Would you like to play against the pro's.

[maccatak11]

LOL , yes had a few ..... i think .... maybe

Don't think me adding was too accurate last night ...

.... but do we drop the membership and 10 away game qualification and allow poker pros to buy in directly?

Definately NOT ! !

g'day Garth , personally i think the 10 away game rule should stand

I agree. The 888pl Grand Final should remain an 888pl event.

[bennymacca]

i dont have an issue either way, as long as it is clearly communicated.

having said that, i like the grand final as it is now.

i think a better option for the "play against the pros" experience is to run more satellites to things like vic champs, ANZPT etc.

running these very regularly would be great as well.

[JMACK007]

i dont have an issue either way, as long as it is clearly communicated.

having said that, i like the grand final as it is now.

i think a better option for the "play against the pros" experience is to run more satellites to things like vic champs, ANZPT etc.

running these very regularly would be great as well.

Yep, benny the cunt pretty much nails it here.......

[Origami]

i dont have an issue either way, as long as it is clearly communicated.

having said that, i like the grand final as it is now.

i think a better option for the "play against the pros" experience is to run more satellites to things like vic champs, ANZPT etc.

running these very regularly would be great as well.

+ 2

[AJG]

I like benny the cunt's ideas above, but also think having large (prizepool) tournaments allowing pro's to buyin directly (no qualifying process) would be not only good for the league, but good for the players.

Maybe keep the GF's the same, but open a different tournament (just once a year?), keep the same ways to get there and have it known that anyone can buyin to the event, and to possibly expect pros will be playing. Seriously wouldnt expect major pro's to come and play though.... A number of them (Australians) are Pokerstars sponsored and probably wouldnt be allowed to play a tournament that had anything to do with another online poker site so no Eric Assadourian or Emad Tahtouh et. al. and I doubt a $500 game would attract the likes of Hachem (Joe or Tony), Lissandro, Nelson, Vos or Tony G... So not really sure what pros would actually play the event...?
So likely any pros that did play wouldnt be particularly well known (or known at all) which would detract somewhat from the advantages of having them in the event to begin with...

But overall, how can more players at the top end hurt the league?

Im certainly no wiz or pro but after some of the play I saw and heard about last Sunday at the SA Semi's, I would actually be quite interested in seeing how a pro would tackle this (them)... Likely have almost forgot what it is like playing someone who will ALMOST ALWAYS call your turn check raise semi-bluff with 2nd pair poor kicker or call 2 pretty much pot size bets (even a shove, deep) chasing that '9 high in the hand' flush, or worse: a gutshot... (which they spike on the river)
Also, ideally anyone could learn a thing or 2 from railing and/or playing against them...

Also, referring to Warne and Feneche as pros is a bit much isnt it? Correct me if Im wrong, but are they not just Celebs, with a bit of Game? I mean could any of them actually turn a profit over a year of playing big tournaments or 2500 hands at decent stakes cash games?

Just my 2c...

[bennymacca]

Also, referring to Warne and Feneche as pros is a bit much isnt it? Correct me if Im wrong, but are they not just Celebs, with a bit of Game? I mean could any of them actually turn a profit over a year of playing big tournaments or 2500 hands at decent stakes cash games?

Just my 2c...

Just used them as an example because they have played in a grand final. Certainly no seabeast or monsterdong, but they still would be a big step ahead of the general player. (heard warnie is pretty good, fenech not so much )

[rcon]

I can't recall if there has been wording to this effect, but I've always been under the impression the 888PL Grand Final was there so active members of the 888PL could have a chance at the big cash in their "back yard".

My question was not in regard to what has occurred and been said previously but what players would be interested in for future large buy in events.

My bad - I did not write particularly clearly, however I like what we have now, not just for now but for the future.

I like the fact the GF gives your average pub punter a shot as a decent BI without having wade thru pro fields. As much as I agree with a couple of posters that playing against the pros would improve their game, those interested in such improvement can go play in the casino. I personally intend to go this route sometime in the future.

Is there something lacking from the current model, or do you envisage a cap to its growth at a certain point and you're looking for a way around it?

I like the idea of more satellites for local casino MTTs, but dropping all entry conditions to "our GF" is in effect making "our" GF, "their" GF. You may as well just run an 888PL, $500 BI sponsored event similar to what the Aussie millions dude did.

[AJG]

I didnt mean to point toward anyone in particular benny the cunt, I remember reading a few posts that mention them...

[pmk]

If I may I’d like to offer a POV of someone who played in the said event (yeah I know... I’m bragging ner ner ner ner).

Being up against “pros” was a little intimidating at first but they still made bad calls and lost. A fair number of them were out quite early. Having said that I didn’t think it was a good idea to mix the levels of players and neither did a lot of NPL faithfuls. There were many players disgruntled and surprised that the pros were playing. And the pros were a bit blasé about it all anyway. $2200 buy-in? Chump change to them. One game they played with $615,000 first place prize money had $12 million in side bets!

In regards to the 888PL Grand Final, it is the culmination of a season of playing competitively against your peers and as such it should remain just that: the grand finale of the season. Ring-in pros may help the bottom line but I don’t believe it would be good for the league as it would take the edge of the players “ownership” of the final.

Why bother playing every week to make the final cut? Save the money spent on away games and just buy in directly.

I vote no to pros. I’m with benny the cunt, have a separate BI game.