Maximize Your Tournament Return on Investment BY Doing Your Homework

Money management is a key factor in playing winning poker, a basic rule that most players live by. Pot odds, implied odds, equity, fold equity, and expected value have become household words and many players are quite adept at the mental gymnastics of calculating complex mathematical equations.

Nevertheless, many enlightened players ignore the return on investment (ROI) factor, when buying into a poker tournament.

Perhaps I have a slight advantage of seeing a broader landscape because I cover and report tournament results from 15 states. Over a period of time, I noticed that some tournament venues offer a significantly better payout percentage. I sought the advice of several of the most knowledgeable card room managers that I know, and put the question to fellow PPN writer and poker math genius Tony Guerrea.

Everyone concurred that it is a good idea to calculate the percentage of an actual tournament rake based on entry fees, entrants, and total prize pool, prior to making the decision to play in any tournament.

To figure out an effective buy-in, divide the total prize pool by the number of players. Tony advised me that although there are no stringent rules, it is a good rule of thumb to avoid tournaments where the rake is much more than 10 percent.

For example, I've listed three individual tournament results and the calculated ROI for each:

1) Canterbury Park-2007 Fall Classic Championship Event- October 24 - 25 Buy-In: $1,000 + $80 = $1,080 Number of Entrants: 329 Total Prize Pool: $329,000 $329,000/329=$1,000 Actual Rake: $80 = 7.5 percent

2) Wildhorse Casino-2008 Spring Round-Up Main Event- April 26 - 27 ($20,000 propertyadded prize money) Buy-In: $1,000 + $15 = $1,015 Number of Entrants: 280 Total Prize Pool: $300,000 $300,000/280= $1,071.43 Actual Rake: -$56.43 = Less than zero-an overlay situation

3) Heartland Poker Tour - Main Event-April 2008 Buy-In: $1,650 Number of Entrants: 189 Total Prize Pool: $271,881 (figures taken from HPT website) $271,881/189 = $1,438.52 Actual Rake: $211.47 = 13 percent In most cases prize pools are not predetermined but dependant on the number of entrants, and more often than not satellites and qualifiers also come into play, however the basic equation still remains the same. The cost to buy in is a fixed amount and is multiplied by the number of entrants. It does not matter if the player won the seat or bought the seat; each entrant still represents the same dollar value when figured into the prize pool.

Most card rooms post the monies withheld from their prize pools, for instance 3 percent for the dealers toke or a $10 administration fee per entry. If this is not posted, ask the card room for these specific figures.

The tournament venue or card room has the right to determine the payback percentage of their tournament and you have the right to know exactly what you are paying for and how much you are paying before you decide to enter that tournament. In the event of entry driven prize pools, you can calculate your ROI from the results of previous years. If those are not available, or if this is a first time venue, ask the card room for the percentage of the rake.

Poker is all about getting the maximum value for your money, and this applies to tournament buyins as well. Players currently enjoy unprecedented tournament opportunities throughout the country, new poker rooms are opening, existing poker rooms are expanding, and it seems that every casino and poker room offers tournaments.

It's a buyers market. Spend a little time on your homework before you chose your next tournament, and invest your bankroll wisely for a greater return.

Sometimes a larger prize pool or the lowest buy-in is not always the best deal. Investigate and become a more savvy and profitable tournament player.