A few changes

I've made a few minor changes to the format this year:

1) $10.00 will be kept out of each weeks payout and be saved for the finals. $10.00 x 18 weeks means there will be a pot of at least $180 to play for in the final week. The weekly payout and ace pot will be slightly smaller, but not too noticeable.

2) The playoffs will be expanded to include roughly 10% of the total field for the season, with a minimum of 12 players. If 160 unique players play at least one event, there will be 16 players eligible for the playoffs the final week. The only catch - you must play at least 10 weeks to make the playoffs. Last year we had 190 unique players. I'd love to see at least 200 this year, which would expand the playoffs to the to 20.

3) The A/B pool format that was used last year will be eliminated. All pairings will be chosen completely at random. Pairings will be drawn on the spot. A certified auditor* will be on hand to ensure that everything is 100% random.

*Probably not. But there will be 54 players ready to flog me if they detect anything shady. Believe me, that's enough.

We're only one day away. Final preparations are being made. I've got one more surprise in store, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow. I hope everyone is as excited as I am.