Setting up bar tourney help.

stolz2

stolz2

Kid Mack
Silver Member
Im trying to set up a small tournament one day a week at this local bar i play at. I just wanted to get some advice on how i can present this to the owner, im in good standing with them and shouldnt be too much of a problem. I figured i could pick slower night of the week maybe and this would help get them more business on that day... I.E people buying beer. The average field would probably be about 10 players, would mainly be 8 ball, because thats what the people there like playing. I guess because this is mainly not a pool playing bar, but does have a younger crowd of people that would like a tourney. Just wanted some ideas on how to present this to the owner. On the players side, i figured i could get a cheap sneaky pete and it would go to the player who held top spot for cirtain number of weeks.

Thanks, Mack
 
If this is going to be more of a social event i would do a round robin,

everony plays everyone, 2 rounds, total combined score wins....

depending on the tables....
 
That's a hit or miss thing.I have seen small tournaments start at nice places and nowone shows.I have also seen 1 small bar table have a 30 player lineup.At my uncles place he tried the tournaments and it really did not work at first.Then he tried an inhouse leauge and that really worked.Then a few years later the tournaments worked.I would lean towards an inhouse leauge and then expand to like an APA type thing like he did and then your tournaments.Just a suggestion I have seen work.Thats the best I know of but it may not be your best option.He has 2 differnt leauges now and 2 different tournaments on his off days and everyone is happy.haveing the resposabilities to a team motivates players to show up a bit more.Also he found giving cheap cues did not work as well as trophies.Although he did alternate the prizes.
 
Around here, someone volunteers to run the tournament, then typically gets free drinks in return. Just ask if the owner would like to have a pool tournament. It will either be yes or no. If yes...

I wrote the following with what *I* wanted, so it is "slanted" a bit. This was to give to a bar owner advising them on how to run their tournament. If you tell these guys that everyone else adds 100% to their tournaments, maybe you will get them to add 50%. If it was up to them, they would add nothing. So may want to copy the following and modify it to what you want, then give to the bar owner.

If you're lucky, they will not be picky about rules, payouts, etc. and will leave it up to you. Some will insist on their own bar rules. After you get them to agree, and if you need help running the tournament, ask here and I'll (or someone else) will get your started.


How to Run an 8-Ball Pool Tournament

First decide the entry fee for the tournament. A $5 entry fee is typical.

Then decide the rules to go by. BCA rules are best. The better players and those who will travel far to attend a pool tournament prefer BCA rules. Lesser skilled players and "ball bangers" hate BCA rules, will attend a few tournaments, lose, then not come again. The better skilled players will lose time and time again, yet keep coming back. So best to cater to the better players.

Then decide the "race to" and "elimination". A race to one, double-elimination is typical. A race to one is best because it makes the tournament go faster. People have things to do and don't want to be there for hours on end. Also some people need to get up in the morning at 6 am. Having a faster pool tournament will allow more people to play. Double elimination gives players a second chance to win.

Next decide how many spots you want to pay. 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, and 4th place is typical. Paying several spots will give more people the chance to win and will get more people coming back to play. The majority of players will win 4th place at least once over time. But only a few will ever win 3rd, 2nd, or 1st. If the lesser skilled players win something every once and a while, it will keep them coming back!

Next decide how much money you want to contribute to the prize pool. Do this on a percentage. Many establishments will contribute or "add" 100% to the prize pool. So if you have 10 players and you are adding 100% to the pot, you would have $50 in entry fees and $50 added to total $100 in prize money.

Next decide if you want a scratch kitty. This is common for many tournaments. Each time someone scratches, they put a quarter in a scratch can. This money typically goes to 4th place.

Then decide how much you want to pay out. Following are typical payouts...

1st place: 50% of prize money.
2nd place: 30% of prize money.
3rd place: 20% of prize money.
4th place: Scratch kitty - (Charge 25 cents for each scratch).

Hold the tournament at the same time and day each week. Say Sundays at 6:00 pm.

Advertise the tournament by printing up flyers and giving to pool players.

Use poker chips for the draw. Write numbers on one side of poker chips, then place face down and let each player draw their number. This will determine who plays who to start.
 
Billy_Bob said:
Around here, someone volunteers to run the tournament, then typically gets free drinks in return. Just ask if the owner would like to have a pool tournament. It will either be yes or no. If yes...

I wrote the following with what *I* wanted, so it is "slanted" a bit. This was to give to a bar owner advising them on how to run their tournament. If you tell these guys that everyone else adds 100% to their tournaments, maybe you will get them to add 50%. If it was up to them, they would add nothing. So may want to copy the following and modify it to what you want, then give to the bar owner.

If you're lucky, they will not be picky about rules, payouts, etc. and will leave it up to you. Some will insist on their own bar rules. After you get them to agree, and if you need help running the tournament, ask here and I'll (or someone else) will get your started.


How to Run an 8-Ball Pool Tournament

First decide the entry fee for the tournament. A $5 entry fee is typical.

Then decide the rules to go by. BCA rules are best. The better players and those who will travel far to attend a pool tournament prefer BCA rules. Lesser skilled players and "ball bangers" hate BCA rules, will attend a few tournaments, lose, then not come again. The better skilled players will lose time and time again, yet keep coming back. So best to cater to the better players.

