You're a Bunch of Factors

Hey,

I have an idea that might help people support venues more.

Today, one of my favourite venues changed their stamping policy so they they were more in line with the rest of the venues around my area.

Make this absolutely clear, i am not complaining about the change at all. (i do have a slight gripe with the fact that they didnt tell anyone they were doing this change until the night, but thats not the point)


Most venues on a weeknight start at 730. By the time i get home from work at about 6, cook tea (cant afford to eat out every night), and get to poker, it is very rarely earlier than 7.10pm by the time i get to the venue and register.

i want to support the venue by buying my fair share of drinks at the bar, but this is pretty hard with only an hour to drink my drinks


So what i am suggesting

Venues set up a system to allow punters to pre-pay for drinks. This would allow me to put 20 bucks or whatever for 4 pints etc, get my cards stamped up, and not worry about sculling drinks before the first break.

A simple raffle ticket with the name of the drink could be given out and just handed in for a drink at a later stage. This would allow me to support the venue, while also drinking responsibly, and getting the full value out of my NPL night.

Any thoughts on this? write a comment below, and vote above

PS: I think some of the venues already do this, and most people are going to tell me to ask the venue (which i have done and will follow up with an email), but apparently this venue were given guidelines by the NPL for stamp issue, and they are taking this as gospel.

we do that at pooraka u can pre buy u drinks to get stamped up we play tuesday,s friday,s and sunday,s

At the Flying Club they keep a list on a pad behind the bar with your name and what you have to come.

At Parafield Gardens they keep your till tab behind the bar and cross off your drinks as you go.

At Para Hills it's the same as PG if you buy in the poker room and the bar person knows you.

Offer any of those to your venue opperator benny the cunt, hope it helps you.

In theory it is a good idea.

Imagine how much more stress the bar staff will have trying to sort out who has and hasn't paid for drinks.

What happens if you don't use the full value of your pre-paid drinks? Are you entitled to a refund because you didn't spend all of your "tab" or not because you were stamped up?

Just because your drinks are prepaid does not guarantee to anyone that that particular patron will drink responsibly.

Lastly, Some games you can't always get to early which is understandable and from my experience most staff and many venues will stamp up their regulars knowing that over the coarse of the night that regular will support the venue, but remember, NPL passports are not about drinking. NPL Passports are about supporting the venues that support free poker.

You can always enjoy a meal with you drink.

Nathan Butler

Nathan_Butler wrote:Imagin how much more stress the bar staff will have trying to sort out who has and hasn't paid for drinks.

i think that giving out tickets for drinks would be a good idea. not that hard to do

Nathan_Butler wrote:What happens if you don't use the full value of your pre-paid drinks? Are you entitled to a refund because you didn't spend all of your "tab" or not becuase you were stamped up?

if you dont drink all of your pre-paid drinks, then too bad - the patron still has the choice as to whether they want to pre-pay or not

Nathan_Butler wrote:Just becuase your drinks are prepaid does not garuntee to anyone that that particular patron will drink responcibly.

100% correct, but there are some people, like myself, that want to have 3 or 4 beers during a night, but smashing them down in an hour is not something that is easy to do on a weeknight!

Nathan_Butler wrote:Lastly, Some games you can't always get to early which is understandable and from my expreince most staff and many venues will stamp up their regulars knowing that over the coarse of the night that regular will support the venue, but remember, NPL passports are not about drinking. NPL Passports are about supporting the venues that support free poker.

right again nathan.

this would also work for people that want to drink coke as well.

last night i had 1 pint of beer, and 3 pints of coke, all in the first hour! would have been good to spread this out over the whole night.

Nathan_Butler wrote:You can always enjoy a meal with you drink.

this is true, but sometimes the earliest i could possibly get to a venue is 630 to 645 anyway, which doesnt leave much time for a meal. plus, i cant afford to me having a meal every time i play (i still do have regular meals before poker)

But Nathan, pooraka have been doin this for quite sometime, they have had no problems (as you know), would be good if more venues adopted this approach

Nathan_Butler wrote:In theory it is a good idea.

Imagine how much more stress the bar staff will have trying to sort out who has and hasn't paid for drinks.

What happens if you don't use the full value of your pre-paid drinks? Are you entitled to a refund because you didn't spend all of your "tab" or not because you were stamped up?

Just because your drinks are prepaid does not guarantee to anyone that that particular patron will drink responsibly.

Lastly, Some games you can't always get to early which is understandable and from my experience most staff and many venues will stamp up their regulars knowing that over the coarse of the night that regular will support the venue, but remember, NPL passports are not about drinking. NPL Passports are about supporting the venues that support free poker.

You can always enjoy a meal with you drink.

Nathan Butler

1. NO refund should be given, you take the risk when buying ur drinks in advance.

2. No such thing as "FREE" poker, i can go to a pub anyway and not spend a dime, they must be a duck of some sort. I know I spend between $40-$60 A NIGHT, sometimes more at the pub. Like you said staff member know who the regulars are and stamp them up in advance because they know ur always there spending ur hard earned cash at their venue. This happens for me at one venue for the first thing I buy, but I buy a meal there and drinks there 3 times a week.

spell checker please check.

[I checked it and fixed it, it hurt my brain - Pete]

It's hard, isn't it.

You can go to any pub in Australia, and put a credit card behind the bar, and get a "tab". You don't have to pay with the card in the end, it's just security.

In saying that, having 50 - 100 poker players having credit cards behind the bar would be quite hard.

Tickets are a good idea, but also have issues. I pay $20 for four beers. Do they write this on the ticket? Do they write the exact beer? If it's a glass or a bottle? What if I want a bourbon instead of a beer half way through? This could be a nightmare for staff (Roulettes with 140+ people would be interesting).

Maybe those people who want four of the same drink, could pay for them, and get 4 stamps, and then when they get each drink, get each square stamped again "above" the other stamp. Of course, this would mean you'd have to double stamp people who buy their drinks on the spot.

Getting there early is the key - although not possible for a lot of people.

Maybe the rules need to be relaxed. The NPL needs the pubs to pay for the event, and the pubs need the patrons to pay for the event. Both are just as happy to take money, but the second you don't have a card stamped when you lose your stack, you're out. Really, in the end, you're stopping the pub from making money by not letting someone stamp up afterwards. I'm not saying the rule should be changed, but it is something that contributes to the mass-buying of beverages before-hand.

Maybe you should be able to stamp up up until the start of the 300/600 blind level - ie, an extra blind level past what it is now.

Stamping up one card before you start really shouldn't be that hard. It's the second one that people have problems with it seems.

Table service helps. Although sometimes you can order a drink and hand over your cash and card, but wait 5+ minutes for the drink and stamped up card to return - in which time you're forced to make a decision about calling an in all (in fact I've seen people put other people all in before of this!).

I don't know, it's all too hard =) Just play like Pete does and there won't be an issue

ben walks into the the local pub at 7.15, and says to the bar tender "ill have a pint of beer now, and pre pay for another pint of beer and 2 cokes thanks"

bar tender says "ok no worries"

he comes back with the beer, and asks for 17 bucks which i give him. He then writes on some little orange raffle ticket stubs. pint of beer, coke, coke, and gives them an NPL stamp so that its hard to forge them.

he then stamps my cards up and gives me the tickets, and i go and play and have a good time and win the tournament and come back next week etc.

Is this hard to do? (except for me winning part)