[Article] How to Run a Type One Tournament

[Smmenen]

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=7149

What I?m going to do in this article is canvass the rules for running a Type One tournament: what you should do, what you must do, and what you should avoid. In the process, I?m going to argue for what may seem to be a pretty radical position in terms of how to run one. I haven?t spent time on these subjects before because they are bristling with controversy...

Steve

[firebird365]

(Before I start: your link is wrong. It should be Article=7149 instead of 7148)

Well, I really liked this article, but I felt like I was left hanging; it delved into Tournament "theory" if you will, but didn't give any hints regarding the less important (or behind-the-scenes) nature of tournaments, such as finding dealers, getting sponsored (or finding an appropriate venue), advertising, and supplying stuff for the players (food, cards, card sleeves, etc.)

Other than that, my favorite part of your article was the section regarding proxies. It's great to have a concise list of points for proxies available.

[Edit] To tack on another suggestion, how would you suggest creating that competetive metagame? In my area, people are casual about Vintage (at best) and places such as Hadley are out of driving distance; the only decks I see are 4+ years old. I don't really want to take a list of budget decks and have people pick one, but is there a god place for newbies to get exposure to Type 1? Some friends have said that TMD is a little daunting at first.

[Smmenen]

Thanks for the complements.

It usually takes a person who knows what's going to to stimulate interest.l One person who cares can do more than you can imagine.  Take that knowledge and spread it, test and tune with people.  Pretty soon they'll share that knowledge pool.  Put up good prizes to attract players from not just locally, but adjacent cities and towns.  

I didn't have enough time to write about everything, nor could I even imagine talking about everything.

Steve

[Hi-Val]

Steve, knowing that you have more power than I will ever own just adds to my amazement at your liberal stance on proxies. Truly something that other powered players should take note of and follow! It all comes down to the love of the game and if you want to play for a challenge or beat up on little kids for a mox.

Speaking of moxes, you mention little about actually aquiring the prizes. My suggestion is for a group of friends or a team to put it on and pool their money. This also allows them to act as TOs.

If there's little T1 interest in the area, print up fliers to hand out at FNM with the prize (and cash value of it!) as well as links to SCG and TMD for people interested in competitive decks. Talk to people personally and try and get commitment to come to the event. Usually someone coming will try and drag a friend along for companionship or gas money.

Nice article!

[Smmenen]

Steve, knowing that you have more power than I will ever own just adds to my amazement at your liberal stance on proxies. Truly something that other powered players should take note of and follow! It all comes down to the love of the game and if you want to play for a challenge or beat up on little kids for a mox.

Speaking of moxes, you mention little about actually aquiring the prizes. My suggestion is for a group of friends or a team to put it on and pool their money. This also allows them to act as TOs.

If there's little T1 interest in the area, print up fliers to hand out at FNM with the prize (and cash value of it!) as well as links to SCG and TMD for people interested in competitive decks. Talk to people personally and try and get commitment to come to the event. Usually someone coming will try and drag a friend along for companionship or gas money.

Nice article!

Thank you - I spent some time making sure the logic was solid and persuasive.

You've noticed, however, that I surrepticiously brought the proxy issue square, front and center - addressed it and none's the wiser becuase I did it under the broader issue of Type One touranments.  The proxies issue really cuts to the heart of competitive balance - being able to enjoy Type One as a format.  And I've also tried to make some cogent arguments for why the arguments against proxies fail.

Stephen

[terevaune]

This was a very well written article.  Very well done.  I just spent almost $2000 getting power (Canadian, about $12 US) and I can say I wholeheartedly agree about the proxies.  I'm thinking about holding a good t1 up here but the problem is that I could probably convince most store owners here to shoot themselves before they'd consent to an unsanctioned tournament.  Not sure why, but it's just they way they run up here

[Smmenen]

This was a very well written article.  Very well done.  I just spent almost $2000 getting power (Canadian, about $12 US) and I can say I wholeheartedly agree about the proxies.  I'm thinking about holding a good t1 up here but the problem is that I could probably convince most store owners here to shoot themselves before they'd consent to an unsanctioned tournament.  Not sure why, but it's just they way they run up here

Wow, the exchange rate has shot through the roof.  You got an excellent deal .

