M G TOURNAMENTS

[brianzz]

These tournaments would work out ALOT better if the duration was 20 or 30 minutes and you had a set number of spins to play. If you got to play all of your spins during the set duration, hooray, if you didn't tuff scat. The spin countdown shouldn't be effected by free spins either. They can do this with promotional spins, so why not tournaments.

B&M casinos are getting into the buy xx get xx spins on your favorite slot. Some of the recent examples I've seen are buy $15 in play and get 50 spins on Double Diamond quarters (max 2 coins per spin) keep what you win.

 

[spearmaster]

These tournaments would work out ALOT better if the duration was 20 or 30 minutes and you had a set number of spins to play. If you got to play all of your spins during the set duration, hooray, if you didn't tuff scat. The spin countdown shouldn't be effected by free spins either. They can do this with promotional spins, so why not tournaments.

B&M casinos are getting into the buy xx get xx spins on your favorite slot. Some of the recent examples I've seen are buy $15 in play and get 50 spins on Double Diamond quarters (max 2 coins per spin) keep what you win.

Brian, do you have any examples of the promotions above? I actually saw something similar at G2E in Vegas last week and would like to see real world examples - thanks in advance.

 

[brianzz]

I've got junk mail recently, but it's all trashed now. If I get another I'll scan it and post it. For further info you can check IGT's site.. URL Not Found / Outdated

And just for a kick in the pants.. same sh!t, different day Microgaming...

 

[spearmaster]

Thanks Brian, that's exactly what I was looking at. Yet to see it in a casino, though.

As for the cancelled tournament, wait a bit - it usually comes on within 10-15 minutes.

 

[SlotsWizard]

B&M casinos are getting into the buy xx get xx spins on your favorite slot. Some of the recent examples I've seen are buy $15 in play and get 50 spins on Double Diamond quarters (max 2 coins per spin) keep what you win.

They've started that with video poker as well. Here is the Wizard of Odds' page about

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

.

 

[Simmo!]

Thanks Brian, that's exactly what I was looking at. Yet to see it in a casino, though.

As for the cancelled tournament, wait a bit - it usually comes on within 10-15 minutes.

Yeah weird this "cancelled" keeps happening but just leave the software open and more often than not it'll start a bit later than planned. Less competition as a result too

 

[bb28]

I was extremly lucky at one of the tourneys

This is only the 2nd win I've ever had and I've played several. No rebuys or bonus rounds......the slots liked me that day! The first win I had was for a big $1.35.

Usually they just frustrate me but like others I play em' anyway.

 

[SlotsWizard]

This is only the 2nd win I've ever had and I've played several. No rebuys or bonus rounds......the slots liked me that day! The first win I had was for a big $1.35.

Usually they just frustrate me but like others I play em' anyway.

Congrats! I have placed a few times, but not in a long time due to the increased competition. I also never rebuy because I can't deposit at any of the casinos that offer the tournaments (they stopped accepting my deposit method back in March or May). I also can't help but feel that your "luck" in these freeroll tournaments is inversely proportional to your recent real money losses.

 

[venetian]

I have a question about the December 15th tournament. I have qualified twice, does that mean I get to play twice???

 

[venetian]

I think they should loosen them the hell up. Add more scatters and wilds to the reels. It's not like they have to pay out money based on the payline wins, it would still be based on the overall result.

It's frigging boring to end up with 400 to 600 coins every frigging time. I haven't even been playing them in a while because I've got some paint drying, water boiling and grass growing that has been far more appealing to watch.

I agree, when you are in a real slot tournament in Vegas they have a 'tournament chip' that they switch the machine to which gives more jackpots. It is a helluva lot more exciting. And I think they should all be at least 10 minutes. A live one goes for 20 minutes. If it were any longer they would have to have a Dr on site to bandage all the players playing fingers! As it is now I am going to have to buy a new mouse. Gotta go my timer just went off telling me to log back on for another exciting round. (I should get a life)

 

[Nifty29]

I have a question about the December 15th tournament. I have qualified twice, does that mean I get to play twice???

I actually wondered something similar, but the terms on the website state "you may only enter the semi-final ONCE so make sure it is on your lucky day". So, you may actually be disqualified because you played twice.

Im not sure why they are running them every day if you're only allowed to enter once, but it doesnt really make sense to me. I would understand if you can only QUALIFY for the FINAL once, but otherwise it seems silly.

What does it matter if you enter 5 days lose, then make it on your 6th try? The number of places are limited anyway so who cares who qualifies?

 

[spearmaster]

I also can't help but feel that your "luck" in these freeroll tournaments is inversely proportional to your recent real money losses.

Having not made a deposit since the beginning of the year, I am happy to say that your "luck" in these tournaments has absolutely nothing to do with your recent real money losses Haven't won one yet but gotten a few places, highest was 2nd in a $50 tourney.

