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"ANTES UP" all this talk
with all the talk about antes coming into skypoker just wanted to get a feel of who is looking forward to this
personaly i am not looking forward to this at all.
my reason for this is purely because it forces action and put more of a gamble into the game in the later stages this is bad enough on 10 seat tables never mind 6 seated. i dont think it will speed up the tourney that much but i maybe wrong on that. overall i think it may take away a bit of value of the tournies. when rake is at 15% on some games i dont think it will be worth it. what are your views please point out the benifits i am missing.
thanks james
personaly i am not looking forward to this at all.
my reason for this is purely because it forces action and put more of a gamble into the game in the later stages this is bad enough on 10 seat tables never mind 6 seated. i dont think it will speed up the tourney that much but i maybe wrong on that. overall i think it may take away a bit of value of the tournies. when rake is at 15% on some games i dont think it will be worth it. what are your views please point out the benifits i am missing.
thanks james
Comments
It's already been said they'd be useful in maybe <5% of Sky Poker tournaments.
imo this is a plus for sky should sky just blend into the background with the rest??
Don't scare all the winning Sky MTT players.
Yes you are going to have to put points in the middle EVERY HAND.
The bubble might actually burst!! Which ones will get dealt QQ+ enough to stop their sharkscopes taking a huge dive...
When you talk of it increasing the gamble and taking a slice of skill away I think you have it the wrong way round tbh.
For one, there is such much more value in every single pot, so much more reason to steal the blinds/antes, which in turn completely affects how wide everyone should be raising, which in turns affects how wide everyone should be calling.
am i just being a little naive
I don't especially want to see antes on Sky because at the moment, to be blunt, the tournaments are a little bit soft. The players that are sitting and waiting for QQ or better are doing that because it's profitable. All the bad players eventually spew their chips to you. I quite fancy my game, so I think I'll be fine either way, but it will make it more tricky and increase the profitability of the worse players, not the more skillful.
It will effectively make every player in the tournament shorter-stacked, and I don't know how people can think that short-stack poker is more skillful than deep-stack poker.
That said, it's inevitable... Vive La Revolution!
I'm all for antes staying away please.
On the other hand, the good players, know there is much more to steal per pot, so widen their range, the better players are capable of assessing which players are passive and will give up their blinds/antes easy and which are not and so can use their skill to build up a big stack while the less skillful players slowly fade away.
Can't wait, so surprised it's taken so long to even be a consideration
Think the main reason was SKY structure for the MTT were in a word FAST - so antes before would have been a terrible idea
Now we have better structered MTT then antes would be great, bring on the world of "M"
No more sitting out, you have to play!
Found this article on casinosmack, might help some people understand what antes bring to a tournament
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If you believe having an ante is a detriment to a good tournament structure and increases the luck factor in tournaments, I have some bad news for you. You are wrong and I’d like to play with you on my left at my next tournament.
I’ve read several posts on poker forums lately. Each said basically the same thing. “I don’t like antes in poker tournaments. It increases the amount of chips I have to put into the pot each circuit. I’d rather increase the skill factor by getting to play more hands.” Well, I’m sorry to disappoint those of you who share that opinion, but I believe antes serve the exact opposite purpose. Antes are an asset to the players who know how to change gears and adapt their games to the blind structures they are playing. I would argue that antes enable the more skilled players to be more successful.
First, let’s get the basic fallacies out of the way. Having an ante in a tournament does not necessarily increase the amount of chips you put into a pot each circuit, at least not by a significant amount. By ensuring the Big Blind only increases by 25%-33% instead of 33%-50% as it does in many tournaments, and/or by increasing the length of blind rounds, tournament directors can pretty much dictate the amount of chips each player is forced to bet in each round.
Second, when antes are involved, several skills are very useful in taking down pots – skills that are the trademark of great poker players. Let’s examine a few of the skills needed and discuss why having antes makes these skills more important.
