Card Player POY year race. Put out the Yellow Flag!!

Way back when I was writing for Card Player Magazine (CPM) I remember coming to Barry Shulman (editor/owner) with an idea for the POY race. I said let’s title the page with a large online poker sponsor, let them advertise the race as something really important and at the end we can throw a big bash and awards show. Barry thought this was a great idea. I was consulting for an online Card Room at the time and obviously brought them in to talk about the opportunity. My site wasn’t financially prepared, so Barry went looking through his connections and Calvin Ayre and Bodog Poker had the insight of my vision and jumped onboard. That year Men “The Master” Nguyen won and from Commerce Casino came limos to a take all to a Hollywood Bash hosted by CPM, BodogLife and MC’d by Brad Garrett.

The following year the UIGEA was borne and gone was the possibility of BodogLife Poker returning. So the POY race became a test of who had the best all around year, which was always the case really only the following year had no hoopla, no awards dinner etc.

This year has started out to be a banner year, especially with so many events in January and the point totals have quickly added up.

Coincidently, Men “The Master” has had a tremendous start to 2008 appearing at 7 final tables, but that’s not all. During this run he also finished in 10^th place twice. The way the rules go for the POY you get no points for 10^th place even though it is at the final table. Further, “The Master” won two other events at the Los Angeles Poker Classic. Unfortunately for Men these events had less than 100 participants and therefore awarded no POY points. If these events counted he’s be the leader of the point’s race by a lot!!

So yesterday I checked the Card Player POY and low and behold Phil Ivey passed “The Master” and moved into 2^nd place in this year’s standings. I knew Phil had won the World Poker Tour LAPC main event, but I didn’t know he had placed in another event, so I checked the listings. It seems that he was awarded points for coming in 3^rd in the Heads-up championship.

Now I don’t want to take anything away from Phil or Chris or anyone else who played in that event, but in my opinion it just can’t count for the POY race. How can it.

It breaks 2 very large rules as it pertains to the race. One there were less than 100 players entered, a certain criteria of the point’s race. The other to me is too obvious.

The Heads-up event is not an open event. This event is by invitation with 1 or 2 qualifiers. How can an event that clearly is not an OPEN event have bearing on a point’s race which prohibits anyone from playing?

I realize that this is rant on an item that has little meaning to the world, but in poker and especially poker tournaments if it isn’t fair for everyone, it just isn’t fair!!!

What do you think?