Why Choose Big Doc Poker?

For one, our tournaments do not look like the other guys. We try to emulate the casino experience as closely as possible. We use the best products we can get, whether it's the chips or the tables, to give the feeling of a well run casino. We assign players to tables and assign seats as well. Some places only tell players what table to sit at and some places just let players sit anywhere. This is not right since it encourages people to cheat, and this is something no one wants.

We believe that there is only one way to run a Texas hold 'em tournament - the right way. We have played in many local bars and found that many of them don't know the rules and regulations of the game. Some, in fact, don't even know how to play the game itself. We know how to play the game. We know the rules and regulations and enforce them.

We also concentrate on running our tournaments, rather than playing in them. Granted being poker players ourselves we would rather be playing poker, but for us to run a quality tournament we feel it is best for us not to play in our tournaments and do our our first duty of running them. Some places let their guys play in them, which means the tournament will not be run nearly as well since they are concentrating on playing their cards and not concentrating about all the other players in the tournament

Corporate events & parties

If your establishment hosts any type corporate event, such as holiday parties for businesses, a Texas hold 'em tournament is a great form of entertainment. The tournament would be run the same as any other tournament, with the exception of the points system and tournament of champions.

This is a win - win situation for your establishment and for Big Doc Poker. The firm who is having the party / event is paying you for the use of your location, and they are paying Big Doc Poker for running the tournament. They are also responsible for prizes and payouts.

A minimum of a 2 weeks notice is required for Big Doc Poker to do a corporate event. Big Doc Poker will coordinate the tournament with whoever is responsible for arranging the corporate event. Please note that there is a different fee structure with corporate events.

Home Games

Another service we offer is running private games or home games for anyone. Not everyone has access to or owns the necessary equipment needed to run a tournament, such as chips, cards, tables and so on. We will come to any location and run any tournament for a nominal fee. We do require at least 2 weeks notice for any such event, and we need to know the number of players attending.

What we can do for your establishment

New Customers

Poker will bring in a mix of new customers to your business. People that may not have ever been to your establishment or would not normally go to your establishment will become regulars on poker night. And better yet, they will come back on non poker nights and patronize your business.

People who play in our tournaments come from all over the area. We draw people from Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. We draw people from Rochester, Stewartville, Eyota, Byron, Kasson, Pine Island, Zumbrota, Spring Valley, Chatfield, St. Charles, Austin, the Twin Cities, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Cresco, Iowa and all points in between.

Please let us know a calendar of activities for your business. We will help in any way we can to bring in new customers and more importantly, more customers.

Advertising

We will advertise your establishment in several ways. One is thru our websites. We will post a link to your site on ours as well as have a page dedicated to your establishment.

We will also advertise your poker tournaments at other poker tournaments we run. We will promote your events when we make our weekly announcements at your tournaments and advertise in your business for you. And if there is any other form of advertising we can do to benefit both us and your business, we will do it!!!

Merchandise

By making poker shirts with your company's logo on it or a logo that represents your poker night, not only do you add another form of advertising, you add another form of sales as well. Shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and other forms of clothing sell well and are a very inexpensive "walking billboard" that do get noticed.

We put as much effort as possible to draw large crowds to our poker tournaments and give 110% to make sure we run the best poker tournaments in the area.

Credibility Amongst Poker Players

With so many places running Texas Hold Em tournaments these days, players can almost choose when and where they play. By having Big Doc Poker running your tournaments, players will know that your establishment has the best run poker game around. We have been around long enough to have gained the reputation as a top quality tournament with a fun and friendly atmosphere. This is a big plus for your establishment

What we do differently

We run our tournaments with a professional attitude. We believe that people will have more fun if the environment they play in is more organized, orderly, and professional. We interact with the players who come to our tournaments to get an idea of what they want out of their tournament experience. They want to come out, have a few drinks, perhaps have a bite to eat, play some cards, and not have to worry about whose running things. They want to come out and have fun. We provide that.

When it is time for the blinds to go up, we just don't yell it out into a crowded room and hope everyone hears it. We use a P.A. system to announce this, as well as other announcements we need to make. We also have signs up with what the blinds are so that everyone knows what is going on.

When certain chips become obsolete, we come around and color them up. Some places wait until everyone is done playing before they will color up and some don't color up at all.

