POY contest: Know your rules!
By Paul Giambroni

One of the more enjoyable aspects of publishing The Cardroom is having a Player of the Year contest. When starting this search for Northern California poker’s elite players the idea centered on providing a free service to tournament players who regularly patronize our advertisers. We specifically mention “casinos that advertise” because the entire system was put into play on the backs of the cardrooms who make this newspaper possible.

Since a cardroom advertiser already has a vested interest in our paper, we felt that the fair thing to do was restrict participation to casinos that were “playing ball.” Any Northern California cardroom can potentially join in the fun; all they need to do is step up to the plate. The goal was to develop a system that would enhance the poker experience for the patrons of our advertisers with only a little extra effort and no extra cost.

We are happy to report that for the most part our system has worked well and created quite a buzz around the NorCal poker scene. As a matter of fact, our current champion, Gerry Davidow, found out he has become a marked man as a result of his victory in 2009. He has even agreed to take on all comers at a special Gerry Davidow Invitational Tournament at the Lucky Derby Casino in Citrus Heights on Aug. 14. If all goes well with this event we hope to take him on the road to visit some of our other participating casinos in the near future.

Nothing is perfect, however, as a recent influx of emails and phone calls has illustrated. While we love the interest this contest has generated, many of the questions asked can be answered with a quick look at the POY rules page on our website (www.norcalcardroom.com) or by checking in with the tournament director at your participating cardroom.

Hopefully, after reviewing the rules you’ll be better prepared to deal with any issues that may arise from taking part in this free contest, hosted by your local cardrooms—also for no charge. The main reason there are no big prizes attached to this contest is because, in only year number three, it is still a work in progress as we work out the kinks.

A good example of the unexpected occurred earlier this year when one of our participating casinos suddenly stopped advertising after the contest had already started. By dropping their ad they took themselves off the eligibility list. During this time the situation was apparently not explained to some of their players, and, unfortunately, they thought they were still getting points when they were not. After all, rules are rules.

Apparently there was an ownership change in progress which created a period of constrained expenditures. Despite our efforts to keep them involved at a minimum level they chose not to do so. By dropping all advertising connection with the paper they dropped out of the POY contest too.

Quite simply, this situation caught us by surprise in terms of the amount of unhappiness it created among some players (you know who you are). Can you imagine the situation if we were offering big prizes in addition to the trophy and bragging rights that currently come with this contest?

Because of this and other questions that have come up, we would like to share with you some of the things we’re doing to smooth out the current situation and continue to make your POY contest bigger and better for everyone.

1) The casino in question has been reinstated and is eligible to start sending points again. Because of any mix up that may have been perceived we have added the tournaments they sent in during their period of ineligibility (which go through April 20) and, if they’re willing and able to come up with all the correct data, any tournaments from April 20 to present. We suggest you ask them nicely if they can do this, as it will entail a fair amount of work on their part.

2) In the past, in an effort to maximize points for new players we have been willing to take tournament results dating back to the beginning of the contest, if the participating casino was willing to dig up the data. It has come to our attention that this is quite an onerous task to ask of them and puts them in a difficult position with their customers. Therefore, as of July 1, 2010 any new player signing up for the POY contest will only be eligible for points dating back one month before they signed up.

3) Check if the casino is participating in the POY before you play, or when giving the tournament director your POY ID when you make a final table. That way you know everything is running smoothly.

4) Know your POY ID. It’s not that hard. It’s the first four letters of your last name, followed by the first letter of your first name, then your area code and one random digit. If you can remember the system and the digit, you know your POY ID! (In cases where the last name is only two or three letters, an extra letter is used from the first name.)

5) When you make a final table, as previously mentioned, give your POY ID to the tournament director so the form can be filled out properly and completely. This is the only way to make certain you get your points. If we have more than one Bob Smith in the system and the Tournament Report Form just says “Bob Smith” with no POY ID, then nobody gets any points (sorry Bob). Players using different names at different casinos and basically not using their POY ID will probably find that their points never materialize. We have no crystal ball to tell one Bob Smith from another and the poker gods do not magically sort these things out.

6) Know the ten percent rule. When looking over the rules on our website, you should notice that points are awarded only to the top 10 percent of players (rounded up) and a maximum of 10 places total. This is probably the rule that is most important and many players aren’t aware of it. If there are 50 players in your tournament, only the top five will get points. If there are 51 we round up and give points to the top six. If you come in seventh place you may have “made the final table,” but our list only includes final tables when you also received points.

7) Know the chop rule. If your tournament has 51 players (six will receive points) but you chop the pot seven or more ways no one receives any points. If only six players are eligible for points we can’t give points seven ways. It doesn’t work that way. If you want your POY points, wait until you’re within the 10 percent rule before chopping.

8) We do not police the casinos that are participating or hound the tournament directors. If they’re not sending in your results you need to ask them why not. Be nice. They’re already going out of their way to provide you with this service. We, on the other hand, are just the clearing house, as it were, and can only work with the information that is sent to us in the proper format.

9) We’re doing the best we can to improve the system a little bit at a time. Your suggestions are always welcome, and we do have plans to upgrade things as we go along. In fact, we are currently exploring the idea of implementing a text message system to notify players when points updates have been posted, as well as upgrading the amount of information available on the website. These are works in progress and no timetable is currently set for them being up and running.

For the record, the casinos actively sending in POY Tournament Report forms are: Bay 101 Casino, Club One Casino, Livermore Casino, Lucky Buck Cardroom, Lucky Chances Casino, Lucky Derby Casino, The 101 Casino, and Wine Country Cardroom. If the casino where you play tournaments is not on this list, but their ad appears in our publication, they are eligible but currently inactive. Let them know if it’s important to you to receive your points. If your tournament casino is not advertising, feel free to ask them about that, too!

We hope this helps with any questions or concerns you may have about the Player of the Year Contest. It is our hope that you will continue to have a great time chasing the title of Northern California Poker Tournament Player of the Year!

For the most recent points update, click here!.