Sharing Small Local Tournament Money!

[Billy_Bob]

I saw the other thread about sharing your skills with novice players. Thought I would mention this as well.

Many small local tournaments will have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd "in the money". And typically there will be 3 or 4 top players who usually are in the money. The gap in skills between the top players and the novice players or casual players can be quite a bit.

Keep in mind that the *bulk* of the money for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd comes from the novice players who *never* win anything!

So speaking of sharing, keep these novice players happy and "spread some cheer"! Keep 'em coming back!

And how do you keep the novice players happy? Pay more spots.

Pay a 4th spot (and 5th spot if enough players). And just pay $2 or whatever. The amount does *not* matter.

What happens when you pay a 4th spot is that the lesser skilled players will reach this level on a rotating basis. They will never reach 3rd, 2nd or 1st, but 4th is a goal which can sometimes be reached.

And you should see the look on their faces when they are finally "in the money". Even though it is only $2, $3, or whatever small amount, they have finally won something after months of trying. And a different novice player will win this spot each week. So you are spreading a little "cheer" and encouragement around to the lesser skilled players.

This will keep them motivated and keep them coming back. Thus there is more money for 1st and 2nd!

The better players will fight this tooth and nail. They want every cent to go to 1st and 2nd. But they don't realize where the money is coming from for these spots.

Spread some "cheer" around your local tournament and I'll bet you get more players coming back...

 

[JAM]

The way they do it in my area for local $20-to-$25 entry-fee tournaments is to pay out four spots.

In some venues, they have a losers' bracket where the guys/gals who got knocked out will compete for a free entry fee to the next week's tournament which is kind of like a fifth-place spot.

Sometimes there is a Big Rack in which two players are randomly drawn out of a hat and receive an opportunity to take a crack at the monies which have been accumulated by deducting 10 bucks or so every week.

The ladies who enter some local tournaments around here pay $15 instead of $20 and get the call 8-ball as a handicap, and they too enjoy winning from time to time.

In the scheme of things, there's a little something for everybody in these weekly events, thanks to the dedication of the TDs who faithfully keep it going.

BTW, the TDs in my area do not get compensated and run the local tournaments because of their desire to keep pool alive and well in the region for players of all caliber.

JAM

 

[Billy_Bob]

...BTW, the TDs in my area do not get compensated and run the local tournaments because of their desire to keep pool alive and well in the region for players of all caliber...

Yes, the TDs in my area (sometimes me) are volunteer as well. So everyone be nice to your TD and be sure to thank them for running the tournament every once and a while...