Tournament Structures

There seems to be continuous discussion by many players regarding the tournament structures now being used in tournaments. Basically, two types of structures are used. One is the "old structure" (herein referred to as the Jack McClelland structure), and the other is the TEARS (Tournament Evaluation and Rating System) structure, established by Tex Morgan.

Here are some major tournaments that have used these structures in 2001. The McClelland structure was used at the L.A. Poker Classic and the California State Poker Championship (Commerce Casino), the World Poker Open (Horseshoe and Gold Strike casinos in Tunica, Mississippi), and the recent Four Queens Poker Classic (Four Queens in Las Vegas). The TEARS structure was used at the World Poker Challenge (Reno Hilton), the World Series of Poker (Binion's Horseshoe), the Tournament of Champions (Orleans in Las Vegas), and the Legends of Poker (Bicycle Casino).

TEARS was designed so that every tournament would have a gradual progression of limits over a predetermined length of time for a tournament. (Tex couldn't stand the double jump in limits during tournaments and wanted players to have more time to play in the early stages.) With TEARS, the limits and starting amount of chips remain fixed based on the buy-in. But, the length of time for each level is based on the number of entrants (and the length of time that the tournament director wants the tournament to last).

The McClelland structure (so named because Jack uses it at all of the tournaments he directs) starts at a higher limit (or two) than TEARS, the levels last longer, and the limit jumps are bigger. Although the McClelland structure eliminates players faster in the first few rounds, it provides more time to play at the end of a tournament.

As I see it, the line in the sand between these structures is pretty much based on the difference in players. Players who don't mind being eliminated early from tournaments (so they can go play cash games) tend to favor the McClelland structure. Players who especially like to play tournaments (and may come to the casino just to play a tournament on a particular day) seem to favor the TEARS structure. They believe they will last longer and thus get more play for their buck.

Here's what happens with these structures: After two or three hours, the McClelland structure has eliminated far more players from the tournament than the TEARS structure. (Fewer players have more chips as opposed to more players having fewer chips with TEARS.) The bottom line is, more players last longer with TEARS, but they have to play faster and get luckier at the end to win.

Once during the WSOP, I asked Ted Forrest his opinion about a structure in which you would play for a shorter period of time at the lower limits and for a longer period of time at the higher limits. He exclaimed, "I'm all for that! In fact, I would love to see the first four or five limits here (at the WSOP) be 30 minutes each, and all the remaining limits be two hours each."

Ted, of course, is a high-stakes player who loves cash games. You can see that he wouldn't mind playing fast early, and if he's knocked out, just shrug his shoulders and go play in a cash game. I think many top professionals agree with this philosophy. Most don't want to play six to eight hours in a tournament and end up with nothing. With Ted's format, you would be close to the money in a short period of time. I must say, however, that I can't see players putting up WSOP-type buy-ins to play for an hour or two.

Every system can be improved. I have found Tex Morgan to be very open to players' suggestions to improve TEARS. My suggestion to Tex (and all tournament directors) is to make sure players have time to play at the final table of a championship event (one in which the final table assembles the following day).

You can do this by starting the final table at a level at which the blinds/antes equal no more than 10 percent of the average stack size (5 percent would be ideal, but 10 percent is fine). This means that it should not cost a player more than 10 percent of his stack (assuming that he has an average stack) in blinds/antes to play one full round. You will know what that average is as soon as the tournament kicks off, and can program a final-table structure accordingly, regardless of what limit was finished the night before.

Here's something for you to remember: Surinder Sunar (a top player from London) once told me, "It shouldn't matter what the structure is – good players should be able to adapt." I agree.

Take care.