The Friday Mega Stack - Please Sirs, Can We Have Some More?

Duesenberg

This is by far my favourite structured tourney of the Sky MTT schedule. The bummer is that it only runs once per week . It always seems to be pretty popular and smashes its guarantee each week, so is there any chance of running mega stack freezeouts more frequently? Ideally I'd like there to be one available every night of the week, and I for one would certainly be happy to jump into them (even with a significantly reduced guarantee).

I know freezeouts are far from the most popular option on here, but if you don't ask, you don't get .

Tikay10

I'll pass that on, Dues.

JJBinks

only if you play them with your new slippers on only way it will happen

Duesenberg

Thanks Tikay.

adsthepro7

+1 to this, would love a nightly mega at 19.45/20.15

Brrrrrrr

It would be great to see but I think what happened before the numbers dropped on the Friday Mega and the numbers on the other days of the week started well and then dropped off. Perhaps with the late registration that won't happen this time - fingers crossed Sky give it a go.

hhyftrftdr

They used to do 3 a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), but I don't think there was enough interest to sustain it and they all eventually disappeared from the schedule (until Friday was reinstated by popular demand)

I'm not sure a daily comp would retain the numbers regularly but there might be scope for an additional comp added to the schedule.

If it was on a school night then probably look to start it around half 7, if it ran on Saturday then 8.30 start as normal would be good.

Could probably work in an easy 'Mega Double' promo if it ran on Fridays and Saturdays; final table both nights and get free entry the following week, win both nights and get a Roller free entry for the Sunday/SPT seat or something similar.

HENDRIK62

Maybe a £5 5k would work, must admit I find the 10k start without antes a bit of a drag.

hhyftrftdr

HENDRIK62 said:

Maybe a £5 5k would work, must admit I find the 10k start without antes a bit of a drag.

Yeah I've banged the drum about this before so would hope it is looked at if they added another comp.

It starts way too deep, and ends way too shallow. It's a very simple fix; just add a couple of levels later on and remove some of the early levels.

Really no need to start at 10/20 and a 10k stack. But by the time you get to the money, the average stack is often about 12bb which is silly.

MynaFrett

Duesenberg said:

This is by far my favourite structured tourney of the Sky MTT schedule. The bummer is that it only runs once per week . It always seems to be pretty popular and smashes its guarantee each week, so is there any chance of running mega stack freezeouts more frequently? Ideally I'd like there to be one available every night of the week, and I for one would certainly be happy to jump into them (even with a significantly reduced guarantee).

I know freezeouts are far from the most popular option on here, but if you don't ask, you don't get .

Would love to see these introduced nightly. I would like to see Sky be bold and fit two nightly deep stacked freezeouts into the schedule- a £5.50 £1000 gtd and a £11 £2000 gtd. I think the way to go is to be brave with the guarantees. Take a risk. Take a short term loss potentially. If they overlay initially I would bet that they won't overlay for long. Word soon gets round when tournaments are overlaying and this could attract a whole raft of new players to the site who may have given Sky a wide berth previously because the schedule is full of bounty hunters or freezeouts with tiny guarantees (it may also bring those players back out of the woodwork who already have accounts but don't play here any more because they've found better tournaments with better guarantees elsewhere).

I know it has been said previously that it's probably not worth Sky taking risks with tournaments because it's not tournaments that bring in the money, it's the cash games that bring the money in but... when cash game players play tournaments what structures do they prefer? I think the answer to that is definitely deep stacked freezeouts. There are a whole host of players (on the site where I spend most of my time now) who play two primetime deep stacked freezeout tournaments (between 6pm and 8pm) alongside a couple of tables of cash each night (I know because this is what I do now and I see the same names/faces). If Sky could attract these players to the site with the lure of some well structured nightly deep stacks with eye catching guarantees (£200 and £500 guarantees just don't cut it to be completely frank about it) then they can potentially bring in these regs who are either cash game players predominantly but like a good deep stacked freezeout or two to play alongside or who are deep stacked freezeout players predominantly but like a table or two (or three or four) of cash alongside...
kerching!

