Online Poker

When it comes to variant poker tournaments, there is one rule change that I would not be able to tolerate: no breaks. What happy news then that such a tournament type has been developed.

In the $16,000 Iron Man tournament in the Commerce Casino Hold 'Em series, players soon found that there is a very good reason for tournament breaks. Matt Savage, the mastermind behind this new tournament format, was also careful to disallow deals of any kind. When he named it the Iron Man event, he clearly wasn't going to settle for anything less than players hallucinating from exhaustion by the end of the tournament, so no nambly, pambly deals were allowed.

Surprisingly, the tournament only lasted 19 hours and 21 minutes, going to Brett "Ghostdog" Radin. This may have been due to the many early bust outs, with 8 players gone in the first level, and 40 out in the first 6 hours. Plans have been made for another of these tournaments to be held at the 2010 LA Poker Classic, but is there really enough of a demand for it?

While the early bust outs are being put down to incredibly loose players, maybe there is a reason they were playing that loose? 6 hours isn't all that long for poker, but if every single toilet break means skipping a few hands, I think the novelty is going to wear off fast. There's talk of making such events invitational. I have no idea how they'd manage to attract anyone, though, as this only comes off as a gimmick to me.

Let me put it this way: Would you ever see someone like Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu in a tournament like this? I doubt it. I don't just mean because those two play bigger tournament circuits than the Commerce Casino Hold 'Em Series. What I mean is that this format could never reach the big tournament series that such high calibre players contest. No breaks makes a tournament a test of overall energy levels and bladder control, but not skill. The prize money for such an event would never be enough to tempt the best to give it a shot, and I just don't think the unique competitive aspect of staying awake and aware would be attractive to the most successful pros.

If you like minimal breaks in poker tournaments but can still see the need to stop for a stretch, snack or toilet break each hour or so, then it makes more sense to play online poker. Full Tilt Poker has brief hourly breaks that pause the action for just long enough to be humane, while not keeping you away from the table for more than is necessary. As breaks are scheduled to stop all tournaments each hour, except for those that have only recently begun, you can play multiple games at once while still benefiting from the occasional short break.

What's the longest poker tournament you've ever played in? Was it worth it, or did you and your bladder learn the importance of a scheduled nip to the toilet once in a while? Please tell us about your experiences by commenting below.

- Shad