Reading Players: Players who can sense weakness in their opponents are better prepared to take advantage of situations in which a pot warrants “taking a shot”. Reading weakness is a skill set that many players do not possess. Taking advantage of the perceived weakness is something even fewer players have the heart to do. When antes are in the pot, this skill set can pay huge dividends.
Post-Flop Play: With more in the pot pre-flop, players often get better odds to call a raise and should do so with a wider range of starting hands. This forces a player to play better post-flop. Good post-flop play is often the difference between a good player and great player.
Bet-Sizing: Players who are better at sizing their pre-flop bets tend to fair better in games with antes since there is more to win. These players understand that position may dictate different “standard” raises and are willing to size their bet in accordance with the style of players who follow them.
Aggression: Phil Gordon said it best. There are five poker truths qualities that the great poker players all possess. Number one on the list: aggression. Aggressive poker is winning poker. Antes encourage aggression and reward those who are good at knowing when to be aggressive and how to pick their spots.
So, the next time you see a blind structure that includes antes, don’t shy away from it. Embrace it. Those antes may just be your ticket to a big payday.
Good morning.
I’ll just update you once again on the Antes situation, then leave you to it, as the subject seems to arise frequently, with the same points being made. Good points, too, but the eyes & ears upstairs already have it on board, & have done for some time.
Hope you do not consider this abrupt, or rude, but my old Chairman, (I used to have a proper job back in the day!), who was as sharp as a tack, used to say to me, after I repeatedly made the same point, “OK Kendall, I heard you the first 200 times”…..I loved that guy, he was so bright.
So, where are Sky Poker with antes?
It is quite a complex software addition (it just is, leave it at that please), but the development work was approved a while back, & it is already in development.
They even have a scheduled target date for it, but things being what they are with software, & so much important new stuff in the same development train, dates can move, so no dates will be made known. “Soon” is relative, but it will be soon. Nothing can or will change that.
The decision has been made, the development has begun, & we have a date. Thats it.
“Priorities” have also been questioned, quite reasonably.
Same answer, really.
The priorities have to be assessed & acted upon accordingly. Items in the mix, when prioritising this, include…..
1) The amount of Tourney traffic relative to Site Traffic as a whole. In the very broadest sense, Cash poker equates to a great deal more traffic than both MTT’s & SNG’s combined.
2) A lot of the new developments in train are important to cash game poker. Where far & away most traffic is.
3) Tourney traffic is substantially up y-o-y, so the "problem" needs viewing in that context.
4) Stuff such as the totally new “Client”, Synchronised breaks, Resizeable Tables, Auto Top Up, Late Registration, & a whole host of other things are also all in the development timeline. They have dates for ALL of those things, (all soon, too), & a lot more besides.
So, all those things had to be addressed, & prioritised accordingly for the Site as a whole.
Right or wrong, it is what it is, Antes are on the way, & a date is known. I can't add much to that, really.
Sky Poker are the only party in possession of all the facts needed to assess priorities, & that is what they have done, or tried to, to the best of their ability, with all the stats & facts they have at their disposal. I hope that helps you all, & be assured, Sky Poker listen to you as much as any Online Poker site ever could, or do.
Constructive feedback will always be listened to here, & acted upon where appropriate. If they got bit wrong, well it is what it is - but ALL priorities have to be assessed & addressed.
Have a good day.
Yes it will be possible to qualify from satellites but the majority of players will be from straight buy ins
I miss the days where you would see Debdobs Yidette Young Gun Jennyyyy etc playing in the BH and Primo
IMO £110 tourneys with antes could segregate and demoralise players.
I remember railing your tournaments Ryan. You were consistency personified. I remember cheering when you made your Vegas seat!
In all honesty if you were at the start of your journey into poker with a limited bankroll would antes and mega tourneys be better or worse for you?
perhaps sky could test it out in private team games
i hope i can adjust to antes only played them on stars and not many at that