Re: Irrational Store
Have them read my article - it couldn't hurt.  

Steve

[Jhaggs]

Steve,

Great read.  As for suggestions I would DEFINITLY include a section on how to setup a tournament in more practical terms.  I have tried on several occasions and failed to find a venue to hold a tournament.  In my opinion, finding a place to play is the biggest obstacle to overcome.  I would address the following questions:

1.  How do you find a hall suitable to hold a tournament?  Who do you ask?  Where do you look?  How much do you expect to pay in rental fees?  Should the renter provide tables and chairs?

2.  What are successful avenues in advertising the tournament?  What are the best ways to approach Card Store Owners to have them post flyers in their stores?  Will they expect some sort of payment for this?

3.  Should you use a pre-registration format?  Or is it better to just collect the money at the door?

4.  What types of software can you use to organize the matchups?  Where can you download this software?  How do you know the correct number of rounds to hold?

5.  Where do you find judges that will judge a proxy tournament?  How much should you pay the judges?

6.  How do you handle vendors that wish to sell cards at the tournament?

Some of the answers to these questions are obvious.  IAMFISHMAN was a great resource for me in answering some of these questions but finding an actual place to play for a reasonable price in the SF bay area has been vexing.  I think you should address these practicality issues as well as theory issues.  There are no tournaments to attend here on the West Coast.  None.  I host tournaments at my apartment once a month.  I am lucky enough to have 9 other friends who are all powered up to compete against, however we would love to be able to attend something on a much larger scale.  If successful tournament organizers can shed some light on these questions it would not only be a huge help for us you would like to setup a big tournament but I feel it would also add a lot to your article.

[Smash]

Eh, I am not sure I liked this as much as your usual article smenarch. But this may very well be personal bias due to

a) You are rehashing your arguments from the people who already read what you write here

b) I am not so liberal with the proxies.

Still, a well written and functional article, good job.

[colebert]

Smmenen,
     I am still new to TMD so I have been hesitant to post to many good topics because of the recent turmoil here, but I just had to reply to your recent article. I liked it alot, but I wish you would have gone in to some of the more practicalities of running a tourny as in how big of a space you should get and what to expect to pay to rent it.
     
      I also agree 100% on your views on proxies and proxy tournies, but in my area there is an oddity. Most of the players who tend to oppose proxies in tournies are underpowered players. What I have been told is that they beleive that using proxies is somehow selling out. Do you think you can explain that or is it just the water up here?
     
       The last thing I wanted to get your opinion on was prizes. I understand that power should be offered up for first place, but what is your opinion on second or even third place? What about the rest of the players? Should a TournyOrganizer give out at least a pack to the rest. Or is power and some packs for 1-3 place enough?   Otherwise this was another good article by smmenen and it has gotten me fired up to do a large proxy tourny with my crew up here in northern Vermont. Hopefully the location could bring in some Canadians as well as other people from southern New England.

[BlkXplsn]

I'd like to add my two cents and agree with the people questioning how you convince stores to run proxy tournies. I think, at least here, a major part of it is simply because (right or wrong) they think it will hurt sales of cards. Do you suggest simply trying to lure stores away from sanctioned tournies or what?

I don't consider myself a violent person... but I would kill someone, in front of their own mother, for a 5 proxy tourney in or around KC.

[rvs]

I don't consider myself a violent person... but I would kill someone, in front of their own mother, for a 5 proxy tourney in or around KC.

So what's stopping you from organising your own? I'm sure there's a local judge willing to take it up.

I'm actually surprised at your liberal stance towards proxies too Steve.

[Swanky]

Excellent article, Steve.

