BetOnline Poker’s new tournament schedule adds an exciting new dimension to the site and should please the majority of low to mid-stakes players.
In the past, I’ve been a little critical of Bet Online Poker’s tournament schedule due to it being loaded with re-buy and add-on events. Some re-buy and add-on events in a tournament schedule are fine, but when players have few options other than to enter tournaments in which they will probably spend three times the buy-in (buy-in + re-buy + add-on), that displays a lack of imagination.
Fortunately, the days of practically every tournament at BetOnline Poker being a re-buy and add-on event look as if they are over. Although some re-buy and add-on events still remain, the new tournament schedule is packed full of new events and new formats, and even the old events have revised structures that will make them more enjoyable to play.
A Better Selection of Tournaments and Less Rake
The new tournament schedule at BetOnline Poker includes more freezeout events with guaranteed prize pools, new progressive knockout tournaments, and an increased number of short stack and mega stack events. There is also a new range of tournaments players can enter using Comp Points which pay out up to $250 in tournament money, which can then be used to enter the site´s more valuable tournaments.
Among further changes players will notice are standardized starting times, improved blind structures, more time to act, and longer late registration periods – something I´m not particularly a fan of, but which may be necessary if the site is going to refrain from packing the schedule with re-buy and add-on tournaments. The site has also reduced the entry fees for a number of tournaments.
With regards to the reduction in entry fees, charging less money to enter a turbo or hyper-turbo tournament has become an industry standard; but, rather than reduce the total buy-in amount – for example $10.00 + $1.00 > $10.00 + $0.50 – BetOnline Poker has kept the same total buy-ins and increased the amount of money being added to the prize pool – i.e. $10.00 +$1.00 > $10.50 + $0.50.
New Schedule Already Proving Popular with Players
Yesterday the tournament lobby was buzzing. This may be because yesterday was Labor Day and there were more players with time to play online poker than a regular Monday night, or it may have been due to the new Comp Points tournaments giving players a way to convert Comp Points into tournament money. Nonetheless, it look as though the new tournament schedule has been warmly received.
Most of the Mini Dozen events smashed their guarantees, as did the new progressive knockout tournaments – which are refreshingly advertised with just the prize pool guarantee, and not the prize pool plus the bounties. However, some of the new tournaments may have taken players by surprise, which resulted in a few potentially valuable overlays – particularly at micro and low stakes buy-ins.
We´re probably not going to know for sure how popular the new BetOnline Poker tournament schedule is until next weekend, when word of the improvements gets around and weekend players log in to see what all the fuss is about. It´s noticeable that the guarantees for the Sunday Main Event and Mini Main Event have not been increased yet. Maybe that´s something that will happen in the future.
New Freeroll Tournaments for New Players
One further change relates to the exclusive freeroll tournaments available for new players. Previously there was a once-a-month tournament with a $10,000 prize pool that every new player who had made their first deposit during the previous month could play in. It was a nice event to win, but a lot of new players finished out of the money due to their inexperience or a bad beat.
Now the promotion has been restructured to four, weekly freeroll tournaments – each with a prize pool of $2,500. Each week the structure of the tournaments will differ; so, for example, this coming Sunday´s freeroll is a heads-up Boost turbo event, while next Sunday´s tournament is a time-limited event which will last two hours. Other formats include 4-Max hyper turbos and freebuy events.
If you like the sound of the new tournament schedule at BetOnline Poker, and you do not yet have an account with the site, check out my BetOnline Poker review which has just been updated to reflect the recent changes. Be sure to understand the part about claiming the first deposit bonus and your tickets to the four freeroll tournaments – which could make a big difference to your BetOnline experience.
