise $25 (1500 chips, 12-minute levels)
PA3 = Paradise $30 or bigger, smaller than $200 (1500 chips, 15-minute levels)
PA4 = Paradise $200 or bigger (2500 chips, 20-minute levels)

All Paradise MTTs start with blinds at 10/20.

PR1 = Pokerroom smaller than $50+4 (1500 chips, 12-minute levels)
PR2 = Pokerroom $50+4 or bigger, smaller than $300+20 (1500 chips, 15-minute levels)
PR3 = Pokerroom $300+20 or bigger (2500 chips, 15-minute levels)
PR4 = Pokerroom $250+17 "Ace of Aces" (5000, 20-minute levels)

All Pokerroom MTTs start with blinds at 10/20.

BD1 = Bodog "small" (1500 chips, 12-minute levels)
BD2 = Bodog "big" (2500 chips, 15-minute levels)

All Bodog MTTs start with blinds at 5/10. I couldn't tell where the cut-off was between the "small" and "big" buy-ins. If you know, please tell me.

AB1 = Absolute smaller than $150+12 (1500 chips, 10-minute levels)
AB2 = Absolute $150+12 or bigger (2500 chips, 10-minute levels)

All Absolute MTTs start with blinds at 10/20.

Hope you found this useful. One thing I'd like to note: what I don't like to see are people debating which site has the "best" structures. It's ok to debate which one has the slowest structures (and the above chart isn't even the definitive answer to that question due to differences in # of hands/hour and when hand-for-hand play starts and stops). But slower isn't better for all people in all situations. Yes, a slow structure will allow skill to play a bigger role in a MTT, but there's something to be said for getting to bed at a reasonable hour. Personally, I love that the different sites offer very different structures. I hope that these comparisons don't lead to the sites all becoming clones of each other.

[DoubleLucky]

PokerRoom also has a T5000, 20 minute, "Ace of Aces" MTT that they run a couple times a week. It has very slow blind increases and is probably the best reguarly scheduled tourney structure on the net.

[Exitonly]

[ QUOTE ]
PokerRoom also has a T5000, 20 minute, "Ace of Aces" MTT that they run a couple times a week. It has very slow blind increases and is probably the best reguarly scheduled tourney structure on the net.

[/ QUOTE ]


buyin? whats the normal prizepool?

[Soul Rebel]

Pokerroom recently changed these things. ITs now like a $235, and first and maybe second get seats at a WPT or WSOP event or something. Check the website, but I'm pretty sure there's no longer cash at the end of these.

[burningyen]

[ QUOTE ]
Pokerroom recently changed these things. ITs now like a $235, and first and maybe second get seats at a WPT or WSOP event or something. Check the website, but I'm pretty sure there's no longer cash at the end of these.

[/ QUOTE ]

Checked the website and it looks like the buy-ins for these were $150+12 last month, $250+17 this month. You get $5000 and an entry into a freeroll for a WSOP seat if you score the most points in all the Ace of Aces tourneys for the month.

[Soul Rebel]

Oh ok, must have misread it. Didn't mean to confuse anyone.

[Saba]

thx thx for this one

[Niggel]

Thanks...
Really heflpful! Great job!

[Exitonly]

Nice nice, thank you for doing this.

[THEOSU]

TY for this update, very helpful.

Those deepstack tourneys on stars sure are nuts.