Talking Six Max Tournaments with Mike Lacey of D4 Events

Why are hardly any 6-max events live? We talk to Mike Lacey of D4 Events, one of the few tournament organisers in Europe that does run 6-max games.

Mike Lacey

There appears to be an incredibly disproportionate gap between the availability of 6-max games live and online. Short-handed poker takes centre stage online, in particular at the cash game tables, but full ring is king at the live felt.

This is purely, and understandably, for cost reasons. Live poker requires space, tables, and dealers, each of which costs the casino money. You do not need to be Donald Trump to realise that if each table and dealer can accommodate 9 or 10 players, instead of 6, that your profit margins are going to be significantly higher.

It is a necessary part of live poker, most people know that and understand why it happens. But with so many short-handed games taking place online, is the availability of 6-max games live too sparse? More importantly, rather than saving money, are card rooms actually losing out because of their reluctance to run short-handed games?

One group of tournament organisers who are breaking the mold and embracing 6-max poker are D4 Events. The team are raising the bar for tournament poker in Europe, showing that you can give the players what they want and still run a successful tournament from the casino's point of view. They have already taken deep stack to the next level with the European Deepstack Tour, and recently broke the European attendance record in the Grosvenor Goliath.

Last week they showed that there is huge demand for 6-max poker when they hosted the Winamax European Short-Handed Poker Championships in Dublin. 656 players entered the €550 event from all over Europe (mainly France) and eventual winner Steven King walked away with €63,000. We caught up with Mike Lacey of D4 Events to discuss the lack of 6-max live games.

"There is definitely a big difference in cost when comparing a 6-max event to a full ring event"

PokerStrategy.com: How much 6-max is online, how much demand is there for it live?

Mike Lacey: 6-max is popular online but in general a recreational online or live player prefers full ring as they feel they have more time and are not under such pressure. In my experience though once they actually play a 6-max game they realise that it is much more interesting and fun than a full ring game.

These type of players far outnumber the 6-max regulars online so in reality I believe the demand is less, but as there are less live 6-max tournaments available, when they are put on, the players make an effort to play them.

PokerStrategy.com: Obviously 9 or 10 handed tables are cost effective, but would a 6-max event likely cause a loss for an event organiser? Is it greed or necessity that makes events full ring?

Mike Lacey: Well for a normal operator there is definitely a big difference in cost when comparing a 6-max event to a full ring event. However in our case this is not so much, as most of our other events are of the Deep Stack variety which are also more costly to run.

Once people see the success of The Winamax Poker Open, then I am sure that other operators will try to emulate it as have many with the Deep Stack. If we can run events like this without a sponsor, then others should be able to as well.

PokerStrategy.com: Is it only viable for 6-max events with an online sponsor, therefore?

Mike Lacey: A sponsor always helps. For the Deepstack we have always got big fields without online qualifiers and sponsors but it took a few years to hit critical mass. Winamax have helped us get there quicker with the 6-max by qualifying loads of players making the ratio of qualifiers: direct buy-ins similar to other big events.

In short: It is viable without, but always going to be better with one - the same applies to all events.

The Winamax Open attracted 656 runners

PokerStrategy.com: Are casino owners receptive to the idea or do they dismiss it quickly?

Mike Lacey: We have a great relationship with our host venues in Europe and they are receptive to most of our ideas. The only limitation we have is that the casinos do not have the ability to hold as many players in the 6-max format as we can in a hotel. When we start a relationship with a partner we look for casinos that are forward thinking and willing to try new ideas.

PokerStrategy.com: Are your side events & cash games 6-max?

Mike Lacey: The side events start full ring and move to 6-max when down to 30 players. This is mainly because the field is so big in the main event, we do not have the space to cater for everyone 6-max all the way. Cash games we offer both 6-max and full ring and this year we have had more players choose 6-max than full ring.

"The only limitation we have is that the casinos do not have the ability to hold as many players in the 6-max format as we can in a hotel"

PokerStrategy.com: Could a 6-max event actually be more profitable for a Casino, by freeing up more dealers sooner?

Mike Lacey: I can only really compare to our deepstack events. On Day 1 we play 11 levels in each event. This usually results in 50-55% of the field busted on Day 1 in the deep stack and around 70% in the 6-max. So we end up freeing up dealers much quicker during the 6-max but we obviously start with 50% more.

I read somewhere the other day something by a well known TD that 6-max events cost 50% more overall but I disagree and have the figures to back it up. Event though in the 6-max players only start with 20,000 chips the structure is probably better than our 50,000 chip deep stack. It costs us a little less per player to run the deep stack main event so I would imagine that this would hold true in other full ring and 6-max events with similar structures.

PokerStrategy.com: How many more 6-max events do you have coming up?

Mike Lacey: We have events coming up in Luton, Vienna and Coventry in the next few months before the Dublin European Deep Stack returns in February for it's 5th year - this time including a €2,500 version of the 50,000 chip event and a €550 Triple chance Omaha where players start with 3 x 10k bullets. All the main events are €550/£550 and have the same structure as the Winamax Poker Open.

by Barry Carter