 

[bernynhel]

I actually wondered something similar, but the terms on the website state "you may only enter the semi-final ONCE so make sure it is on your lucky day". So, you may actually be disqualified because you played twice.

Im not sure why they are running them every day if you're only allowed to enter once, but it doesnt really make sense to me. I would understand if you can only QUALIFY for the FINAL once, but otherwise it seems silly.

What does it matter if you enter 5 days lose, then make it on your 6th try? The number of places are limited anyway so who cares who qualifies?

If its anything like the Free Entry to 20k Weekender satellites I have won and qualified for the Free Entry twice or more times within the same week several times to find only a single entry for my participation in the final at the start of the 20k. Whutta gyp! Good Luck!

 

[venetian]

Just played the $20K weekender...I guess I played on my UNlucky day. Placed just over 100 out of the $$

 

[jas2587]

classic rebuys $5 loaded

Classic-rebuys = classic bending over

After registering and playing for 4 minutes I was booted out of the tournament and told I needed to rebuy, so much for 10 minute rounds. I refuse to rebuy, but I can see MG giving ALOT of refunds if they only let you play 5 minutes.

And I just noticed on the rebuys that your winbox score is reset to 0 and they use the highest score of all of your tournament play. I guess that thwarts the people who buy their way to first place.

I just now opted in for the classic rebuys $5 loaded I was given 10 minutes I was in 7th place an before 5 minutes was even over up popped the rebuy screen

I opted in to play again still showed me in 7th place again before the 10 minutes was up I think I got a full 4 minutes play the rebuy popped up
so dummy me rebought in an again 4 minutes play when it should be 10 minutes this was at Royal Vegas

last I looked I was still in 7th but there are 4 days to go my time left when the rebuy came up was 5:32
so they are ripping us outta 5+ minutes per buy
Don't think that is fair at all

Cindy

 

[venetian]

I know the casinos do the rebuys to recoup any losses on the tournament, but I think it's unfair to allow rebuys in the big money events. That's from my "I live in the US and can't deposit" opinion.

 

[jas2587]

You buy in they should allow the Full time frame
not cut you short by 5:22 outta 10 minutes
this is just so un
I emailed them their reply was
I have confirmed with our technical helpdesk and they have advised us that all is well with the casino software.This would be with regards to the lobby, tournaments, all games, casino server, etc.
uninstall the casino
make sure pop up is disabled
delete temp files an cookies

here is my buys from their playcheck
14250 View Transaction 11/23/2007 10:22:41 AM Tournament Slot - Loaded - Register for Multiplayer Tourn.: Real -5.00 45.00
14251 View Transaction 11/23/2007 10:26:22 AM Tournament Slot - Loaded - Tournament ReBuy: Real -5.00 40.00
14252 View Transaction 11/23/2007 10:28:14 AM Tournament Slot - Loaded - Tournament ReBuy: Real -5.00 35.00

so tell me what you see on the time of the rebuys
Thanks

Cindy

 

[brianzz]

I stopped playing the other day. After the first free classic re-buys fiasco where I was kicked out after 2 minutes of play and told to rebuy, thought it was a bug. So this weekend I bought into a classic re-buy and same thing, 2 minutes into play I was booted out and told to rebuy, still had plenty of time and plenty of credits. Emailed support about it and they said I was d/c'd from the casino on my end.. whatever, if I was d/c'd explain to me why 30 seconds after being kicked out I was playing a regular slot, without ever logging out of the casino mind you. I kindly told support they didn't know what was going on and neither did MG, they wouldn't have to worry about me bothering to play any other tournaments free or otherwise, or jumping through hoops to deposit anymore, that'll teach 'em.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I know the casinos do the rebuys to recoup any losses on the tournament, but I think it's unfair to allow rebuys in the big money events. That's from my "I live in the US and can't deposit" opinion.

LOSSES

The house edge on these is HUGE! Even without ANY rebuys they would not struggle to make a profit on many tournaments. Rebuys are NOT part allocated to the prize pool as you would think they should be, they are 100% profit.
The Loaded tournament could in theory cost $5000 just for ONE player to enter if they used all 1000 rebuys. This would still not anywhere near guarantee them a winning session, and would cost far more than the top prize.
To make things fairer, rebuys should inflate the prize pool. This would probably mean more money going into the tournament, as the growing pool might tempt some players who would not ordinarily have used rebuys to try again for the bigger pool. This would also alleviate the disadvantage for players who did NOT rebuy, as although there are more chances for them to be beaten, this would be compensated for by the chance of an increased prize for their eventual position, which might not even be beaten by the rebuying players.

