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It was the summer of 2005. Poker was all the rage, and the World Series of Poker was set to be televised as a weekly series for the very first time on ESPN (in the past, they had covered the final table, or in the case of 2003 and 2004, they showed only the final tournament). I was where I always was when I wasn't working, hanging out on Will and Eric's couch at their apartment in St. Louis Park. The three of us were playing poker, something we did with almost daily regularity, and were talking about how cool it would be to play in the World Series of Poker, when a spark of brilliance hit us (as opposed to our normal lack of intelligence). Why not start our own series, a weekly event culminating with a final tournament and an eventual crowned champion.
At first, we laughed at the idea. The mere thought of organizing not just ourselves, but our friends and fellow poker playing acquintences on a weekly basis seemed far fetched. But the more we talked about it, the more sense it made. Why not have a weekly reason to get together, laugh, drink, play cards and generally socialize. Will, the pragmatist of our trio was skeptical. "Why would people come each week?" he asked, "as soon as they fall behind, there is no motivation to keep showing up." To which I responded, if we make a points system that allows everyone a shot at becoming the year-end champ, there would be no reason to give up. And it was on this premise that the original SLPSOP was formed.
Our first season had very simple rules. We played Texas Hold 'Em tournaments each week, and points were awarded based on the place that you finished. If there were 8 people, last place would recieve 1 point, first place would recieve 8, and so on. We decided on a 16 week tournament, with the final tournament held on the 17th week (this coincided with the World Series of Poker episodes on ESPN culminating with our final tournament landing on the final table of the WSOP main event). Emails were sent and the first week arrived, our inagural game consisting of 8 or 9 players (can't remember exact) was a reasonable success, and on we rolled.
The first season was fun, so much so that after it, we revised our original plan to hold one season per year, to include a spring season. For season 2, we also decided to add a new wrinkle, this time awarding points not just for the place finished, but also points for each player you "knocked out", or eliminated from the tournament. Our second season saw a fairly significant rise in attendence as the word got out that the SLPSOP was the best tournament around (or at least the best tournament around that we knew of).
Season 2's success, led us back into the fall and the start of Season 3. Another wrinkle was added, this time it was a "bounty" or a player selected at random that you could recieve 2 bonus points for knocking out. The bounty would also be awarded points for winning the tournament (5 points to be exact) to add an additional level of reward for the added risk. Attendence increased again as our little game turned into a full-fledged social event.
Season 4 saw a venue change, as well as a name change. What was once the SLPSOP was now the GVSOP. The new address meant room for more participants, and there were plenty of new faces mixed in with some of the old. It was now apparent that the GVSOP was here to stay. While Season's 4 and 5 did not have any changes to the rules, we did see several new occurances (back-to-back bounty wins and a 3-peat weekly champion), and set several records (most points in a single week and most points in a single season).
In Season 6, our numbers swelled. This ultimately led to our largest final tournament to date, with asubstantially larger final tournament field than ever before.
Season 7 was truly a banner year for the GVSOP. We saw record numbers of attendence, culminating in an absolutely enormous final tournament with over 20 people - a new record for a final tournament. For the second straight season, we had a season-long veteran pitting wits against a virtual unknown for the top prize - a sign that anyone, regardless of how many tournaments they have played, has a chance to walk away a big winner.
In Season 8, we really settled into a groove. There was only one new player the entire year, and that was a one-time occurance. Our crowd had become a solid, regular bunch of truly exceptional poker players. The Season 8 final tournament saw our second multi-time champion, and culminating in the crowning of only our 6th different champion in 8 years.
Seasons 9 - 13 were fairly uneventful, with new faces being added all the time and old faces fading into memory (as other commitments such as children, school and job-related moves occurred). There were countless battles, numerous bad-beats and strong play by everyone involved.
Prior to Season 14, a new rule was passed - one that will completely change the game once again. Moving the regular season from 16 games to 18 provides a longer season, and more opportunities for points. Will this new rule be successful? Only time will tell.
Season 16 saw us re-invent the series yet again, adding not one, not two, but 3 significant rule changes. Starting in season 16, we increased the point values from $0.30 to $0.50 in chips per point, giving even larger stacks to participants in the final tournament. We also added the "Re-entry Rule" - that allowed participants one chance during the season to re-enter the tournament after their chip stacks were wiped out. But only if it happened early in the night (before the 1st break). Lastly, we added the aptly named "Rob Rule" - a rule to encourage participation. For tournaments with 6 players or less, double tournament points are now awarded. For tournaments with 4 players or less, triple tournament points are now awarded. All of these rules, mean changes - and changes are always exciting.
For a few seasons, we played on without significant changes. But then in Season 20, we upped the re-entrys from 1 per season to one per 6 games played, giving players the opportunity to earn up to 3 re-entries per season. We also added an award for the regular season champion - recognizing the consistency and weekly attendance needed to achieve that goal.
In 2018, after years of moving locations around the Twin Cities, we decided to change our name from the GVSOP (Golden Valley Series of Poker) to the Twin Cities Poker League (TCPL). We felt that this re-brand better reflected our geographic locale, as well as the game style. Our new brand will lead us into the next chapter of our history and will help us keep moving our amazing league forward.
What will future seasons hold? New rules? New faces? More excitement? Your guess is as good as mine, but you can rest assured that the GVSOP will continue to be innovative and exciting for everyone involved.