Your surreptitious bringing of the proxy issue to the fore of Type 1 issues (as far as the general public is concerned) was something truly needed, and I feel as though  your article is an excellent representation of how truly linked that issue and the health of the format is.  I feel as though a lot of the conservative side of the issue (Though I'd be loath to start reviling sides, of course.) is rather self-serving for the reasons you've outlined.  

Here's to the health of T1.

[chump]

I think, at least here, a major part of it is simply because (right or wrong) they think it will hurt sales of cards. Do you suggest simply trying to lure stores away from sanctioned tournies or what?

Here are some arguments you could use:

Most stores have a very limited selection power cards in stock, if they have any at all.  Last time I went to YMG Somerville (a major store in my area), they had one Mox (Emerald) available.  It is difficult for a store to hurt sales of cards they don't even stock!  By allowing proxies, the store owner actually INCREASES his/her potential of receiving revenue from  customers.   Would the local store owner rather sell a box of Darksteel (in stock) or lose the $90-$100 sale to, say, a Mana Drain (not in stock) purchase on ebay?

Type 1 tourneys attract segments not currently served by the store.  Last time I checked, expanding your customer base is a Good Thing (tm).

Type I tournaments need not be sanctioned.  Vintage DCI ratings are insignificant to 99.9% of competitors in Type I tournaments.  DCI ratings matter most to the PTQ crowd, for whom Vintage ratings are worthless.

[rvs]

Type I tournaments need not be sanctioned.  Vintage DCI ratings are insignificant to 99.9% of competitors in Type I tournaments.  DCI ratings matter most to the PTQ crowd, for whom Vintage ratings are worthless.

Bragging Rights (tm) are still cool. Also, it not like it says nothing as everybody playing unsanctioned claims. It does mean something...

[Razvan]

This is eerie... just yesterday I was complaining on how the Type 1 scene in Toronto is at a low-point, and this article comes up. If this isn't Karma, I don't know what is.

And even for T1 tourneys, a Box of a current set is not a bad prize. First, if so desired, the box can easily be split (a Mox requires more work). Secondly, they are easily available. Thirdly, the value of the box can be a bit higher than the Mox. I mean, a foil Chrome Mox, or a foil Ravager, and you are 1/3rd of the way there, and that's 1 card out of 450 in the box.

But yes, very good article.

[kirdape3]

Any Mox (yes, including Pearl) is EBaying for $250-300 in UL condition.  Explain to me how a single box worth $80 is comparable to that.

[Razvan]

It was exagerrated. I gave an example on how a foil Ravager can fetch $75 right now... That's 1/3rd of the way there.

Satisfied? I know you won't be .

[Dr. Sylvan]

Smmenen, I'm interested in your position on prizes below first place. Personally, I think people are more likely to return if they win something, and would aim to give prizes to the entire Top 8 at a minimum (16 or 32 depending on attendance). I think there's too much emphasis at present on the first place prize. What's been your experience with giving prizes to more people?

[Ineffible]

@ Dr. Sylvan and Smmenen, -- Going along with what Dr. Sylvan said, what kind of prizes would be worth 2nd - 8th? After the 1st place piece of power, how far do you drop for 2nd, 3rd and so on.

(Edit) Assume you have 40 people and the hall that was used cost $300... what type of prizes would attract more people to come.

Finally Smmenen,  what day and time are best suited for type 1 tournaments? I tried holding one a few weeks ago on a saturday at 11:00 am, and was told it was too early. What do you think an acceptable starting time should be?
Thanks again.

[Smmenen]

I don't consider myself a violent person... but I would kill someone, in front of their own mother, for a 5 proxy tourney in or around KC.

So what's stopping you from organising your own? I'm sure there's a local judge willing to take it up.

I'm actually surprised at your liberal stance towards proxies too Steve.

