Tournaments that count in the Player of the Year standings will be listed in Card Player magazine each issue. Events must meet all criteria to qualify. Changes from 2007 are indicated in boldface:
There are three criteria when calculating points:
Total points are calculated by multiplying the point factors of the three criteria:
Place finished: first place receives 120 points; second place, 100; third place, 80; fourth place, 60; fifth place, 50; sixth place, 40; seventh place, 30; eighth place, 20; ninth place, 10. In events with at least a $10,000 buy-in, the entire second table receives 6 points and the entire third table receives 3 points. In heads-up events with 64 entrants, first place receives 120 points; second place, 100; semi-finalists, 60 points. In heads-up events with 65-128 entrants, first place receives 120 points; second place, 100; semi-finalists, 60 points; quarter-finalists, 20 points. In heads-up events with 129-plus entrants, first place receives 120 points; second place, 100; semi-finalists, 60 points; quarter-finalists, 20 points; places nine through 16, 6 points.
Note: If there is a tie between two or more players, each receives the average number of points available. For example, if two players tie for ninth place, each receives half of the ninth-place points. Players receive points only if they are in the money. If a tournament pays only five places, only the top five players get points.
Buy-ins: $300-$999 = 1 point, $1,000-$2,499 = 2 points, $2,500-$4,999 = 3 points, $5,000-$9,999 = 4 points $10,000-$24,999 = 5 points, $25,000 or more = 6 points. The buy-in in rebuy tournaments is calculated by dividing the total gross prize pool by the number of entrants.
Number of entrants: 60-64 = 0.6 point, 65-74 = 0.7 point, 75-84 = 0.8 point, 85-94 = 0.9 point, 95-104 = 1 point. Every 10 additional number of entrants increases the number of points by 0.1 up to 3.9, with the number of entrants rounded to the nearest 10. 395-999 entrants = 4 points, 1,000-1,999 = 5 points, 2,000-3,999 entrants = 6 points, 4,000-plus entrants = 7 points. The maximum number of points is 7. Examples are: 57 players = 0 points, 72 players = 0.7 points, 132 players = 1.3 points, 135 players = 1.4 points, 382 players = 3.8 points, 650 players = 4 points, 8,565 players = 7 points.
Here is a hypothetical total point calculation example: You finished in eighth place in a $500 buy-in event that had 200 entrants. You receive 20 points for eighth place; the buy-in is $500, which is a 1-point event; and there are 200 entrants, which is good for 2 points. Thus, you receive 40 total points (20 x 1 x 2 = 40).
