Dave, I'm sorry that I had to read this post (comment). You are one of Steem Monsters staunchest supporter and I still remember the excitement when we first started on this journey together. I would have loved for this excitement to have continued.

There have been many ups and downs through these months and decisions made that could be viewed as good/bad. I'm not excited about the latest unfolding of events myself because I do feel many small to mid-level players are excluded from earning some of their investment back. Firstly, they are limited to a small prize pool and secondly, the chance of winning in the tournaments is slim. In the current scheme of things, not very many will be able to play competitively. People will be disheartened and leave (many have).

Perhaps this is a gaming environment that are for heavy gamers willing to invest. Not being one myself, I don't know either. We're not gamers and don't have the same mindset as others. I know your heart is with helping others being able to play, compete, and earn. They can still play and compete, but it seems earning is harder to obtain. The game is ever-changing and everything is still in trial and error. Auto tourneys just started and rules could change. I don't think having the same 20-40 people entering the paid tourneys would be sustainable, so something would eventually have to change.

One lesson I've learned from all this...we have to learn to trade these cards. Being a HODL'er simply does not work in anything crypto-related.