OBJECTIVES
1. To give all members the opportunity to win an entry into a live national tournament that might otherwise be outside their bankroll.
2. To share in the success of other members when they play a tournament seat won at BCPC.
3. To enjoy a friendly game of poker and learn from some very successful players in the process.
COST
£100 per season subscription plus £10 entry fee into each monthly game. There are six months in our season, two of which have a £10 bounty fee, and we also ask for £1.50 to pay the dealers, so the total cost to attend a full season is £189. The £100 subs need to be paid in 3 installments in games 1, 2 and 3. Subs can be paid earlier if you want. Some people pay the whole £100 upfront by bank transfer.
TARGET TOURNAMENTS
Roughly the top 1/3rd or so in the league will receive a seat ranging in value from around £1,000 down to a minimum of £150. Any prize money won in these events is split, with 50% going to the player and the other 50% being shared equally between the other league players. So far members have shared several paybacks in excess of £1,000.
GAME NIGHT
Fridays, usually the 2nd one each month.
VENUE
The Wheatsheaf, 379 High St, West Bromwich B70 9QW
STRUCTURE
Each month we play a £10 live game with the top 3, 4 or 5 getting paid on the night (less 10% retained to patr-fund the annual Battle of the Champions tournament). We operate on a 30-minute clock for first three levels and then 25-minute clock afterwards, with structures as follows:
Week 1: 8,000 Chip Freezout (bounty – £10 bounty per player)
Week 2: 8,000 Chip Freezout
Week 3: 8,000 Chip Freezout
Week 4: 8,000 Chip Freezout (mystery bounty – £10 bounty per player)
Week 5: 8,000 Chip Freezout
Week 6: 8,000 Chip Freezout – the winner of this game gets an extra £60 seat into a tournament of their choice
We employ the use of ‘big blind antes’. The ‘Shirt of Shame’ is worn by the player at the bottom of the table (or the person who was first out in the previous game, if there is a tie) – there is a penalty of posting a big blind for every hand that you are not wearing it! The ‘Cap of Crap’ is worn by the first player out in the previous game – there is also a penalty of posting a big blind for every hand that you are not wearing this!
Players making the 10-man final table will receive league points as follows:
| Position | Points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 15 |
| 2nd | 12 |
| 3rd | 10 |
| 4th | 8 |
| 5th | 6 |
| 6th | 5 |
| 7th | 4 |
| 8th | 3 |
| 9th | 2 |
| 10th | 1 |
For league purposes only your best 4 results count (using a countback system, and using 5th and 6th best finishes in the event that two or more people have the same best 4 results). Therefore if you are unable to make a game you do not get penalised, although you do have to pay your subscriptions even if you do not play.
All players involved in a season are assumed to be attending every game night. If you cannot attend, please notify Brian before pm on game night or your chips will be in play and you will owe £10.
If you are late, your chips are in play. However, if you haven’t said that you’ll definitely turn up then from the start of level 4 you will have to pay the big blind every hand.
Players sitting in the middle seats (usually 1 and 6) are required to deal alternate levels unless someone else volunteers. If two seats straddle the middle then both players will deal from that side. So in theory you could have 4 dealers on a table.
There are also a couple of other things we do on the night: 1) play Bag a Pair, Win a Chair (BAPWAC) – £2 per go, two cards per entrant once we have a prize pool of £100. If you get dealt a pair, then you get to play one hand of poker with all others that were dealt a pair. The winner gets a seat in a £100 tournament; and 2) the hi-hand jackpot (pay £1 each game, 4 jacks or better to qualify but you must use both of your hole cards – note that you don’t need to get to showdown to win but you cannot ‘rabbit hunt’ and see cards after the hand is dead in order to make your hand).
IN SUMMARY
BCPC gives a great opportunity for recreational poker players to enter big buy-in tournaments without breaking the bank to do so. It also gives a chance for members to win big money even if they do not win a seat themselves.
Over 100 players have played at our club since it’s inception in 2008. Please get in touch if you’d like to get involved in our next season. Or visit the BCPC Facebook Page.