Wow what an incredible year 2022 was for Pepper Street Poker!
After the total disaster shit-show shutdown of 2020, and our triumphant return that was only half a year in 2021 - it was absolutely spectacular to be back in full force for tournaments and cash games almost every month this past year! Bit of an Omicron hiccup in January, but after that, it was ON like Donkey Kong!
And as great as things were, 2023 promises to be the biggest and most funnest year yet!
First on tap of course, is our 2022 Tournament of Champions, to be held on Jan 7, 2023. A $1000 Prize Pool Free-Roll for all the homies and homettes who won a tournament in 2022, or who earned enough points to lock up a seat.
Let's meet the Champions - shall we?
Josh endured the cold garage of November in only his second tournament of 2022 - and he took it down! Unfortunately he can't make the January date for the TOC. He asked for an invite for 2024 and because he's Legacy, I said sure. Hopefully we will also see Josh more often before that year rolls around!
EDIT: 12-23-22 Josh just changed his RSVP to yes!
And that's that for the tourney winners - the top ten players who did not win a tournament are in this order in points - (note there are only 9 because Colin counts, he was tops in points in this group by a lot by the way)
- 1 - Dan L.
- 2- Jerry
- 3 - Kyle
- 4 - Jason H
- 5 - Lea Anne
- 6 - Priya
- 7 - Eric L.
- 8 - Mike C
- 9 - Stephen B.
All of these players met their attendance requirement for five tournaments, so they will all be receiving 35K to start the TOC.
And I would also be remiss if I didn't mention our Cash Game qualifiers. Actually, there was only one who qualified this way who didn't also cash via tournament points - that of course would be Stuver. He easily qualified because he played over 8 cash games out of 12. I think maybe he missed one or two. We will see you there Mr. Stuve!
Speaking of cash games, as always, I will be hosting a cash game starting at 5pm, and there will be a second evite going out to help supplement our player pool to that event.
Ok so before we move on to a preview of 2023, mark your calendars for our first regular tournament of the year - that would be Saturday, January 21st at 5:30pm. Yes, 5:30! And NO DINNER BREAK. Read below to find out why the time change.
2023 PREVIEW
TOURNAMENTS
Once more into the breach - we will indulge in 12 tournaments, one per month (typically on the 2nd or 3rd Saturday) with eight No-Limit Hold-Em events.
There are two MASSIVE changes for tournament poker at Pepper Street in 2023
ATTENTION - BIG BIG CHANGE #1 - NEW ENTRY FEE!
MONTHLY TOURNAMENTS ARE NOW $60, WITH $40 RE-ENTRY.
I know this will inevitably irritate some of you, and I may even lose some players, but I have felt the need for this change for a long time.
Our game started in 2006 - way before this blog, way before a league with points and a TOC. At the beginning it was a $20 tournament with unlimited $10 rebuys and a $20 add-on. For those first first few years it was basically a $60-$160 tournament, with the lower end of the scale for those who played tight and the higher end for many of us who splashed around.
When I made the jump from a $20 unlimited re-buy (with a $20 add-on) to $40 freeze-out there were a lot of complaints about the tournament being too pricey. And yet the prize pools shrank and players spent WAY less because there were no re-buys.
Now it is 2023 - 17 years since the first tournament in the garage.
I think it's time to have a price point commiserate with the times, with our lives and ages respectively, and also in line with our seriousness as poker players.
Playing for 5 1/2 hours to try and take down $280 with a $60 pay jump between 1st and 2nd is ok - but what's better is to play for $500, which is what first place will likely be on average with this small increase.
Also, if you use a re-entry, you will be paying $100, which is only $10 more than what an entry and re-entry cost in 2022.
The $5 BOUNTY will no longer be a fixture at Pepper Street. We will have a Bounty Tournament, mixed in with our NLHE events at least once a year - the Bounty will be included in the $60 entry. In these tournaments, re-entry will be $60.
One other thing I should mention - our occasional $60 Sit-N-Gos were always successful and super fun, with the same prize pool as our bigger events; and always had plenty of players. Sadly, they will be retired for now. But the memory of the great times we had playing them, and the great variety of players who showed up for them - reassures me that bumping the monthly event entry fee to this level is the right way to go.
ATTENTION - BIG BIG CHANGE #2 - NEW STARTING TIME!
