Harlan, IA - 02/08/14 - 4th Annual Tecmo Harlan (DATE CHANGE TO FEB 8TH)

[thedotz]

DUE TO SCHEDULE CONFLICT THE TOURNAMENT DATE IS NOW FEB. 8TH.

 

 

We will be having our 4th annual Tecmo Harlan tournament at 1pm at The Lounge, 1005 Chatburn Ave. in Harlan IA. Sign up at 11am.

The only change from last year will be the format in which we play. This year we will still play the round robin and seed the same. Once seeded we will play single elimination till the FINAL 8. Once we are the the finial 8 it will be a double elimination to complete the tournament.

There will be food at the bar as a potluck. I will be making smoked pork loins again for pork loins sandwiches. The bar will have drink specials all day during the tournament.

If you have any questions fell free to contact me at [email protected]

Thanks
Brian Dotzler

Edited January 15, 2014 by thedotz

[hawkeye98]

im in

[justinpeters51]

In

[noonan]

Ugh.. BaconFest in Des Moines is on 2/1.....  killing me smalls!

I will unfortunately be unable to attend Harlan tourney

[thegamer1185]

im there

[moulds33]

I'm hoping I can make it again this year, it's a fun time for those of you on the fence.  Just trying to decide when to tell my wife I'm going, might have to be the morning of.  

[Knobbe]

Right now I'm a coinflip on this as I need to clear it with the Tecmo Godmother and lord knows I need the practice.  

I should know by the 25th.

[ArtVandelay]

I should be able to make this. Any idea what time this tourney will end? The only reason I ask is because I have to dog sit for my parents this weekend.

[thedotz]

We're changing format this year so should be done by 6-7ish.

[MD2020]

How aboot another schedule change back to Feb 1st

[Slappin Da "A"]

Count me in again.  I might be bringing my bro as well.

[Slappin Da "A"]

I should be able to make this. Any idea what time this tourney will end? The only reason I ask is because I have to dog sit for my parents this weekend.

Bring that controller. and I will bring you your so we can switch out.  Thanks man.

[MNichols]

Okay guys, we are considering doing something sort of unique with the entry fee. Our concern is that as the tournament continues to grow and bring in a larger number of solid players, we will lose out on our local 'beer drinking' contingent. Therefore we want to make it more desirable for them to also participate and not simply 'quit' because they don't want to get embarrassed by 40 points which just cost them $20.

Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet. I want to stress that. However, we do want to make this tourney fun and get as many participants as possible. Therefore, here is what we are thinking.

We charge NO ENTRY fee. It costs you nothing to play if you decide you do not want to invest any money. We have our group play to determine the seeding. When the seeding is determined, we will have single elimination down to the final 8, then will be double elimination from there. BUT, BEFORE the tourney starts, we will have a quick Calcutta (auction) for each player. Anyone in attendance whether in the tourney or not can participate in the auction. Each player will be bid off and that money will make up our prize pool. Out of the prize pool, the top 4 will be paid in the tourney (40%-30%-20%-10%). As in true Calcutta style, a player may buy him/her self back for up to half of the auction amount. For example, if I were to buy a player 'A' for $30 and player 'A' wanted to buy half of himself back, his share of the $30 would be $15 and we would split any winnings that player 'A' accumulated in the tournament.

We are asking opinions and thoughts of those that are interested in playing in this tournament. As we mentioned, anyone that shows up can essentially play for free. And anyone can bid on the guy that they want to cheer on in winning the tournament. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for looking.

 

I'm also going to post this in the forum for more input.

Edited January 23, 2014 by MNichols

[moulds33]

Okay guys, we are considering doing something sort of unique with the entry fee. Our concern is that as the tournament continues to grow and bring in a larger number of solid players, we will lose out on our local 'beer drinking' contingent. Therefore we want to make it more desirable for them to also participate and not simply 'quit' because they don't want to get embarrassed by 40 points which just cost them $20.

Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet. I want to stress that. However, we do want to make this tourney fun and get as many participants as possible. Therefore, here is what we are thinking.

We charge NO ENTRY fee. It costs you nothing to play if you decide you do not want to invest any money. We have our group play to determine the seeding. When the seeding is determined, we will have single elimination down to the final 8, then will be double elimination from there. BUT, BEFORE the tourney starts, we will have a quick Calcutta (auction) for each player. Anyone in attendance whether in the tourney or not can participate in the auction. Each player will be bid off and that money will make up our prize pool. Out of the prize pool, the top 4 will be paid in the tourney (40%-30%-20%-10%). As in true Calcutta style, a player may buy him/her self back for up to half of the auction amount. For example, if I were to buy a player 'A' for $30 and player 'A' wanted to buy half of himself back, his share of the $30 would be $15 and we would split any winnings that player 'A' accumulated in the tournament.