Then decide the "race to" and "elimination". A race to one, double-elimination is typical. A race to one is best because it makes the tournament go faster. People have things to do and don't want to be there for hours on end. Also some people need to get up in the morning at 6 am. Having a faster pool tournament will allow more people to play. Double elimination gives players a second chance to win.

Next decide how many spots you want to pay. 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, and 4th place is typical. Paying several spots will give more people the chance to win and will get more people coming back to play. The majority of players will win 4th place at least once over time. But only a few will ever win 3rd, 2nd, or 1st. If the lesser skilled players win something every once and a while, it will keep them coming back!

Next decide how much money you want to contribute to the prize pool. Do this on a percentage. Many establishments will contribute or "add" 100% to the prize pool. So if you have 10 players and you are adding 100% to the pot, you would have $50 in entry fees and $50 added to total $100 in prize money.

Next decide if you want a scratch kitty. This is common for many tournaments. Each time someone scratches, they put a quarter in a scratch can. This money typically goes to 4th place.

Then decide how much you want to pay out. Following are typical payouts...

1st place: 50% of prize money.
2nd place: 30% of prize money.
3rd place: 20% of prize money.
4th place: Scratch kitty - (Charge 25 cents for each scratch).

Hold the tournament at the same time and day each week. Say Sundays at 6:00 pm.

Advertise the tournament by printing up flyers and giving to pool players.

Use poker chips for the draw. Write numbers on one side of poker chips, then place face down and let each player draw their number. This will determine who plays who to start.
Click to expand...


Thanks alot for big reply billy bob. I think I will do 8 ball double eliminations BCA rules will work about half the players will like this and the other half the bangers will not. I guess the hard part will be getting the bar to add %50 to the pot are they just going to do this because its going to bring them more business? Even if ther first few times its slow around 10-15 players may discourage the bar, im not sure i really have never set one of these up before. I will try to talk to owner tomorrow. Im sure this has been posted before but do you know where i can download and print off the double eliminations forms to keep track of players?

Mack
 
The tournament will bring the bar more business and adding money will bring more players and more business. So it can turn a normally empty bar into a bar full of people.

Forget about the bangers. They will lose a few times, then never play again. Those who like BCA rules are not afraid to lose and will keep coming back.


Tournament Player Charts (brackets) on the Internet...

3 - 32 Player Charts...
(Read this page carefully. This page is actually double elimination, but the wording is confusing.)
www.crowsdarts.com/brackets/tourn.html

8, 16, 32, 64, 128 Player charts...
("Match Bye Sequencing Chart" link at bottom of page)
www.poolplayers.com/materials.html

Tournament Player Chart Instructions by "Redemption"...
(Applies to all tournaments)
www.cactusgamedesign.com/downloads/tournament_brackets.pdf
 
Okay i have run a tonne of these 'Small' tournaments with ALOT of success. Here is the proposal that i have never had anyone turn down. This only works in a 'Dead Slow Night' situation. You have to understand that you are providing a service to the bar. Also understand that pool players don't always drink so much, so you have to attract drinkers too. Also tell the bar owner this, 'Although i am only bringing 8-10 people into the bar on your dead night, they also keep other people there when they poke thier heads in. Noone wants to drink in an empty bar, you are buying yourself a small crowd buy holding and sponsoring the tournament.'

Here it is.
Each player pays $5.
The Bar kicks in $5 for each player, you set it up with the bar what the minimum # of players is, usually 8.

Get the bar to throw in a drink for 4th, pay the top 3 spots. Double elimination. If more then 3 girls enter give a top lady prize of $5 - $10.

This format has always worked for me, hopefully it will work for you.

Also, to save yourself trouble, Decide EVERYTHING and write it down on paper before each tournament and have a RULE BOOK with you. If you have ever rule and all money payments decided before you start people won't question your honesty. Being a tournament director EVERYONE ALWAYS questions 1. Your Authority and 2. Your honesty. Make sure you protect yourself.

In my area 1 do race to 2 on the A-Side, and depending on how many people come and how much time there is, race to 1 or 2 on the B-Side. Here is a situation that shows you the importance of having EVERYTHING on paper.

Lets say 12 people show up, right on the border for races to 2 on the B or races to 1. I lose my first match. Guess what, if i say race to 2 on the B, even if we had tonnes of time, you will have disgruntled people on your hands thinking you are making an exception for yourself, wanting to play race to 2 on the B. How do you handle this when your not sure how fast everyone is playing before the tournament. Give yourself a RULE to follow on PAPER. For Example: If we ge to the B-Side by 9:00 its race to 2, any later its race to 1.

Another thing, when looking at a double elimination format always run the A-side 2 times to start with, this gets all the players with bye playing before the B-Side starts. After running the A-Side twice run the B-Side twice, then the A once, B twice, A once, B twice until your done. This will prevent having an Open Table for 2 long. Always start the A-side final after every possible match has already been started. This prevents the A-side winner sitting thru 8 matches on the b-side. Nothing is worse then having the B-side completed only to have a 7-8th match holding up the B-Side.
 
stolz2 said:
On the players side, i figured i could get a cheap sneaky pete and it would go to the player who held top spot for cirtain number of weeks.
Thanks, Mack
Click to expand...

At a local tourney we keep track of points. 1 for showing up 2 for 4th, 3 for 3rd, 4 for second and 5 for first. After 6 weeks whoever has the most gets the trophy,cue whatever. I like to stipulate that no one can win back-to- back sessions. $1 eight-ball break pots are fun too. It can get to $100 real easy
 
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