[beekeeper]

It was only HORS--I wisely decided this group was not ready for two hi lo games.

We had a blast. My blind structure needs a little tweaking, but otherwise it was a great experiment and I'll definitely be doing it again soon.

I learned a couple of things from the experiment. First, 15 minute levels are not long enough if more than half the players have only played hold'em. We had 6 players per table and at least for razz and omaha 8 we didn't completely make one orbit in that 15 minutes. Secondly, for the tournament director, it is a very busy tournament. Novices have a lot of questions. I should have had a couple of practice rounds on all the games before we started the tournament. Third, a knowledgeable person should sit in the middle of each table, and split the pot in split pot games as the pot builds. That simplifies things. Fourth, if your friends are like mine, and have only played hold'em, they've probably only played no limit. Teaching them limit just by itself can be confusing.

I got a few things right. First, I printed out a detailed breakdown of the blind structure, including the bring in and complete for the stud games, and made 4 copies, so each end of the table had one. Secondly, I did not raise the blinds with every level--that would have compounded the confusion. Instead, I had the same blinds for hold'em and omaha, then raised them for razz and stud, then raised them for HE & O8, etc. That really helped things run smoothly. Third, at our table, when we were playing O8, I would announce as soon as it was clear whether there was a qualifying low on the hand or not, to help the newbies.

That said, everyone said they really liked the experiment and want to do it again. I had a great time, even though I was teaching half the players as we played.

[ttflyr]

I give you a lot of credit. Hosting, directing, teaching, playing then posting the next day? You must love this poker stuff! Hosting alone takes quite an effort. At least sitting down and playing cards makes up for the effort of hosting. But teaching? I havn't found many people with that level of patience.

tt

[jdunford]

Originally Posted by ttflyr

I give you a lot of credit. Hosting, directing, teaching, playing then posting the next day? You must love this poker stuff! Hosting alone takes quite an effort. At least sitting down and playing cards makes up for the effort of hosting. But teaching? I havn't found many people with that level of patience.

Wow! I agree. That's a lot to teach at once!!

I took 6 months to work my group up to HORSE. Since most had only played NLHE, I decided that we should only learn one new thing each month. In addition to a short NLHE tournament each month (so people would show up), we had a 2nd tournament of strictly 1 of the games from HORSE:

January: FLHE
February: 7S(high)
March:Razz
April: 7S8
May: FLO8
June: HORSE tournament of champions

I still had to re-explain what a low hand was (especially to those that missed March), why their hands never seemed to qualify for low (in April/May/June), why 8-7-4-2-A beats 8-7-6-3-2 (April/May/June), etc., etc., etc. But it was fun, and now we regularly have HORSE cash games (or just FLO8 or just 7S8, etc.), plus a HORSE tournament about twice per year.

[Captn_All_In]

Excellent report beekeeper!! Glad everything worked out! I am hoping to have a SHO tournament sometime this winter. Would you mind sharing your blind schedule? I might mimic something you did.

Thanks again for the report!

Captn

[beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Captn_All_In

Would you mind sharing your blind schedule? I might mimic something you did.

Captn

Here you go Captn. (I've already tweaked it a little)

Hold'em & Omaha will be the sb, bb, flop, turn & river
Razz & Stud will be the ante, bring in, complete, 3rd & 4th st, 5th-7th st
Every complete rotation lasts 1 hour. With a starting stack of $2000, this should last 3 1/2-4 hours. With a starting stack of $1500, it should last 2 1/2-3

L1 HE...5.10.10.20.20
L2 O8...5.10.10.20.20

L3 R...5.10.20.20.40
L4 S...5.10.20.20.40

L5 HE...15.30.30.60.60
L6 O8...15.30.30.60.60

L7 R...5.25.50.50.100
L8 S...5.25.50.50.100

L9 HE....35.75.75.150.150
L10 O8...35.75.75.150.150

L11 R...10.50.100.100.200
L12 S...10.50.100.100.200

L13 HE...75.150.150.300.300
L14 O8...75.150.150.300.300

L15 R...25.100.200.200.400
L16 S...25.100.200.200.400

L18 HE...150.300.300.600.600
L19 O8...150.300.300.600.600

L20 R...25.100.200.200.400
L21 S...25.100.200.200.400

[Captn_All_In]

Thanks Beekeeper!! That is some pretty good stuff there!!

I hope to run a small cash game after our tourney tonight with SHO all high, then after doing that a few times I will do a HOE (holdem, O8, and 7S8or better) that should ease these guys into it and hopefully will be something we can do a semi regular basis, like maybe 1 night a month!!

Thanks Again!

[jdunford]

Am I the only person who actually likes Razz?

[Captn_All_In]

I enjoy it! Even though I have lost more times with a made 7 on 5th street than I care to think about!!