I'm also pretty sure that the existing nucleus of Sky MTT regs (who supposedly prefer bounty hunters) would be happy to hop in these as well... I would also bet that the guys who play the £2.20 deep stacks religiously would be glad of some better opportunities to make more money in their preferred format on their preferred site... I would also bet that existing Sky cash game players would relish these...

Cue the "if you were a betting man you'd be broke" quips...

MISTY4ME

MynaFrett said:

Duesenberg said:

This is by far my favourite structured tourney of the Sky MTT schedule. The bummer is that it only runs once per week . It always seems to be pretty popular and smashes its guarantee each week, so is there any chance of running mega stack freezeouts more frequently? Ideally I'd like there to be one available every night of the week, and I for one would certainly be happy to jump into them (even with a significantly reduced guarantee).

I know freezeouts are far from the most popular option on here, but if you don't ask, you don't get .

Would love to see these introduced nightly. I would like to see Sky be bold and fit two nightly deep stacked freezeouts into the schedule- a £5.50 £1000 gtd and a £11 £2000 gtd. I think the way to go is to be brave with the guarantees. Take a risk. Take a short term loss potentially. If they overlay initially I would bet that they won't overlay for long. Word soon gets round when tournaments are overlaying and this could attract a whole raft of new players to the site who may have given Sky a wide berth previously because the schedule is full of bounty hunters or freezeouts with tiny guarantees (it may also bring those players back out of the woodwork who already have accounts but don't play here any more because they've found better tournaments with better guarantees elsewhere).

I know it has been said previously that it's probably not worth Sky taking risks with tournaments because it's not tournaments that bring in the money, it's the cash games that bring the money in but... when cash game players play tournaments what structures do they prefer? I think the answer to that is definitely deep stacked freezeouts. There are a whole host of players (on the site where I spend most of my time now) who play two primetime deep stacked freezeout tournaments (between 6pm and 8pm) alongside a couple of tables of cash each night (I know because this is what I do now and I see the same names/faces). If Sky could attract these players to the site with the lure of some well structured nightly deep stacks with eye catching guarantees (£200 and £500 guarantees just don't cut it to be completely frank about it) then they can potentially bring in these regs who are either cash game players predominantly but like a good deep stacked freezeout or two to play alongside or who are deep stacked freezeout players predominantly but like a table or two (or three or four) of cash alongside...
kerching!

I'm also pretty sure that the existing nucleus of Sky MTT regs (who supposedly prefer bounty hunters) would be happy to hop in these as well... I would also bet that the guys who play the £2.20 deep stacks religiously would be glad of some better opportunities to make more money in their preferred format on their preferred site... I would also bet that existing Sky cash game players would relish these...

Cue the "if you were a betting man you'd be broke" quips...

BIG

+1

to everything in this post. Well said Myna.

Tikay10

Fine post by @MynaFrett .

Sadly, whilst I so want Myna & everyone else on the thread to be proven correct, the facts, data & history here show otherwise.

It's all very well being "brave with Guarantees" (Sky Poker being brave, that is....) but history tells us this has been tried again & again with Megastacks & Deepstacks. What happens every time is the first one covers, then interest wanes & within 3 or weeks, Sky are setting fire to money again, as the numbers decline steeply.

What works elsewhere does not always work here, & vice-versa.

I have sent the thread to the Suits, & I hope they'll take on board the structure tweaks suggested & maybe give it one more try.

Have to say, if it were my money on the line, I'd not do it again. It's OK to make a mistake or two, but only a fool does not learn from them.

Sky__James

I have changed the structure slightly to take out 2 early levels of 10/20 and 15/30 and I have put in 125/250 and 250/500 levels.
I've also put in a Mega Stack on Saturday at the same time so will see how that does.

Tikay10

^^^^

Bravo @Sky__James

The people have spoken, & Sky Poker, once again, have listened.

Now the players have to do their bit. All of you are capable of banging the drum, on Facebook, or starting threads here to nudge folks into playing.

Duesenberg

Awesome stuff - thanks @Sky__James.

I really wasn't expecting anything to come from this thread so top marks to Sky for customer engagement. Fingers crossed this proves to be a great success and that more will follow .

goldnballz

Good changes regarding the level structure imo.

I can't play Saturday evenings myself but I'm sure it'll be popular.

