- High Roller Event #14 of partypoker’s New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOP) caused consternation when players discovered during play that only two places would be paid.
- The $500 event guaranteed at least $20k for first and $10k for second—within an overall guarantee of $30k. On the day, the prize pool ballooned to over $70k.
- Many players complained during the tournament that they were unaware that only two places would be paid.
- Partypoker’s statement accepts poor communication, but insists the payout structure was intentional.
Last month’s High Roller Event #14 of partypoker’s New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOP) caused consternation when some players discovered during play that only two places would be paid.
Partypoker NJ has now released a statement which regrets “that [it] did not advertise this structure more as a feature of the event as the actual turnout and post-event comments indicate [it] might have had even greater participation.”
The Payout Structure
The $500 event guaranteed at least $20k for first and $10k for second—within an overall guarantee of $30k. On the day, over 150 players entered generating a prize pool of more than $70k.
Many players complained during the tournament that they were unaware that only two places would be paid—a steep payout structure that partypoker said arose from “strong interest” from players.
Partypoker’s statement explains that “while [it] recognize[s] advance communication was not great about exactly what might happen once (and if) the $30K guarantee was exceeded, the prize payout details were available for players to see before deciding whether/not to play.”
The lobby for the tournament clearly showed that two places would be awarded prize money, as advertised by the guarantee, but late registration meant that it did not become apparent until later in the event, when the guarantee was exceeded, that the extra prize pool would not result in more places being paid.
Partypoker said they will not be revisiting the payout structure for the event—the results will stand—but said that they would “take greater care in the future about emphasizing special payout structures when scheduling similar events, and hope you all return for those series.”
Players React
Initial player responses to the statement were not complimentary, arguing that the partypoker tournament lobby does not explain how the payout structure will change as the prize pool increases—something that is available in the PokerStars tournament lobbies.
The general mood of player posts on forums is that partypoker made a mistake, and does not want to admit it.
A payout structure that only pays the top two spots in a relatively large field tournament is most unusual—the idea that partypoker would not have advertised it widely, if the structure was truly intended, has players perplexed.
