[Talking Poker]

Ok, here it is - the official thread. We've been talking about this contest for long enough that everyone should know what's going on, but for anyone new to the site or anyone who wants to review how we got here, here are a few links for you (there were numerous threads before these, but these are the important ones):

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- (Prop Bets)
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-This thread
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This is now the official TalkingPoker.com Forum Heads Up Challenge (August, 2005) thread. I thought about closing it to replies, but this seem like as good a place as any for people to talk about the competition (or to say how great the prizel pool is). Please do not post in here to set up matches and that sort of thing. Use PMs for that as much as possible and post the agreed upon match times (and the eventual winners) in the correct thread, linked to above. I will update this thread with the results as the competition plays out, probably daily.

Ok, on to the rules...

General
The TalkingPoker.com Forum Heads Up Challenge (TPFHUC) will be a month long competition, featuring 5 rounds of Heads Up matches. We're starting with 32 players and will play a mostly single elimination tournament (March Madness style) until we have a winner.

All matches will be played at . I spoke with a number of other sites, trying to get them to set this up for this, but in the end, it was more trouble than it was worth. Bugsy Club isn't the best site out there (it's small), but it's going to work out perfectly for this. After you download their software and create an account, log on. Click on "FreePlay" and then select "Heads Up." This is where all matches will be played at the agreed upon time. Timing it so both players are seated in the same freeroll can be tricky, but by using PMs, AIM, etc, it's not that hard. It just might take you a couple of tries.

The tourney structure can be viewed at the site, but basically, you start with 10,000 chips and 25/50 blinds, and blinds increase every 10 minutes. I think this is a great structure for this tournament. I personally don't like their software very much (be warned: the action buttons are probably backwards from what you are used to), but it's free, and should suit us nicely.

*** Important Note ***
Rounds 1 and 2 will consist of single elimination matches with the winner advancing to the next round. Rounds 3 and 4 will be a best of 3 series, where the first player to win 2 matches advances. The final match will be a best of 5 series. For the rounds with multiple tournaments, you can play them back to back, or space them out over a few days - whatever works best for the two of you.

Round Time Frames
All matches for each round need to be played within the specified time frame. Each time frame is approximately one week, which should be plenty of time for each pair to coordinate schedules and play their match(es). The time frames (and the maximum number of matches to be played per round) are as follows:

Round 1: 8/01-8/07 (1)
Round 2: 8/08-8/14 (1)
Round 3: 8/15-8/21 (3)
Semi-Finals: 8/22-8/28 (3)
Final Match: 8/29-8/31 (5)

The Final Match round can and will be extended if necessary. Also, with the exception of Round 1 which can't start until 8/1, matches may be played ahead of time if both participants agree. For example, if ChipFish and Pshabi both complete their Round 1 matches by 8/3 (and both advance, of course), they don't have to wait until 8/8 to play their Round 2 match. They can play it any time they like, so long as they are done by 8/14. In theory, this entire contest could be over by the middle of the month or so, but I'm setting up these time frames just to be safe...

*** When you and your opponent agree on a time to play, please post it in . It is also the responsibility of the winner to make another post in that thread letting us know the results. ***

Disappearing Participants/Bad Behavior/etc.
Hopefully this won't be a problem, but in theory, someone could have signed up for this tournament and then dropped off the face of the earth. If this is the case, I will try to find an alternate to take over their spot, but they may have to forfeit. If someone is completely unavailable for the entire time frame in which they are expected to play a match, they will forfeit. If both players are unable to come up with a mutually agreed upon time to play, I'm honestly not sure what we'll do. We'll probably discuss it openly as decide as a group which player will advance. Hopefully this won't be an issue.

Also, this should go without saying, but I expect everyone to behave throughout the competition. If you wouldn't say or do it at a poker table with the tv cameras on you, don't say it here.

Regarding the above, hopefully it won't come to this, but if I have to, I'll make the judgement calls. Any and all decision I have to make will be final. Let's hope it won't come to that.


Prizes
As you know, I was hoping to get a poker site to sponsor us and kick in some cash, but none came through, so being the great guy I am, I'll contribute the prizes myself. The prizes are:

1st place - $50 cash, an autographed Phil Gordon "" DVD, and a TP.com hat*
2nd place - $20 cash and a TP.com hat*
3rd place - $15 cash
4th place - $10 cash

*First and second places will receive personalized TalkingPoker.com hats if they don't already have one. And no, if you win one now, you don't get another one when you reach 1000 posts. This is just a way to get your hands on one a little bit (or maybe a lot bit) ahead of schedule.

All cash payments will be made via .

TPF HUC 2?
If this is a success, and I hope it is, maybe it will turn into a somewhat regular thing around here. Maybe we'll even be able to find a poker site interested in getting a few dozen or more new players to sponsor us. The possibilities are endless.

Have fun everyone!