New Sunday Start Time 6:00pm
Poker at St.Matthew's Tavern will now start at 6:00 instead of 4:30.

New Tuesday Early Happy Hour Event
Ivanhoe (Savoy) from 2:30 to 6:30 on Tuesdays with Henry. This is experimental to see if it goes well. Tuesday nights at Savoy from 7:00 to 11:00 will continue normally with Sai This way you have an option if you prefer to come out earlier and not stay out so late. Please be sure to check the appropriate box(es) when you RSVP.

Priority Seating for RSVP's
Additional clarification is needed: table 1 is reserved for the first 10 RSVP's up until the start time. If you were not among the first 10 to RSVP you will be placed in the queue. If there are any available spots on table 1 at the event start time the system will move players down in the order in which they RSVP'd until the table is full. After the start time, if there is room for any alternates, they will be moved to table 1 in the order in which they signed in. The RSVP order is no longer relevant after the event has started.

Whether to accept alternates on the first table is dependent on whether or not additional tables are available. The event lead and/or a member of management has discretion to make exceptions in the best interests of the players overall regarding alternates if there are extenuating circumstances. Our goal is to accommodate all players as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sometimes this means one or two players have to wait a little longer so that 6 or 7 players (for example) do not have to wait.

Priority Seating does not apply to seasonal tournaments. Tournament seating is randomized for all participants.

The Explorer Bonus is Back
After the pandemic we suspended this bonus but now it is back. The Explorer Bonus gives you an extra 750 awesome points if you play at least one game at every venue in a calendar month, plus an extra 1,500 awesome points if you WIN at least one game at every venue in a calendar month. Points will be awarded at the beginning of the month for the previous calendar month. The amount of points being given for this bonus is half of what it used to be. This is due to the fact that at the time the bonus was originally created we had 8 active venues, but since returning from the pandemic we only have 3.

Changes Coming in August
_Heads up will be 6 hands instead of 5.
_Once we chip up to pinks (5,000/10,000) blinds will go up every 4 hands instead of 3.
_The minimum penalty for a no-show by the end of an event after you RSVP will be 50 awesome points.
The first two changes will hopefully make the end game more skill-based and less luck-based while adding no more than 5 or 6 minutes per game.

RSVP / Priority Seating Misconceptions
There still seems to be some confusion regarding how this works.

You do not have to be on time in order to get the RSVP bonus. As long as you show up before the event is over and play at least one game you will get BOTH the extra chips (500) and the extra awesome points, assuming you checked the box to RSVP in advance.

If you DO happen to sign in before the event starts AND you were among the first 10 to RSVP you ALSO get a guaranteed spot on table 1.

If you did not RSVP, you are still welcome to show up at any time, you just won't get the extra bonus chips and extra awesome points, and you MAY still be able to get on table 1 if there are any available spots at the event start time. If not, we will still get you into a game as quickly as possible. The one-time bonus is a completely separate bonus that you get if you sign in before the posted start time.