Head's-up test match report

In preparation for the upcoming November head's-up event, I decided to host an exhibition head's-up tournament last Saturday night.

7 players participated who included myself, Jim O, Lolly, Keith, Angie, John M. and substitute player Fran D.

We decided to alter the blinds schedule a little by eliminating the antes and eliminating the second 2k/4k level. I had a running 10 minute clock on the screen which reset itself when it hit zero.

This way second round matches could start on a fresh 10 minutes even if there were first round matches in progress. I had the blinds taped to the wall in a few places around the table. They looked like this:

1. 500-1,000
2. 1,000-2,000
3. 1,500-3,000
4. 2,000-4,000
5. 3,000-6,000
6. 5,000-10,000
7. 7,000-15,000
8. 10,000-20,000

The match-up’s were randomly selected and the cards flew just after 7 P.M.

Jim and Angie’s match ended on the first hand. Both players made a full house and all the chips got in. Both players agreed Angie had the bigger boat and the match ended. 10 minutes later both players agreed there was an error and it was Jim who indeed had the bigger full house. But Angie’s second match had already begun so it was too late to change.

The other 2 first round matches (me & Fran and Keith & Lolly) lasted about an hour. Actually Keith & Lolly’s first round match got into the 7,000-15,000 level.

We took a 20 minute or so dinner break during the middle of the second round matches. The tournament resumed with most games getting into the 5,000-10,000 level before they ended.

John and Keith were the first 2 players eliminated with both of them going 0-2. Fran & Jim were next with respective records of 1-2. Angie cruised into the championship bracket with 2 consecutive wins over John and Lolly after the first round mishap. Lolly managed 2 wins before her second loss sent her to the rail. Despite a first round loss to Fran, I strung together 4 straight wins coming out of the losers bracket to face Angie in the championship.

We battled back and forth but Angie’s cards proved to be better and I was wore down and short stacked in the 3,000-6,000 level when I moved with A-8. Unfortunately Angie called with A-K and I was done.

Here is the completed bracket:

Here is what the payouts and points would have looked like had this been a league event:

Place	Player	Winnings	Record	Points
1	Angie	$85	4-0	5.91
2	Jason	$40	4-2	3.94
3	Lolly	0	2-2	2.95
T4	Jim	0	1-2	2.36
T4	Fran	0	1-2	2.36
T6	Keith	0	0-2	1.69
T6	John	0	0-2	1.69

This is with a $20 buy-in and minus 10% for a rake.

There were a few errors during tournament play. It started with blinds relative to the button. We finally got it right where the dealer was always the SB and acted first PF. There were some instances where a blind level was skipped for a few minutes but it was caught and corrected. This will probably happen again. The players just need to keep track.

Now here’s the shocker. We ended at 2:10 A.M. So it took as long as one of our standard 18-20 person tournaments. However, with more players and multiple games going, I don't think the tournament would go much longer. If we have an even field of players, then there will be an even number of first round matches. So if we have 16 players, then we would have 8 first round matches and then 8 second round matches. So I think things will run a little smoother/faster if we have an even number of players.

Originally I wanted to have a mandatory start time and if you did not arrive by that time, you were not included in the seating and were disqualified.  Now I'm leaning towards allowing late arriving, prepaid players to be blinded off at the rate of 2 big blinds per minute.

Obviously it will be best if everyone that intends on participating arrive on time.

I also want everyone to be aware that with an increased player field in a double-elimination tournament like this, you are going to have groups of players finishing with the same record and tying for places in the final results. As an example, I simulated a 16 player tournament. This was with a $40 buy-in and a 10% rake removed. Here were the results:

Place	Player	Winnings	Record	Points
1	Pat	$275.00	5-0	12.64
2	Mike	$140.00	6-2	8.43
T3	Nick	$53.33	3-2	6.32
T3	Jim H.	$53.33	3-2	6.32
T3	Jason Ta.	$53.33	3-2	6.32
T6	Lolly	$0.00	2-2	3.61
T6	Kyle	$0.00	2-2	3.61
T6	Jim O.	$0.00	2-2	3.61
T9	Angie	$0.00	1-2	2.52
T9	Bill	$0.00	1-2	2.52
T9	Anita	$0.00	1-2	2.52
T9	Eric Wej.	$0.00	1-2	2.52
T13	Jeff	$0.00	0-2	1.80
T13	John	$0.00	0-2	1.80
T13	Jim S.	$0.00	0-2	1.80
T13	Keith	$0.00	0-2	1.80

 
With 15-20 players, we pay the top 4 spots. In the above example, there is no 4th place. Nick, Jim H. and Jason Ta. split 3rd and 4th place money which totaled $160 giving each of them $53.33. In double or triple elimination matches with 16 players, you are guaranteed to have 3-4 players who will tie for 3rd place. The upside is most players on average will receive more points.

Feel free to email any comments, questions, concerns, etc.

~ Jason