We are asking opinions and thoughts of those that are interested in playing in this tournament. As we mentioned, anyone that shows up can essentially play for free. And anyone can bid on the guy that they want to cheer on in winning the tournament. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for looking.

 

I'm also going to post this in the forum for more input.

As someone who does one of these auctions for the NCAA tourney every year and has also been in a few golf tournaments that use this format, I think this is an awesome idea!

 

The hardest part will be the auction IMO, just getting people to understand what is going on and to be quiet during the bidding.  if you have a good microphone and someone else running a laptop I think it would work.  I would be more than happy to help you guys out if you need it.  I'd also make people pay immediately at the conclusion of the auction, not settle up when it's all over.  This will add an hour probably to the tourney but will keep the non-serious guys interested and put pressure on the "favorites".  It also might make some of my degenerate friends want to ride along just to gamble on tecmo.  

 

I'm in for sure too, I got permission from the boss this week.

Edited January 23, 2014 by moulds33

[Knobbe]

Okay guys, we are considering doing something sort of unique with the entry fee. Our concern is that as the tournament continues to grow and bring in a larger number of solid players, we will lose out on our local 'beer drinking' contingent. Therefore we want to make it more desirable for them to also participate and not simply 'quit' because they don't want to get embarrassed by 40 points which just cost them $20.

Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet. I want to stress that. However, we do want to make this tourney fun and get as many participants as possible. Therefore, here is what we are thinking.

We charge NO ENTRY fee. It costs you nothing to play if you decide you do not want to invest any money. We have our group play to determine the seeding. When the seeding is determined, we will have single elimination down to the final 8, then will be double elimination from there. BUT, BEFORE the tourney starts, we will have a quick Calcutta (auction) for each player. Anyone in attendance whether in the tourney or not can participate in the auction. Each player will be bid off and that money will make up our prize pool. Out of the prize pool, the top 4 will be paid in the tourney (40%-30%-20%-10%). As in true Calcutta style, a player may buy him/her self back for up to half of the auction amount. For example, if I were to buy a player 'A' for $30 and player 'A' wanted to buy half of himself back, his share of the $30 would be $15 and we would split any winnings that player 'A' accumulated in the tournament.

We are asking opinions and thoughts of those that are interested in playing in this tournament. As we mentioned, anyone that shows up can essentially play for free. And anyone can bid on the guy that they want to cheer on in winning the tournament. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for looking.

 

I'm also going to post this in the forum for more input.

 

I had to google "Calcutta Auction" and read up for like 5 minutes before I understood what this means.

I think I do now.  However, you would probably want to post an example of this if possible.

Make of the names of 4 guys.  Assign them auction amounts.  Have half of them buy into themselves.  Show where the money goes.

I think this is a pretty sweet idea though.

[Dotdon]

Okay guys, we are considering doing something sort of unique with the entry fee. Our concern is that as the tournament continues to grow and bring in a larger number of solid players, we will lose out on our local 'beer drinking' contingent. Therefore we want to make it more desirable for them to also participate and not simply 'quit' because they don't want to get embarrassed by 40 points which just cost them $20.

Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet. I want to stress that. However, we do want to make this tourney fun and get as many participants as possible. Therefore, here is what we are thinking.

We charge NO ENTRY fee. It costs you nothing to play if you decide you do not want to invest any money. We have our group play to determine the seeding. When the seeding is determined, we will have single elimination down to the final 8, then will be double elimination from there. BUT, BEFORE the tourney starts, we will have a quick Calcutta (auction) for each player. Anyone in attendance whether in the tourney or not can participate in the auction. Each player will be bid off and that money will make up our prize pool. Out of the prize pool, the top 4 will be paid in the tourney (40%-30%-20%-10%). As in true Calcutta style, a player may buy him/her self back for up to half of the auction amount. For example, if I were to buy a player 'A' for $30 and player 'A' wanted to buy half of himself back, his share of the $30 would be $15 and we would split any winnings that player 'A' accumulated in the tournament.

We are asking opinions and thoughts of those that are interested in playing in this tournament. As we mentioned, anyone that shows up can essentially play for free. And anyone can bid on the guy that they want to cheer on in winning the tournament. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for looking.

 

I'm also going to post this in the forum for more input.

It sounds like a fun theory for drafts or other things, but this could get complicated.  For example, if I buy someone else and play them in the final 8 or final 4, what is my motivation to win?  I wouldn't care if someone else bought me, I'd lose that game so my horse made more money.  maybe this wouldn't happen though I've never done it before. 

[tecmoman1]

I understand why you might want to do this but definitely count our group of guys out under this format. We will monitor the thread here to see what the final decision is and if we will drive up for it. Hope you understand but we aren't traveling for a free Tecmo tournament we can do that at home.