But why?  Haven't I been clear all along in what I want for Type One?  Proxies are the obvious solution to a more competitive metagame - especially in areas that haven't been able to develop type one prior to the skyrocket in prices.  Areas like the Dulmen and Eindhoven were able to acquire all the big cards and so have a stable resource for playing type one.  But what about in random city in random state, USA where they have never played Type One.  It is very hard to get into fresh.  

As for other prizes, I am of the opinion that they are fine - but if the goal is to scrounge enough funds to together to get one tournament going, you can't be greedy.  The fact of the matter is that a cool 2nd prize next to a mox - say a Mana Drain or an Abyss or Berserk, or something along those lines will make no difference in your player turnout whatsoever.  For that reason the expenditure of funds to create a second prize is actually a waste of money if you are just starting up.  Creating a cash prize alternative for first is most likely the best way to enable a split.

Steve

[Matt]

An interesting note about proxies: There seems to me to be a symbiotic relationship between unsanctioned proxy tournaments, sanctioned ones, and Power prizes. If every tournament in the world let me use proxies, there'd be little incentive to win a Mox - I already have my proxy, and who would buy it from me? But as long as there are areas that hold popular sanctioned tournaments, those areas maintain a demand for power, and so maintain the viability of giving power away as prizes.

Power only works as prizes for proxy tournaments because power is valuable, and that value is maintained by a foreign (relative to the proxy area) demand for power.

There is of course some demand for power cards because of their collectability, but that's minimal in relation to their play value, and falls under the same categeory as the argument that people will attend a tournament of ANY prize support, just to compete.

[Hi-Val]

Just a friendly reminder to everyone, remember to keep the discussion more about the article than shitstorming into a proxy debate. We wouldn't want to have this locked!

I think that the second-fourth prizes should not be insignificant. One thing that always got me about Columbus was that the second prize could have easily been one or two duals instead of the packs, cards which are usually more useful to the T1 player. I think it's important to give the runner-ups something tangible to win, even if it's giving a pack or two to the rest of the T8ers. Cards like Italian Abyss and Moat are realatively cheap (~$40) and can really juice up a tourney.

On the venue issue: sometimes you can find a store that's big enough to host the event. You'll be pulling in maybe 30 people max, which is nine or ten tables, something that even small stores can manage. If stores are not an option, be creative. Is there a rec center you can get for a Saturday morning? Is a relative in a fraternal organization (Masons, Rotary, etc.) that can talk to the boys about getting you a discount on the hall for a morning to host? Does your university have space that you could use? Heck, it is not unheard of for tournaments to be held in church basements. Give it a shot!

[jazzykat]

I agree with everything you said except that tournaments should be held monthly with a small amount of people. I think that it should depend on the crowd of players.

My team and I (cowboy, and another non-member of the drain) drive well over an hour in each direction every Friday to compete in a tourney that usually draws 12-20 people. The first place is usually a box of any in print set, and there are a few packs given out to the rest of the T8.

I find playing every week and bringing a new tier1 deck almost every week (I alternate, and sometimes I play landstill), combined with cowboy's savage win percentage has helped invigorate the metagame in that area. I am sure that me telling people to go to the manadrain to look up competitive decks also helps(I almost flipped my shit 2 weeks ago, when a kid was playing X land mono-green stompy).

Tournaments have been about the same size or are actually bigger now, and I attribute that to growing interest in T1 in general and an influx of high caliber players that are shaking up the metagame and making people step up. In a year or two I think that half of the players will be on a Hadley level (meaning good and knowledgable) while the other half will still be rather casual/rogue/no playtesting.

That is just my isolated experience and 2 cents.

[Jhaggs]

On the venue issue: sometimes you can find a store that's big enough to host the event. You'll be pulling in maybe 30 people max, which is nine or ten tables, something that even small stores can manage. If stores are not an option, be creative. Is there a rec center you can get for a Saturday morning? Is a relative in a fraternal organization (Masons, Rotary, etc.) that can talk to the boys about getting you a discount on the hall for a morning to host? Does your university have space that you could use? Heck, it is not unheard of for tournaments to be held in church basements. Give it a shot!

