FullTilt Poker Makes Mel Judah Tournament Twist an Online Reality
Mel Judah’s fantastic twist on poker tournaments is a fairly new addition to the tournament arena, and allows players to cash out at any stage of a multi-player tournament. The basic concept is simple. There are two prize pools. One is reserved for the final winner, and the other prize pool is reserved for those who cash out earlier. Those who choose to cash out of the tournament earlier can do so and take half of their current chip holdings. Any money not cashed out along the way is added to the final prize pool.
This is a real twist on the classic tournament for a number of reasons. First, it quite simply allows online players who find themselves forced to leave a tournament early able to leave without abandoning all of their money. If the player has done reasonably up until the point that they need to leave, they will at least make back their buy-in. Second, for players who win a tidy sum early on but feel that they may lose it later in the tournament, cashout tournaments offer the option of escaping with winnings in hand. Of course, the player relinquishes a claim to the big pot, but they guarantee a win.
On the other hand, allowing players to cash out early “thins the herd” earlier in the tournament, making tournaments take a shorter time, and sometimes keeping good players out of the final room. As a result, the better players get a lower prize, but they may find it easier to get that prize. !
