Season 3 Hard-Boiled Poker Home Games Update (Season Ends Sunday)

I wanted to give a quick update today on the Hard-Boiled Poker Home Games Season 3 series that will be coming to an end this Sunday, March 31st.

Like the first two HBP HG series, this third one is featuring 20 tournaments total, with the last three events playing out Sunday (3/31) as follows:

Event 18: 16:00 ET -- Triple Stud

Event 19: 20:00 ET -- No-Limit Hold’em

Event 20: 21:00 ET -- 8-Game

All of my tournaments feature buy-ins of 530 play money chips. All also feature starting stacks of 3,000 chips, with the 16:00 and 21:00 tourneys using three-minute levels and the 20:00 one having levels lasting five minutes each. Most tourneys tend to last a little over an hour, with that 20:00 one sometimes extending a little longer.

I had originally only had tournaments on Sunday evenings, which usually works out well for me and also seems to suit the schedules of a lot of my American buddies who have been playing. However, those events don’t really work for the Europeans, and I know there are a few who’d like to play occasionally. Thus did I add the Sunday afternoon events, although the turnouts for those have been on the small side so I might not continue that going forward.

So far tournaments have had as many as 16 players participating, with the usual field size being around a dozen. While there are play money prizes for top finishers, what everyone is really playing for are points for the season standings. Those are awarded to the top third of the field for each event (e.g., for a 12-player tourney, the top four get points).

Here’s a look at the Season 3 leader board through 17 events:

RiVeRrAtAcE has won three events so far, thus helping him secure first position with three tourneys left to go. Somehow I’ve lucked into second place in these standings, although when it comes to awarding prizes to the top three finishers, I’m not part of that equation. Thus if the season were to end today, SmBoatDrinks and Psx120 would be eligible for prizes with FBees89 being the Season 3 bubble boy.

Points are calculated according to the number of entrants, and for most events the winner has picked up more than four points. That means RiVeRrAtAcE does not have Season 3 locked up just yet, as a couple of good finishes by those in the chase pack can push them ahead of him in the standings.

This time I have two books and one DVD I plan to give as prizes. One book is Reading Poker Tells by Zach Elwood, which I reviewed for Betfair Poker last year. Another is a copy of Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire’s Lost Vegas, which I also reviewed for Betfair Poker when it first came out in 2010. Finally I have DVD copies of Rounders, one of which is a regular DVD and the other Blu-Ray; whoever wins the DVD will get to choose among the formats (i.e., I’m only giving away one of the two DVDs this time).

The first-place finisher will get to choose between three prizes -- either of the two books or a Rounders DVD (in whichever format the winner prefers). Then the second-place finisher gets to choose between whatever two prizes are left, and the third-place finisher gets the last item. I’ll be mailing the prizes.

I will probably start a Season 4 in April, which again will last for three months through the end of June. Once again I’ll be mixing up the offerings, including a lot of non-hold’em events and perhaps even those new 5-Card Omaha games PokerStars has started to offer if they become options (they haven’t yet).

If you haven’t played and want to join my Home Games club, see the info on the right-hand column for doing so. Right now I only have a few spots left before the club reaches 100 players, which I’ve been told is the maximum PokerStars will allow for these play money-only clubs. But if I reach 100, I’ll start removing some players who haven’t been participating so as to open up spots.

Meanwhile, let me ask those who have been playing to send along any suggestions regarding times, types of games, or anything else regarding the HBP HGs.