MynaFrett

Tikay10 said:

Fine post by @MynaFrett .

Sadly, whilst I so want Myna & everyone else on the thread to be proven correct, the facts, data & history here show otherwise.

It's all very well being "brave with Guarantees" (Sky Poker being brave, that is....) but history tells us this has been tried again & again with Megastacks & Deepstacks. What happens every time is the first one covers, then interest wanes & within 3 or weeks, Sky are setting fire to money again, as the numbers decline steeply.

What works elsewhere does not always work here, & vice-versa.

I have sent the thread to the Suits, & I hope they'll take on board the structure tweaks suggested & maybe give it one more try.

Have to say, if it were my money on the line, I'd not do it again. It's OK to make a mistake or two, but only a fool does not learn from them.

I wonder what the reasons are then for some sites with similar traffic to Sky (this is a rough guesstimate based on average tournament field sizes) being able to successfully run freezeouts AND bounty hunters with similar buy-ins and guarantees seven nights a week but Sky can't- I just find that odd. Is it that the brand and what it offers in terms of game type/tournament schedule is established in people's minds and would be too expensive to modify? What about an advert on sharkscope or other "poker tool" sites, (or just the social media platforms if this is unrealistic) something like: "Sky. Brand new nightly deep stack freezeout schedule. Small buy-ins big prizes. Cash in both of the daily deep stack tournaments and win Bonuses... Final table both on the night for Big Bonuses"...

What about two deep stacks starting at the same time then (or 15 minutes apart) say 19:00 and 19:15 with rewards/bonuses for playing/cashing/FT'ing both?... Why not turn it into a weekly deep stack league where you also get cumulative points that correspond to an added prize at the end of the week? Make them both £5.50 buy ins with say... £750 gtd prize pools on each (is that a fair compromise or still too risky?... Is this all just pie in the Sky? Is it unworkable? Am I spouting nonsense? Is this real life or is it just fantasy? (Easy come, easy go...)

Tikay10

No idea why what works on some sites does work on others, it's just how it is. Morrisons are great for fresh veg, while Waitrose sells delish sticky buns.

The lack of antes certainly does not help with Freezeouts & the like, for sure.

They won't be advertising on Sharkscope, that's pretty certain. For starters, I'm not sure Sky Poker approve of Sharkscope stealing data from Sky Poker without permission & then selling it on. It's not exactly "targeted advertising" either. When you advertise on Sharky, the cost includes advertising globally, but Sky Poker is only available in the UK, RoI, & Gibraltar. So for every £ paid in advertising fees, Sky Poker would only be getting about 1p of value, if that. Advertising to folks in, say, Manila, Calcutta & Moscow is dead money.

Anyway, the existing one has had it's structure improved, & a new one has been added, so that's something. Personally, I'd like the players to do their bit now & spread the word, make some noise.

MattBates

MynaFrett said:

Duesenberg said:

This is by far my favourite structured tourney of the Sky MTT schedule. The bummer is that it only runs once per week . It always seems to be pretty popular and smashes its guarantee each week, so is there any chance of running mega stack freezeouts more frequently? Ideally I'd like there to be one available every night of the week, and I for one would certainly be happy to jump into them (even with a significantly reduced guarantee).

I know freezeouts are far from the most popular option on here, but if you don't ask, you don't get .

Would love to see these introduced nightly. I would like to see Sky be bold and fit two nightly deep stacked freezeouts into the schedule- a £5.50 £1000 gtd and a £11 £2000 gtd. I think the way to go is to be brave with the guarantees. Take a risk. Take a short term loss potentially. If they overlay initially I would bet that they won't overlay for long. Word soon gets round when tournaments are overlaying and this could attract a whole raft of new players to the site who may have given Sky a wide berth previously because the schedule is full of bounty hunters or freezeouts with tiny guarantees (it may also bring those players back out of the woodwork who already have accounts but don't play here any more because they've found better tournaments with better guarantees elsewhere).