5:30PM - NO DINNER BREAK
I like starting earlier, so we are finished before 11pm, and not after midnight like we used to - but I'm kind of over the dinner break for two reasons.
1 - I don't eat after 5pm these days. So now I get to buy pizza for everyone (though most of it is paid back in the jar which I appreciate) and not eat any, which is pretty not fun.
2 - To give people time to eat, we have to stop down for nearly half an hour. Which, after we've been playing for a mere hour and 40 minutes always seems like a waste of time; which, the whole point of starting earlier was to use time efficiently.
I would rather take that time right at the beginning before we start, and then also not have to buy pizza (which is actually more expensive than what I currently charge - $3 a slice on the honor system, which truthfully about 3 out 4 of you do honor. I'm typically out of $25-$50 depending on how many pizzas and how many chip in. Today in 2023 it's closer to $5 a slice. You all know my views on why that is, but any how...)
Also, when the summer returns I would very much like to get back to grilling - and I look forward to cooking burgers and dogs for you all on an open flame periodically from May through September. If I host a cookout, it will start at 4:30.
So now - poker is a 5:30 start with no dinner break. Eat before you get here! Snacks and bottled water still provided of course.
Here are the other changes to tournaments in 2023 -
BLIND STRUCTURES
Our blind structure is close to perfect - so I'm not changing it per se... but going forward there will now be two structures depending on the number of players in attendance. Follow if you can.
FIRST - here officially is our new table occupancy official policy.
- All PSP Tournaments are 8 Max
- EXCEPTION 1 - All Final Tables are drawn at 9 players. The official FT is still 8.
- EXCEPTION 2 - We can do up to 19 players across 2 tables, if we get 20 players we go to 3 tables (7/7/6)
Click here for both structures and all the other info.
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All tournaments are now $60 for 20K with a $40 re-entry for 20K.
As with last year, we allow 2 re-entries before the break (with short stack surrender always an option at any time) - plus a stack surrender and re-entry option during the break for all players regardless of past bust-outs.
No Bounty unless it is specifically a Bounty tournament. I am planning one NLHE Bounty tournament early on in the year - if it is a great success we will likely have another one towards the end of the year. In Bounty tournaments, re-entry is $60.
Of our 8 No-Limit Hold-Em Tournaments there will be 4 special tournaments, where the game will 100% be No-Limit Hold-Em, but with extra twists that are now common in Casino tournament series.
There will be...
- Mystery Bounty (April)
- "High Roller" (August)
- 6-Max (October)
- Bomb Pot (December)
Starting this year, our two fixed limit events (O8 & H.O.R.S.E.) will have unlimited re-entries before the 2nd break.
As always, these two fixed limit events will also have an optional $20 Last Longer bet.
And also as always, all non-NLHE tournaments are worth double points for Player of the Year, including…
- Omaha/8 in March
- PLO in July (structure B regardless of turnout)
- Crazy Pineapple in September
- H.O.R.S.E. in November.
June is our Main Event, now a $100 NLHE tournament with double the seating cap and twice the starting stack.
The Legacy Invitational returns with Legacy II - an $80, 8 game mix (NLHE, PLO, 2-7 Triple Draw, O8, Stud 8, Razz & Badugi) with a giant trophy, TOC seat, nice cash prize and priceless bragging rights at stake. Hall of Fame members only!
But for all the crazy tournament changes - the biggest story in 2023 for sure is the expansion of live poker play in The Garage Around Back...
CASH GAMES
ATTENTION - BIG BIG CHANGE #1 - CASH TWICE A MONTH!
Two Fridays Every Month @ 7:30PM - Midnight
As you likely know, in 2022 we did cash nights once a month. Since my beloved kid isn't living with us now, I'd like to crank up the poker frequency even more and aim for two weeknight night cash games a month, typically going the 2nd and 4th weeks, but occasionally the 1st or 3rd weeks if other plans come up.
I think Friday nights are going to be the way to go - with play starting at 730 and going until midnight, with a break at 1030 for lightweights to cash out if they wish.
ATTENTION - BIG BIG CHANGE #2 - TWO FLAVORS OF CASH!
