Some people hold a belief regarding the unlimited format that players can buy their way into a good qualifying run.

I disagree with that philosophy as an overall concept.

While it is true that having more attempts allows the "potential" for a better game, it does not guarantee it. Most players, given multiple attempts on a single game, will eventually place a score commensurate with their skill level. Since all players are engaged in the same format, the higher skilled players will produce the higher results over the long run.

Just like there are house games, there can be breakout games. However, even in the unlimited qualifying, single game attempts, a player needs to perform well on several games. Keep in mind, the qualifying format usually encompasses multiple games, often the sum of ranking results on 5 or 6 games to produce an overall composite score. Consistency still is a major factor.

So that means a player hoping to buy their way in, needs to achieve a decent score multiple times across multiple machines. If the skill is not there, hoping for luck across a bank of 5 games is not going to yield a top qualifying run.

Also, it is not reasonable to think that of all the players participating and qualifying at a tourney, that the top 16 (or whatever amount) have the most money or have even spent the most money. The same repeated names and top qualifiers seen at local, state, world events and on the IFPA front pages are there because they have skills, not because they bought the spot.

Another way to think of it is like this: Many people, including tourney players, own games at home. Having constant access to the games does not mean the scores keep going up indefinitely, nor does it mean unlimited attempts will guarantee reaching a wizard mode, for example. A result on one's own personal machine simply cannot be forced because of unlimited access. So going back to the tourney setting, throwing more money at game is not going to mean a player spending more money will qualify.

Sometimes the amount of entries used is not to just try to qualify, but rather to improve one's position. There are incentives to qualify higher : earn byes, drive the bus, more prize money, and some tourneys offer bonus prize money for top qualifier.

In a top 24 A-division using typical match play, if byes are in place, qualifying in the top 8 is a HUGE advantage over the lower 24. Top 8 grants 3 rounds of byes, top 4 is 4 rounds of byes. A guaranteed higher placing is of course gauranteed higher prize money. So, there is incentive to maybe spend a little more during qualifying to potentially be gauranteed a higher payout.

I would not necessarily call someone employing the above technique, "buying their way in". It is an educated strategy, based on knowing one's skill level. With the new software that keeps track of qualifying scores and time of entries, it is an interesting (and useful) excerise to go back in time and see where one stands had they stopped playing earlier.

When new players ask my opinion on how much to spend, I always encourage them to set a budget. At 3 games for $10, in most unlimited qulaifying tourneys, $20 will buy a complete round to generate a composite score. (Assuming no more than 6 games count toward the composite score). So for $20, a player can buy a single entry and have a composite score against all other players. After that, a player should decide how much they want to spend based on time and financial constraints.

There is no correct upper limit, but a player should set their own limit to avoid chasing a dream and falling into a trap thinking that the next game HAS to be better. I explain that $100 buys 30 total game tickets to be used as desired, which by that point, one should have a very good idea how they are doing.

I do like the software that allows for immediate input of a score and automatically updates the standings. My first experience with it was at Free Play Florida 2014 and thought it was just fantastic. It allowed for strategic planning of what to do next as opposed to guesstimating what the effects would be.

I hope that system becomes widely available.