Thanks Hi-Val.  I have actually tried the Masons route.  We came close, but things fell through due tot he fact that we couldn't agree on making this a non-profit tournament.  I needed to be able to recover costs with a reasonable payment for my efforts.  They disagreed.

The rec-center route is not a bad idea.  Suprisingly I haven't thought of that.  I think the SF Bay Area could draw 50-75 people for a big t1 proxy event.  There is actually a lot of t1 players that I have come across and I can guareente 10 players myself.  Its just finding a place to play that is a major stumbling block

[Smmenen]

An interesting note about proxies: There seems to me to be a symbiotic relationship between unsanctioned proxy tournaments, sanctioned ones, and Power prizes. If every tournament in the world let me use proxies, there'd be little incentive to win a Mox - I already have my proxy, and who would buy it from me? But as long as there are areas that hold popular sanctioned tournaments, those areas maintain a demand for power, and so maintain the viability of giving power away as prizes.

Power only works as prizes for proxy tournaments because power is valuable, and that value is maintained by a foreign (relative to the proxy area) demand for power.

There is of course some demand for power cards because of their collectability, but that's minimal in relation to their play value, and falls under the same categeory as the argument that people will attend a tournament of ANY prize support, just to compete.

I addressed this issue, in detail, in the article.
 
Steve

[nataz]

Well, I don’t have nearly the experience that Steve does, but I did just manage to help host Bangor's fist Mox tourney last weekend and I thought I'd throw in my own 2 cents.

first off, @ Jhaggs
This is what we did for our tournament:

1) For starters I'd check local card stores. Many of them are already set up to handle tourneys (i.e., chairs, tables, computers for pairings, judges, and a ready player base), and might be willing to help for a cut of the profit. More magic, regardless of the format, is a positive thing from their point of view. They can even act as on site dealers for sleeves, dice, food etc.

2) Always ask every store possible, and I would avoid paying if at all possible. I'd say that I had success with half of the local stores when I asked if I could put up fliers. Make sure that the event isn’t on the same day as one of their big events, ask nicely, and push the fact that type one is fairly undeveloped, and hopefully your tournament will bring even more players back into the game. Remember, tournament players of any format are much more likely to spend big bucks then casual players.

3) Pre-reg is great, but don’t depend on it 100%. Pre-reg allows you to have a baseline number which can give you ideas about how much space you will need, and whether or not the tournament will be profitable. It also gives you a little start up cash to pay for any event fees that might have to be paid in advance of the tournament (e.g., deposit on the room)

4) I'd just use the normal DCI software, it works pretty darn good. As for number of rounds...there is a formula, but I've forgotten. I'm sure someone else knows and will post it.

5) As for judges, we honestly didn't have any sanctioned judges, just knowledgeable volunteers. We aren’t sanctioned, so it worked out fine. I'd make sure that every judge has access to current errata and oracle text.

6) Take a cut of their profit for cash transactions, and then sell them table space. Not controlling "vendors" can quickly become a real burden at a tournament considering they are just leeching off your hard work to bring the people together in the first place.

-general comments

I would have to say that having a Mox as first place is a must. It is the only prize that can really bring people out of the "woodwork". I don’t even bother competing for type two stuff anymore, but a mox sparks a lot of interest.

As for second prize, I think I disagree. I really liked having a drain as second place because it effectively doubled your chances to win "Big". Duals are also inexpensive but worthwhile prizes. The problem of course is the more you give out, the more you have to take in. We gave out a Mox Pearl, Drain, Abyss, t-shirts, and draft sets, but people had to pay for it.

Our entry fee was a whooping 25 bucks! We weren’t charging that much because we were greedy, we charged that much to cover our expenses and prizes. Dropping second to a dual land, and then getting rid of all the other prizes probably could have knocked off 5-10 bucks off the entry, but then a lot of people would have gone home empty handed. We offered the large prize support as an incentive for people who don’t really have much of a chance at wining, but still wanted the experience.