We use a designated dealer at the final table. Most places just let everyone take turn dealing. We do not like this. The final table is where every player wants to be, since the winner of the final table is the tournament winner. We would rather have someone who knows the rules and regulations dealing than to let the players deal themselves. Players enjoy this since they can concentrate on playing cards and we can concentrate on making sure things are done right.

We keep track of everything. We keep records for every tournament we run. If someone wanted to know who won the tournament on November 17, 2005, we will have it on record.

Final Table

The way we run our tournaments is regardless of how many tables we start with, we eventually combine tables down so there only one table left, this being the final table. This way no one has the same number of chips and adds excitement and strategy to the final table experience. Generally the top 3 players receive payouts, with 1st place winning  a cash prize, 2nd, and 3rd receiving bar tabs / gift cards.

Points System

We also run a points system. Points are given to players based on their finish at the final table. 1st place gets 10 points; 2nd place gets 9 points, and so on to 10th place that gets one point. At the end of the 10 week period whoever has the most points and has not yet won a tournament becomes the "wild card" for the Tournament Of Champions. As players earn more points they can earn more chips for the Tournament Of Champions. Players love the point system. Not only does it keep them involved from week to week, more importantly it keeps them coming back every week to improve on their point total.

Tournament Of Champions

We run a Tournament Of Champions every 10 weeks. The Tournament Of Champions is a tournament in which the winners of the previous 10 tournaments and the point leader who has not won a tournament play for a winner takes all prize, worth up to $200. This night always brings a great turn out, as it determines who "the best of the best" is and gives bragging rights to someone for at least 10 weeks. The winner of the Tournament Of Champions will in a spot in a local casino tournament with a minimum buy in of $100.

The Tournament Of Champions is ran just like any other final table, except it is a winner takes all scenario, where a regular final table pays out the top 3 players.

In case someone wins 2 tournaments in a 10 week period, whoever takes 2nd that night gets a spot in the Tournament Of Champions.

Side games

Unlike some places, we encourage people to stick around for side games. Some places don't supply chips and cards for side games and some places don't even allow them. We supply the chips and the cards. Side games are good for business as they keep players in the bar rather then them going home. It's also good for people who are late for the tournament or people who are uncomfortable playing in a large tournament but feel more comfortable playing with fewer people. We usually recommend their be a small prize for these tournaments, such as drink chips

Payouts

If you want to have a good turnout for your tournaments, you have to be willing to have large payouts. State law limits the payouts to $200 per tournament. We generally recommend the payouts to be as follows: $100 cash to 1st place, $30 in bar tabs / gift cards to 2nd place, and $20 in bar tabs / gift cards to 3rd place. This can vary of course, but remember that if you do not give players an incentive to come to your establishment and play Texas Hold Em, they will take their money and go play somewhere else

What we ask of you, the establishment

We do not ask a lot of our establishments, but there are some things we do ask for

Specials

By having specials, you are giving players more of an incentive to open their pockets. Whatever you decide to do this is up to you, but we have a few suggestions:

• A happy hour from 8:00 to 10:00
• Beer bucket specials
• Pitcher specials
• Appetizer specials
• Drink specials just for poker players.

  Remember, if you treat poker players well, they'll come back for poker and other events in your establishment, and more importantly you make more money!!!

Staff

Please make sure you have enough bar staff on hand on poker nights, especially the wait staff. We can not emphasize this enough. Some locations just expect that the players will get up when they need a drink and go to the bar and get it. Would you do this if you were eating in a fine restaurant? Of course not. Nor should the poker players. By providing good service, players will spend more money, which is what you want them to do!

Advertising

We do ask that you do some advertising, especially for newer poker locations. We advertise as much as we can to bring in large numbers, but we feel that if you put in your fair share of advertising we can draw even larger numbers, as well as reach those who may not have known about your location to begin with. Whether you advertise on TV, radio, newspaper or any other form of media is up to you, as long as you too are trying to get the word out

Keep Us Informed

We will work with you to have the best poker tournament possible. We ask you do the same for us. If you want to try something different, have a scheduling conflict, or just want to discuss things, let us know. The worst thing you can do is do something without our consent or permission. Communication is key to running a successful business, and we want our business and your business to be successful

Furniture & Storage

Although this may sound obscure, we do ask that you have enough tables and chairs and enough room to store them. It is better to have to many chairs and tables, then to not have enough and turn people away because your establishment wasn't prepared enough

For more information please contact us at info@bigdocpoker.com