I know it has been said previously that it's probably not worth Sky taking risks with tournaments because it's not tournaments that bring in the money, it's the cash games that bring the money in but... when cash game players play tournaments what structures do they prefer? I think the answer to that is definitely deep stacked freezeouts. There are a whole host of players (on the site where I spend most of my time now) who play two primetime deep stacked freezeout tournaments (between 6pm and 8pm) alongside a couple of tables of cash each night (I know because this is what I do now and I see the same names/faces). If Sky could attract these players to the site with the lure of some well structured nightly deep stacks with eye catching guarantees (£200 and £500 guarantees just don't cut it to be completely frank about it) then they can potentially bring in these regs who are either cash game players predominantly but like a good deep stacked freezeout or two to play alongside or who are deep stacked freezeout players predominantly but like a table or two (or three or four) of cash alongside...
kerching!

I'm also pretty sure that the existing nucleus of Sky MTT regs (who supposedly prefer bounty hunters) would be happy to hop in these as well... I would also bet that the guys who play the £2.20 deep stacks religiously would be glad of some better opportunities to make more money in their preferred format on their preferred site... I would also bet that existing Sky cash game players would relish these...

Cue the "if you were a betting man you'd be broke" quips...

People haven't said this, they have raised concerns about guarantees on non nlhe bh tournaments. I wasn't aware of forum concerns about Super Sunday which had a massive guarantee.

When players suggest something and it has good support like Friday megstack and PLO08 sky put those games on and they seem to work well. It is down to the players to support these games though. It is a difficult balancing act with guarantees and Sam does a great job with the guarantees these days....mainly as he leaves it to James to organise.

I am not sure about the appeal of freezeouts with no antes will be anywhere near as popular as you think. The big £11bh each night has a £1500 guarantee and you want a £2k guarantee. In terms of popularity on other sites, I think antes make a big difference to the game.

MynaFrett

Tikay10 said:

No idea why what works on some sites does work on others, it's just how it is. Morrisons are great for fresh veg, while Waitrose sells delish sticky buns.

The lack of antes certainly does not help with Freezeouts & the like, for sure.

They won't be advertising on Sharkscope, that's pretty certain. For starters, I'm not sure Sky Poker approve of Sharkscope stealing data from Sky Poker without permission & then selling it on. It's not exactly "targeted advertising" either. When you advertise on Sharky, the cost includes advertising globally, but Sky Poker is only available in the UK, RoI, & Gibraltar. So for every £ paid in advertising fees, Sky Poker would only be getting about 1p of value, if that. Advertising to folks in, say, Manila, Calcutta & Moscow is dead money.

Anyway, the existing one has had it's structure improved, & a new one has been added, so that's something. Personally, I'd like the players to do their bit now & spread the word, make some noise.

Ah, fair comments on sharkscope in particular. I hadn't really thought about that side of it too deeply- was more just throwing ideas around on the possible advertising front.

Any opinion on the rest of my post though Tikay, re those tournaments (buy-ins, prize pool, times) and possible incentivising bonuses/promotions/leagues?... easier to make some noise if the songs worth singing

MattBates

MynaFrett said:

Tikay10 said:

No idea why what works on some sites does work on others, it's just how it is. Morrisons are great for fresh veg, while Waitrose sells delish sticky buns.

The lack of antes certainly does not help with Freezeouts & the like, for sure.

They won't be advertising on Sharkscope, that's pretty certain. For starters, I'm not sure Sky Poker approve of Sharkscope stealing data from Sky Poker without permission & then selling it on. It's not exactly "targeted advertising" either. When you advertise on Sharky, the cost includes advertising globally, but Sky Poker is only available in the UK, RoI, & Gibraltar. So for every £ paid in advertising fees, Sky Poker would only be getting about 1p of value, if that. Advertising to folks in, say, Manila, Calcutta & Moscow is dead money.

Anyway, the existing one has had it's structure improved, & a new one has been added, so that's something. Personally, I'd like the players to do their bit now & spread the word, make some noise.

Ah, fair comments on sharkscope in particular. I hadn't really thought about that side of it too deeply- was more just throwing ideas around on the possible advertising front.

Any opinion on the rest of my post though Tikay, re those tournaments (buy-ins, prize pool, times) and possible incentivising bonuses/promotions/leagues?... easier to make some noise if the songs worth singing

Not sure sky would spend vast amounts of their promotion/marketing budget towards an area that is unlikely to work (based on past experience) and isn't going to generate vast amounts of income.