I’m not sure what is better, lower cost with less prizes, or higher cost with more prizes. We are still decided on what to do with the next one.

As for proxies at the tournament, that would have to be a HUGE affirmative. I don’t care about the whole proxy/ don’t proxy debate; what I care about is playing type one magic. If we had anything less then unlimited proxy our attendance would have dropped to the point where we could not have held the event. Proxies bring in the numbers while allowing you to play against something other then goblin sligh and type two affinity all day long! This is especially true if you are just starting a tournament series.

I would say that a significant amount of people complained about our proxy procedure, (unlimited) and threatened not to show up. But in the end, almost all of them showed up anyways, along with all of the guys who are type two FNM regulars. It was a good time, and I really cant stress enough the need for proxies in a new Type one scene.
 

-carter

P.S

This event went so well that we are planning at least two more, one for a jet and a drain, and one for a lotus and a bazaar

Starting up type one tournaments do require a fair amount of work, but it gets easier after the first time.

Good luck to anyone who attempts this, and feel free to PM with any questions that the almighty Steve can't answer :-p

P.P.S.
Ray (Iamfishman) did a really good thread on the hands on part of starting your own tourneys. I did a search, but wasn’t able to fine it, any help?

[Jhaggs]

Thanks Nataz.  It's great to hear from people who actually have put in the time to run a sucessful tournament.  They always give "real" advice.  In the temp manadrain forums Iamfishman gave a simillar breakdown to how he organizes waterbury.  His insight is espically vaulable:

http://zherbus.proboards19.com/index.cgi?board=tourny&action=display&num=1073045245

Ray writes:

"Hi...as the organizer of the Waterbury type 1 tournaments I'd just like to say I fully support anyone trying to make more places/events to play type 1...we need more people like you. Let me give my 0.02 to help you out as best I can.

1. What are the most important things in starting a tournament? I realize that this is pretty general but I want to make sure that I have the basis covered as far as the tournament basics are concerned: how to match opponents together, lenth of matches, lenth of tournamnent (rounds), ect.

There are many very important things to getting a tournament scene off the ground. The first and foremost is for the first event(since these things take time to grow) is to give yourself quite alot of planning time for your first event. I announced my first tourney 2.5 months in advance...you need to give yourself plenty of time to plan the first one because you really need to get the word out and the first one sets the stage...almost like a first impression.

To match opponents together and to handle all the other basic ranking procedures, I would really recommend trying to get ahold of the dci software program...although you may not sanction the events...the program is invaluable to handling all the pairings and result entry. If know no one with the software, try contactin someone at the DCI at wizards.com.

50 minute rounds are customary with 5 additional turns. You should run the tournament swiss with a cut to top 8. To determine the number of rounds, take the number of players you have and round up to the nearest power of 2. Whatever your exponent is...that's how many rounds of swiss you have. Estimate the tourney will last 1 hour for each round plus about 4 hours for the top 8.

2. Is a pre-registration a better option in order to establish a head count?

It's been my opinion that pre-registration is a waste of time. You can usally gauge your attendance by counting all your definites(people who you are 100% are going) taking about 1/5 of your wishy-washeys and adding about 10% of that number for people who heard through the grapevine. That estimate almost always works great for me.

3. How willing are card stores to allow you to dispense flyers to their customers?

It depends. NEVER ask a card store to hold flyers if they are holding an event on the same day. It is rude and puts the store owner in a very awkaward position. If that day is clear for the store owner, ask nicely, and offer to mention there store at your event. Also if the store has flyers or business cards...put them at the head table at your event. If you do this successfully and even just one person mentions that they heard about the store at your tourney, you're golden. Also, if you need to buy prizes for your tourney...be sensible...and by them at the store(s) that hold flyers for you...even if you have to pay a buck or two more...trust me...what goes around comes around.

