Players in New Jersey have been spoiled by the wide variety of choices over the summer. The rooms operating in the state have prepared a very rich tournament schedule, including several series with handsome guarantees, and the sites operating on the partypoker US Network have been no exception.
The network which comprises of partypoker NJ, BetMGM Poker NJ, and Borgata NJ, all of which combine their player pools within the state, has just successfully concluded another edition of their Online Series. There was plenty of action across the board, with a few players banking big bucks as is usually the case.
Partypoker NJ August Online Series Highlights
For the August edition of the Online Series, partypoker and its partner rooms featured a total of 11 events running across one week. The buy-in range was fairly reasonable, albeit these tournaments are clearly targeted at those with somewhat bigger bankrolls.
Of 11 tournaments, 10 of them had a buy-in between $109 and $535. There was only one with a buy-in under $100. It was the Event #2 on August 8 with a buy-in of $20, and that one unsurprisingly attracted the biggest numbers. There were 791 entries when it was all said and done, and the eventual winner pocketed just shy of $2300.
The other two tournaments that saw the biggest turnouts both took place on Sundays – on August 8 and 15. These were the $215 $40K guaranteed (Event #1) and the $109 $35K guaranteed (Event #10). These two tournaments featured 254 and 342 entries, respectively.
| Event | Entries | 1st Prize |
|---|---|---|
| Event #1 – $40K GTD ($109) | 254 | 10,676 |
| Event #2 – $5K GTD ($20) | 791 | $2278 |
| Event #3 – $20K GTD ($215) | 73 | $6566 |
| Event #4 – $215 Satellite for $1 Mil BPOC | 61 | 3 Seats |
| Event #5 – $10K GTD PLO ($109) | 90 | $2469 |
| Event #6 – $20K GTD PKO ($535) | 36 | $3300 |
| Event #7 – $20K GTD ($215) | 96 | $5400 |
| Event #8 – $10K GTD ($109) | 82 | $3100 |
| Event #9 – $20K GTD ($215) | 79 | $6600 |
| Event #10 – $35K GTD ($109) | 342 | $6650 |
| Event #11 – $50K GTD ($535) | 102 | $15,045 |
The Overlay Bonanza Continues
Although player trends have been going in the right direction, rooms hosted on the partypoker US Network in New Jersey still seem to be struggling to meet their tournament guarantees. The latest edition of the Online Series saw a decent amount of overlay, which is great news for the players, but not so much for the operator.
Out of 11 events, seven of them had an overlay, meaning the number of entries was not big enough to meet the guarantee. In some instances, the discrepancy was a small one, but in a few tournaments, the rooms had to cover a fair bit of money out of their own pocket.
| Event & Buy-in | Guarantee | Entries | Total Paid | Overlay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #3 – $215 | $20,000 | 73 | $14,600 | $5400 |
| Event #5 – $109 | $10,000 | 90 | $9000 | $1000 |
| Event #6 – $535 | $20,000 | 36 | $18,000 | $2000 |
| Event #7 – $215 | $20,000 | 96 | $19,200 | $800 |
| Event #8 – $109 | $10,000 | 82 | $8200 | $1800 |
| Event #9 – $215 | $20,000 | 79 | $15,800 | $4200 |
| Event #10 – $109 | $35,000 | 342 | $34,200 | $800 |
These numbers should not be interpreted as an indicator that partypoker NJ is doing a bad job in terms of their tournament offering. Looking at the Online Series schedule, there is a nice range of options, with 6-max and 8-max events, and even a PLO tournament thrown into the mix.
However, it feels like the average buy-in is a bit too steep for an average player, especially given the fact the competition is quite fierce in New Jersey with WSOP NJ and PokerStars NJ fighting hard for the players in the Garden State.
All this being said, it is important to remember that we are deep into summer, which is always the slowest season for online poker, and poker sites worldwide struggle to meet their guarantees. It will be interesting to see if things will change for the better with the arrival of autumn when many players currently taking a break will come back to the grind.