 

[tesla]

yeah the house edge on some of these tourneys is just insane. For example, the current $200 Avalon tourney has 130 players. Even if only half of these players use the full amount of rebuys, that would amount to $390 in casino revenue(65x$6). After accounting for the $200 tourney payouts, the casino would profit $190 and have almost a 50% house edge! And the $500 tourney's are even worse as a player can purchase up to $30. Usually there are over 100 players on these tourneys and if only 50 used the full rebuys, that would give the casino $1500 revenue and after tourney payouts they would profit $1k, and have a 66.667% house edge!!

 

[spearmaster]

I gotta ask this question - how many of us would be stupid enough to use up all of our rebuys? In fact, how many of us would be stupid enough to use up even ONE rebuy unless we were in or very close to an amount which is at LEAST the amount of the rebuy?

 

[vinylweatherman]

I gotta ask this question - how many of us would be stupid enough to use up all of our rebuys? In fact, how many of us would be stupid enough to use up even ONE rebuy unless we were in or very close to an amount which is at LEAST the amount of the rebuy?

If I play I do tend to use all the rebuys, this is because slots, especially Thunderstruck, are high variance. It is often a single spin that makes the difference between a good score and an ordinary or bad one.

In one tournament, I got 5 wild castles in the free spins, and it was in the last second of my play time. I shot from nowhere to take first place. This strategy can be sound if the rebuys cost less than the entry fee, and there are relatively few players.
There seem to be more players on the Loaded and Avalon tournaments at present, I normally see around 50 to 60 on the older slot bought tournaments, and several hundred on the "free" ones.
This high variance can also favour the very patient player, simply play the first round (free) of every Thunderstruck tournament and hope the big hit during free spins comes along. You could wait ages for a payout, but it will be free, and immediately withdrawable.
I suspect there would be far fewer players if they thought about the house edge as compared with normal play.
If MG were forced to reveal that all along this speculation was correct, and they had been pocketing 50% or so of all the tournament revenue, I bet there would be a huge drop in the bond of trust that players get a fair return on the games in general.

 

[Nifty29]

As stated in an earlier post, MG tourneys can lick my balls.

I prefer to play 3Dice tourneys where everyone is equal and the vast majority are free - PLUS you get a choice of games. The prizes may not be $000's, but they are fun and run for a reasonable time. I have won $120 on a single tourney with a free buyin - better than I ever got at MG.

Anyone notice that the $20k weekender is now a one-day tourney?? I wonder why they did that??

One thing I will say is that the tourneys have been a timely reminder why I dont play thunderstruck and tomb raider for real any more....

 

[bb28]

I myself will only do a rebuy if I'm very close to the top, and I don't think I would do it for a $200 tourney and definitely not one of the $60.00 ones. In the 200$ tourney that I won, I just got extremely lucky. No rebuys.
IMO...it's just another way for the casino's to make a profit and take advantage of the player who gets caught up in winning and doesn't think about the outlay of cash vs the possible profit.

I think if the tourneys are advertised as free, they should be just that. FREE! No rebuys allowed. As someone said in another post, if they insist on allowing rebuys, put the money back in the actual tournament.

 

[spearmaster]

If I play I do tend to use all the rebuys, this is because slots, especially Thunderstruck, are high variance. It is often a single spin that makes the difference between a good score and an ordinary or bad one.

I hope you don't mind if I say this looks awfully like fruity emptying tactics rather than common sense?

There would be limited circumstances in which multiple rebuys would be warranted - if, for example, you were nowhere near the leaderboard, why in the world would you even waste any more money chasing a prize?

Just because TS is high variance doesn't mean it's going to hit if you use all your rebuys. What you ought to be doing is simply waiting for the next tourney.

This high variance can also favour the very patient player, simply play the first round (free) of every Thunderstruck tournament and hope the big hit during free spins comes along. You could wait ages for a payout, but it will be free, and immediately withdrawable.

As I was saying above... you need to maximize your chances, not just throw good money after bad.

I suspect there would be far fewer players if they thought about the house edge as compared with normal play.

There aren't that many players to begin with - most are waiting on the freebies, cheapskates like me The other big tourneys, I take one shot - if I'm nowhere near the leaderboard, that's it, no point in counting on high variance to take me through, just a waste of money. If, on the other hand, I'm within striking distance of a decent payout, then I chase. I don't blindly use up all rebuys every tourney.

If MG were forced to reveal that all along this speculation was correct, and they had been pocketing 50% or so of all the tournament revenue, I bet there would be a huge drop in the bond of trust that players get a fair return on the games in general.

Even if they pocketed 100%, it wouldn't be an issue - first of all, they cough up quite a lot of free money. Secondly, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that anywhere near 50% of players in any tourney are using up all their rebuys, 5% would even be debatable.

I have the software booted 16 hours a day, and I play 4-5 freebies, allowing for cancellations, or sky-colored sock toys forgetting to register My impression is that they are taking a huge LOSS to make these tourneys work.