4. If I am renting a hall for the tournament do I need addtional insurance for anything? (I ask this becuase of the likely hood of minors).

I have had problems with fights/stealing/etc. I haven't taken insurance or anything like that because even when those things happened, it is the general consensus that neither myself nor the hotel was negligent. Furthermore, I have taken drastic(and some would say unfair) steps to keep out those who are potentially offenders(costing myself about $50-$100 per tournament)...so I guess, actually, yes...in that respect...I am paying for insurance.

5. How do you get a DCI judge or equivilent? If this is a proxy tourny what is the standard in deciding game disputes? Do you just use a VERY knowledgable person? (My experiences with type 1 is that pretty much everyone who plays has a good grasp on the rules...but things do come up).

I find that you don't need a DCI judge as much as someone who knows all DCI procedures and Type one rulings. Some basics...while you are starting out.
1.) simply find the most rules-knowledgable person you know and ask him to be your judge.
2.) Download the most recent oracle wording for every card and have it on your laptop.
3.) Have a copy of DCI Floor Rules and Penalty Guidelines. Again, even though I don't sanction my events(because proxies=higher attendance) I still run it as though it were DCI sanctioned.

6. What is the protocol as far as cheating is concerned? I have never actually witnessed a cheating incident so I'm not sure if there are established rules for this. What's the best course of action if there is a "he said, she said" incident where an allegation of cheating is brought forth but with no evidence?

This question is impossible for me to answer as it is very situation specific.

7. What are some definite keys to having a sucessful tournament?

Give away tons of prizes. I'm serious...this may seem obvious/dumb/costly...but if you give tons of little door prizes with a decent first prizes and maybe second third and fourth place prizes as opposed to one humongous first prize...more people will leave happy and more people will want to come back...I know it seems dumb but people are obviously much happier leaving with some $5 prize then nothing at all and that first place prize winner is coming back whether he wins a lotus, mox, or a mana drain.

8. What are some things that make a tournament poorly run?

The three biggest complaints I hear.
1.) Poor judge rulings
2.) Tournament ran too late
3.) Cheating going on

Stop these 3 things first...then worry about the smaller stuff.

9. What are the best ways to market the tournament? How long should you advertise the tournament before having it?

For the first one give 2 months...after that you can curb it down. Use the manadrain.com to promote your event. Also, don't expect to make a huge profit right off the bat...probabbly not even for the first year. First, build your player pool. Offer some commission for players bringing other new players. Also, build up a mailing list and network with as many stores as you can. To sum up...the first year is all about establishing and building...after that...concentrate on growing larger. "

[DEA]

one thing about proxy tournaments having power for prizes
i love it
even if i'm allowed to use proxies, i don't like falsies
i can't wait to convert my pearl and ruby to the real thing, but sad to say, we don't have power tournies in my parts
props to TOs who allow proxies  

[Ric_Flair]

Steve,

Thank GOD that you finally, definitively put that stupid proxy argument to bed.  I am SO tired of the same things being said over and over again.  It is sort of like the Banned and Restricted discussions.  It is over now.  Anyone who wants to argue has to show why Steve is wrong AND why they are right.  

For that alone this article should be commended.  Overall, good job.  

Note:  There were two small grammatical/typographical errors:

Attacking the second argument first, rating in Type One is what a star in Kindergarten is: a vague accolade for something you might or might not have done, which is generally meaningless.

I think that this sentence would have read more smoothly if you would have said:  "...ratings in Type One what a star in Kindergarten is..."  I think that the term ratings is actually both the singular and plural.  So that ratings...is....is not bad grammar.  Ask Matt or Jacob though.  They may have the definitive answer.

I can't refuse this argument as easily as the other three

 

I think what you meant was REFUTE.  Right?  Slip of the keyboard.  

I hope you realize that I am pointing this out not to be a cock.  Apparently Ted doesn't even read your stuff anymore (and why should he?).  Errors of this sort are hard to pick up on by the author.  

Again great article.