We have some poker groups in our area and I wanted to come up with a way they could play as a team, so I did.
I know this is non-standard, but I have to tell you...the players absolutely love it. Not only were the players that were playing entertained, the spectators were as well. The rail was 3-4 deep on some of my tables while the matches were going on. Our social media was getting a ton of attention throughout the whole battle. Many of our 'regulars' have told me that these battles are the most fun they have had, while playing poker, in a long time.
I basically run it like a head's up tourney except it's team against team. I start with 32 5 person teams, they draw cards to find out where they start in the bracket, and then the play single elimination. One team starts in the odd seats and the other in the even, but they still have to draw their random seating. Play goes until all 5 members of one team are eliminated. Once a team advances, all members are back in for the next round and the chipstacks/blinds reset.
When I was initially thinking it through, I decided that I need to let the players talk with their teammates. If I don't, they will just use signals and I would rather have it out in the open. So here is what I decided for rules:
*Players
are allowed to tell their teammates what they think they should do. This applies to all players that have not been knocked out.
*Players that have been knocked out can only give advice to their teammates between hands.
*Players
are not allowed to say what they have or don't have in their hand.
*Players
are not allowed to say what they will do out of turn (Example: Cannot tell teammate "fold because I will raise").
*Players
are not allowed to use any electronic devices at the table.
*Teams caught using signals, to get around the rules, will be disqualified.
*Players need to have thick skin. It is a team event and players will be cheering when you lose a hand.
I also do not enforce typical soft-play scenarios between teammates.
I will not run this event very often because I think that it could lose the 'fun value' and start to get more serious if it was done on a regular basis. I also do not like the idea of players getting too comfortable working together. As of now, I plan on doing it twice a year.
Here is my dilemma: After running a couple of these events, I feel like I need to be a little more clear on what players can or cannot say about their hand. It started off with them questioning if they can tell their teammates that "I like my hand"...then it went to them asking if they can say "I have a strong/medium/weak hand". I have mixed feelings about it because if I am really strict, it will encourage them to come up with signals, but if I allow too much we might as well just flip the cards and play them face up...and that is no fun! Verbal declarations are heard by both teams...so it could give the other team as much info as your teammate... I'm just not sure.
What are your thoughts?