1st Friday is MIX GAMES - 2nd FRIDAY is NO LIMIT HOLD-EM ONLY
The first cash game of the month (either on the 1st or 2nd Friday) will be mix of games. In limit games there will be a Kill Pot activated when a player wins (scoops) two hands in a row - meaning limits will be raised from 1/2 to 2/4 (click here and scroll down for all the details on Kill Pots at Pepper Street)
The second cash game of the month would be No-Limit Hold-Em only with half a dozen bomb-pots and a high hand bonus. After three hours of play (at the 1030 break) we can also indulge in PLO (high only) if everyone agrees.
OCCASIONALLY - if I can't make a Friday work, I will host a Cash Game on the same day as our Monthly tournament on a Saturday - starting live play at 1pm.
STAKES -
Most likely the stakes will remain the same - however...
- I am pondering raising the stakes ever so slightly for our No-Limit Hold-‘Em only game. Getting rid of the 25¢ chips and simply having a single $1 blind. Buy-in would be $40-$120 with a reload if felted up to $200.
Obviously if I get a lot of pushback I may have to reconsider, but this is where I am leaning right now.
Also, it should be mentioned that these days there’s frequently a $1 UTG live straddle in our NLHE games. It doesn’t seem to have affected the stakes very much, if at all.
Pot Limit Betting Modification
EDIT - REVISED 12-23-22 & REVISED AGAIN - 01-27-23
After talking at length with an actual dealer who dealt for four years at the Wynn poker room in Las Vegas, going forward in 2023 our pot limit games, we will do what they do, - in fact what I learned just recently ALL rooms do for Pot Limit games.
Pot Limit games not only have blinds (.25¢/.50¢ for our game, $1/$2 for the Wynn PLO) they also have a mandatory Bring-In. At the Wynn it's $5. There is no limping or min-raising, it is an EXACT pre-determined amount which is off by a little bit from the technically correct Pot sized bet.
With blinds at 1/2 the correct POT amount would be $7, but at the Wynn they make it $5 even and all future bets ignore the blinds and must be made in $5 increments. (So "Potting" the Bring-In is $15, potting that bet is $50, etc)
We will have a similar approach, but eliminating quarters instead of dollars.
HOW WE WILL DO IT -
Blinds are .25¢/.50¢ with a $1 Limp or $2 "Pot" to open
- If you enter the pot pre-flop you may "limp" for $1 or you may "pot" for $2
- Play proceeds as normal from that point but blinds are ignored.
- So if you "Pot" the $2 Bring-In it's $6, if you "Pot" that $6 raise it's $20 to go, etc.
- If blinds fold, they go into the pot, but they are ignored for "Potting" purposes.
- Quarters may not enter any pots except for the blinds that have been folded.
- So no frac bet amounts - no quarters allowed except for blinds.
POST-FLOP
Any odd quarters that end up in the pot, which can only happen from folded blinds, are ignored for calculating the pot. If the small blind limps and the big blind checks, there will be $1 in the pot after the flop.
CASH GAME REWARDS -
In 2023, once again, players who indulge in cash can also earn their way into a seat in the PSP Tournament of Champions. Play a mere 10 cash games (out of an expected 24) and you lock up a seat in this $1000 prize pool free-roll.
NEW - if you qualify this way you now also earn bonus chips for the TOC! T500 for each cash game attended, for up to an extra 12K in extra chips for the tournament of champions!
Remember - a cash game at Pepper Street is the most fun you'll ever have - PLUS, tournaments only pay 1 out of 4 people, 75% of everyone walks away with nothing. The ratio in a cash game is approximately reversed, with typically around half the field in profit and a bit less than that breaking even or losing just a little!
WORLD SERIES OF POKER SATELLITE
It will happen on the 3rd or 4th Sunday in April at 1pm - $125 - One seat to a 1K guaranteed - and as many other seats as we can award to 2nd and hopefully 3rd place.
As always the winner of the satty must share with all other satellite participants if they cash - 70/30.
The Satty will be preceded with a one hour mini-Poker Lab at Noon on the day. Hosted by yours truly, I will be sharing my views and strategies on No-Limit Hold-Em Tournaments and also taking your input and ideas as well. Improving my game is an ongoing process, and I benefit tremendously by being able to articulate my thoughts out loud. I also get a lot from your feedback, and hopefully you will too.
And so that's all the changes that I have scheduled for now - no doubt this is going to be another incredible year at Pepper Street Poker!
Can't wait for it to start!
