EXCLUSIVE: Merge Gaming Network Makes Big Changes To MTT Schedule

The Merge Gaming Network will be making significant changes to its daily poker tournament (MTT) schedule and its rakeback program, and PROFRB has exclusive details direct from the source.  We're releasing before full implementation takes place this coming weekend so please help us spread the word.  Professional Rakeback has worked directly with Merge and our own player base to provide suggestions and feedback on the new schedule - in particular we focused on the late registration issue that has been a topic of discussion amongst many in the online poker forum and skype communities, as well making the schdule "flow" more smoothly, improving the variety of tournament types and games offered, and general structural tweaks.  The end result appears promising.

First off, a quick glance at the major highlights of the new MTT schedule:

• The new schedule will debut this Sunday, March 9th. Changes made will be reflected on Carbon Poker and Aced Poker rakeback only and not across the entire Merge Network.
  
• All deep-stacked tournaments on the Monday through Saturday schedule moving forward will feature two hours and twenty minutes of late registration. Blinds will increase every 12 minutes in these MTT's. Changes to Saturday MTTs will begin with play on Saturday, March 15th.
  
• The first MTT changes players will see occur this Sunday: the Sunday $33, $60, and $109 tournaments will see the guarantee move from $20k to $15k. The rest of the Sunday MTT schedule will stay as is (click here for the current $5k GTD and higher Sunday offerings).
  
• The aforementioned Sunday Big Ticket ($100k GTD) and Sunday Super High Roller ($25k GTD) will remain with the same guaranteed amounts and 15 minute blind levels. All other Sunday Majors will have 3 hour late registration.
• More non-holdem tournaments will be featured, including PLO, PLO8, Stud, Stud8, HORSE, and Badugi events.
  
• More hyper-turbo, turbo, and rebuy/add-on events have been added to the daily schedule.
  
• Several regular daily Monday through Saturday tournaments will see guarantees adjusted in the interim; however, the Nightly $12.5k High Roller for $215 will remain as is.
  
• A broader focus has been made on daily satellite tournaments: several will run each day for the nightly MTT offerings.
• Some of the micro GTD tournaments that many players considered "clutter" were removed.
• An effort to implement a more steady stream of hourly and bi-hourly 1k+ MTTs has been made.

The main aspect of the MTT changes will be the adjustment in late registration and blind level timing, which was a decision heavily influenced by player feedback. The standardizing of most deep stack tournaments to a two hour and twenty minute late registration period is a major shift for the network. Previously, late registration for daily $5k guaranteed or higher tournaments (aside from the High Roller MTT's and Big Ticket) could last up to four hours. This has been a point of contention among some regular grinders, who have been vocal regarding their displeasure at the length of MTT's due to the elongated registration period.  Other good places for tournaments are the WPN rakeback sites.

Players expressed that they wanted many more smaller stake events to occur hourly in between "Early Bird", nightly, and "Night Owl" tournaments and this suggestion has been implemented. Many of Carbon and Aced's frequent players were key in voicing this particular point, and with a wider selection of games to choose from, it should hopefully quell concerns, satisfy players, and help the schedule flow more smoothly as players desired. Paired with the added satellites (more on this below), Merge aims to funnel more consistent foot traffic to nightly and major MTT's.

The "Night Owl" $11, $33, and $60 events will be moved back an hour to a 9pm EST starting time based on additional player feedback. You can see the new full $5k GTD and higher schedule, which we track on our Merge's Overlay and Tournament Results page, in the below graphic. Again, this schedule will debut starting this Sunday, March 9th.

The lowering of several daily tournament guarantees, while on the surface may seem to be a step backward, was a necessary aspect of the overall changes to offset the reduction of late registration. Having spoken at length with Merge Network representatives regarding their new schedule, ProfRB.com can report that the trade-off of the lower late registration, coupled with shorter overall tournament playing times and the addition of more non-holdem and special tournaments and satellites, is seen as a method to stabilize and increase overall player participation by the network. In addition, the guarantee decrease among some MTT's could be temporary as Merge gauges the success of the lower registration and overall tournament playing times.

The new emphasis on satellites is another portion of the overall aims of the new schedule. Players will have more daily opportunites to frequent the nightly offerings and Sunday major tournaments. No less than 18 satellites will run every day, with two additional satellites running Monday through Saturday and seven additional satellites running every Sunday.

The addition of more non-holdem tournaments, which are increasing in popularity among online poker players, also lends itself to furthering Merge's attempt to revamp their tournament traffic. While remaining competitive with rivals Bovada and the Winning Poker Network, Merge has struggled to keep up with player retention and participation over the past few months. However, they are still currently situated as the second best option of the major US-facing online poker networks and with a fresher outlook in terms of their daily tournament structure, remain poised to be a factor in the overall online poker landscape.

Professional Rakeback is an online poker affiliate and player advocate offering services to players across highly reputable USA and Rest-Of-World (ROW) poker rooms. We recommend Carbon and Aced Poker on the Merge Gaming Network if you'd like to enjoy this new poker schedule. We also offer in-depth reports and information to the online poker community in general, including our leading Monthly Online Poker Cashout and Withdrawal Reports, our Overlay and MTT Reports, our player to player Trading Value (Vig) Reports, and our weekly MTT Value | Overlay Report. If you wish to know more, feel free to contact us directly via any of the options on our contact page, conveniently found at the bottom of every page on this website.

-- ProfRB.com Content Staff