HULA Feedback Thread

[Sheriff Fatman]

Now that some of us have reached the end of our HULA schedule I thought it might be worth setting up a thread for any feedback (good or bad) so that Perseus, or whoever Commishes it, has feedback for the next event.

As a start, and in no particular order, my thoughts are as follows:

<ul type="square">[*] The $100 'retainer' to ensure matches get played was a great idea. Non-played matches didn't seem to be an issue this time round, which is great.
[*]Pokergrader's site would be worth using to keep track of the matches. Ensuring captains get access from the start of the next HULA will hopefully ensure they all use it.
[*]With regard to the HULA site, one problem I had was that I couldn't enter results if the opposing captain hadn't set the fixtures. I think both captains need to be able to add fixtures in case the home captain fails to do so.
[*]It would be a good idea for players to post their agreed fixture times (either via the site or in the results thread) so that everyone is aware that times have been set up. The final week this time around seemed to have a lot of late matches. It'd be helpful if we (captains and commish) could see if a date has been agreed so that we don't chase up unnecessarily.
[*]There was enough interest in this to consider expansion, both in terms of number of teams and increasing the players per team. Personally I like the idea of having 7 fixtures (so 8 players) per team as it might keep the fixtures alive longer and reduce the amount of 'dead rubbers'.
[*]I think I'd prefer more than 30BB starting stacks as its quite easy for a couple of early outdraws to leave you pretty much decimated. This is the first HULA I've played where I didn't have a match go to the 2nd blind level.
[*]I'd love to play a No-Limit version of this if there was interest.
[/list]
Just a few thoughts. Feel free to add your own. I don't intend anything I say to be a criticism of anyone or anything in particular. I just think we can use feedback like this to continue to improve HULA in future (and it has improved beyond recognition from the first 2 events).

Finally a big thank you to Perseus for organizing this, to Surf for holding the funds and to everyone involved for playing their matches. I had fun, despite the results!

Sheriff

[Wynton]

My only comment is that I have had some difficulty scheduling matches with opponents on different time zones (particularly when they also work a regular day job). I don't know if there is a real solution, but it would be nice if somehow opponents could be matched according to time zone (or at least if that factor could be considered by the captains making the schedules).

[MrWookie]

I don't know about the time zones thing, if it can be avoided. I'm sure some captains will want to make what they think is a favorable match up, and not consider the time zones.

I agree that the retainer fee seemed to work really well. I had originally just tossed that out there as a wild idea, and it turned out even better than I expected. Let's be sure to keep it.

I liked how the system of alternates worked.

One thing we're going to try in MiniHULA is to change the way the final match is played so that no one sits out. No one who's made it that far should "have" to sit out, nor should a captain "get" to sit out his worst player. The finals should represent the strength of the whole team. In the event that the teams split the matches 3-3, then each team will pick a champion to play the deciding match. We haven't done this yet, but we'll report back w/ the results of our experiment.

[pistolero]

I don't like how the system of alternates works. Unlike some people who may be content to sit out for a week, I signed up to play and that's what I want to do.

I posted this thread a few days ago, but it got few views and no replies. I tried to propose a fix to what I've seen go wrong with the MiniHULA league. It's a bit long, but I would appreciate some feedback.

[thedustbustr]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd love to play a No-Limit version of this if there was interest.

[/ QUOTE ]
im in. if you cross post in msnl and hsnl you'll get a ton of interest. a 300bb starting stack would be ideal (though matches could take 2 hours).

[MrWookie]

I read your post. I'm really not sure how your system of alternates works, and thus, if I like it at all.

[Wynton]

One more suggestion:

MiniHULA winner should challenge the HULA winner to a match.

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ][*]I think I'd prefer more than 30BB starting stacks as its quite easy for a couple of early outdraws to leave you pretty much decimated. This is the first HULA I've played where I didn't have a match go to the 2nd blind level.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree, 30BB is ideal for two evenly matched opponents. My games were all very long, much longer than I planned or had time for (with the exception of one match where I totally sucked by forgetting how to read hands HU and therefore lost very fast).

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[Guruman]

[ QUOTE ]
One more suggestion:

MiniHULA winner should challenge the HULA winner to a match.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like this one.

[pistolero]

[ QUOTE ]
I read your post. I'm really not sure how your system of alternates works, and thus, if I like it at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

Basically, starters always get to play if they want to. Alternates are only there to fill in when a starter can't play for some reason. Because it's out of the alternate's hands as to how many, if any, games he's called upon to play, he only pays a prorated amount of the entry fee. Likewise, if his teams wins, he wins a prorated amount.

It was the best I could come up with that was fair and solved the problems (as I saw them) of making a player sit out at least once per season and scrambling to find a replacement player if someone is unavailable or drops out.