[moulds33]

True Calcutta auctions would usually pay out more than 4 places, but for something like a Tecmo tourney, 4 places makes a lot of sense.  Every player would be auctioned off, with the higher seeds (probably) going for more than the lower ones.  Anyone is allowed to bid on any player they want, but that person must offer the player they buy the chance to buy 1/2 of themselves back.  The player purchased can buy half of themselves if they want, but do not have too.  

 

So if I buy Knobbe for $100, he has the chance to give me $50 for the chance to earn half of what he wins in the tourney.  If he gets 1st place, we would split the 1st place winnings evenly.  But if he didn't make the final 4, we would each be out $50.  If he declined to buy 1/2 of himself back, he wouldn't owe anything at all. So you have the chance to "bet" on yourself, but you are not forced too.  But if you win the tourney and don't buy half of yourself back you won't win anything.  So a lot of times at golf tourneys almost everyone will buy 1/2 of themselves back.

 

The beauty of a calcutta is that you never know what the total pot will be until the auction is entirely over.  So the order of the players auctioned will be key.  I would suggest we start with the lower seeds first, that way we have a good idea of the total pot when we start bidding on the big money guys.

[tecmoman1]

I've seen tournaments that take a little of the winnings (say $20 or 40 or whatever) and then have a losers bracket for anyone who is out in the first rd. then they play a "losers tourney" for a little bit of $. Maybe do that.

[MNichols]

Moulds, great to hear you have clearance from the boss (a.k.a. Mrs. Moulds)

 

Paying attention during the auction usually takes care of itself when it comes to money. I have been a part of several Calcuttas here locally as several of us really like to gamble. And yes, depending on who is all there that day, there could be some that participate in the bidding but have no interest in how the games turn out.

Once the auction is completed, the pay will be collected. In the case we aren't able to collect right away, that player will go up for bid right away again and money will be immediately collected. We will be in charge of the prize pool so we will make sure it is collected so it can be paid out. The person doing the bidding is the one responsible for the FULL amount of the final bid. If the player he/she bought wants to buy up to half of themselves back, it is up to that player to get with the bidder and make payment/arrangements.

The Calcutta will no doubt add another excitement to our Tecmo tournament and should keep more people interested in what is going on.

[moulds33]

It sounds like a fun theory for drafts or other things, but this could get complicated.  For example, if I buy someone else and play them in the final 8 or final 4, what is my motivation to win?  I wouldn't care if someone else bought me, I'd lose that game so my horse made more money.  maybe this wouldn't happen though I've never done it before. 

This is the main problem doing it in a tecmo tourney. To get rid of the "conflict of interest", it would probably be best to still have a small entry fee that would go to the top 3 finishers.  If you made it like a $5 entry, I don't think that would drive away the "just for fun" guys.

 

I would think that the odds of a guy not buying himself back actually making it into the money is almost zero.  The good players are going to buy themselves back...they'd be foolish not too.  

Edited January 23, 2014 by moulds33

[MNichols]

tecmoman1: I understand your concern completely. Maybe the best thing is to have a really cheap entry fee and the Calcutta. Or not to change it at all. We are throwing out this idea because we want you all to understand our concerns and then brain storm to the best ideas/format.

 

I can assure you that with a Calcutta in Harlan, IA, no one will be playing in a "Free" Tecmo Tournament. I'd be willing to bet that there is more money in the prize pool with a Calcutta than if we were to just have an entry.

[MNichols]

DotDon,

Good point and as Moulds pointed out, a small entry fee may also be a good idea to help eliminate this from happening. In all of the Calcutta tournaments I've seen, this potential has come up several times but I have yet to see someone 'forfeit' just because they thought they would win more money. That is where the buying half of yourself back comes in. If you can win the tournament, you're going to win it in order to collect. Another thing not pointed out is that anyone can purchase themselves during the auction. Then you would take all of the risk on yourself.

[MNichols]

tecmoman1,

Would you still play with a Calcutta AND a small entry fee? As I mentioned, the idea behind the Calcutta with no entry is not for the experienced gamers that can play good Tecmo. It is to make sure we still have the 'also ran' participants that know going into it they are just donating their time/money. If the money/entry aspect is taken away, they have no reason not to get in and play 'free' games at the bar while they enjoy their favorite beverage and watch college basketball.

How many is in your group and where would you be coming from?

[moulds33]

I understand why you might want to do this but definitely count our group of guys out under this format. We will monitor the thread here to see what the final decision is and if we will drive up for it. Hope you understand but we aren't traveling for a free Tecmo tournament we can do that at home.

This format would be quite the opposite of "free".  You don't have to buy anyone, but you have the opportunity to buy at least half of every player in the tournament.  The prize money will be at least double what it would have been I would guess and now potentially 8 people can cash out instead of just 4.

 

Don't let the format scare you off, it's still drinking beer and playing tecmo against some of the better players within a few hundred miles of Harlan.  The auction is optional, but will be a lot of fun for everyone even if you are just watching it.