Satellites for the big event

The Big Drop for One Drop will certainly make history, as it has the largest buy-in ever for a poker tournament. But it will also be used for providing easy water access across the world. For every one million dollars received as buy-in, 11.11% will go towards charity. While the WSOP would want as many million dollar buy-ins as possible, it is also offering a few seats through satellites, giving chance to players from different levels to participate.

The only way to participate in a poker tournament without spending on direct buy-ins is to take part in the satellite events. So WSOP has announced a number of regional live satellite tournaments, which will be hosted by casinos from across the US. The casinos will be hosting the live step-satellite poker tourneys, with buy-ins as little as $65. In addition to that, there will be a Mega Satellite with a buy-in of $25,300 on June 30, at Las Vegas’ Rio Casino.

Regional satellites schedule

The first step towards the $1 million buy-in event is to participate in the regional tournaments being hosted by land casinos in the US. The first satellite will take place on April 5, at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The buy-in for this event is $535. In May, 9 regional satellites will be held across the country. These satellites will be at -

• Canterbury Park casino in Minnesota, on May 13
• Harrah’s Casinos in New Orleans and Chester (Philadelphia), on May 19
• Choctaw Durant in Dallas/Oklahoma, Caesar’s Place in Las Vegas, and Harrah’s Casino in St. Louis on May 20
• Horseshoe Hammond casino in Chicago on May 26
• Horseshoe Casino in Southern Indiana and Council Bluffs in Nebraska/Iowa  on May 27

The satellites you can take part in June will be held at The Lodge Casino in Colorado on June 3, and the Horseshoe Bossier City in Louisiana and Horseshoe Tunica in Mississippi on June 10, 2012.

The WSOP has announced that so far, 22 players have registered for the event with a one million dollar buy-in. The mega satellite in Rio Casino will be giving away one guaranteed entry for the tournament. In addition to that, one in every 40 players will be getting a chance to win a $1 million dollar seat to the event through satellites.

The participants

Of the 16 people who would be competing for a huge cash prize pool, 14 professional players are definite, and are a part of the event by invitation. Each of these players enters the tournament with a buy-in of $125,000. The remaining 2 players for the tournament will be selected through qualifier rounds, which will have 24 people competing for 2 seats. The qualifier, which is a televised event, took place on April 1 and 2, 2012, where two amateur poker players got selected for the event. Here is the list of the remaining 14 poker professionals who would be a part of the league.

• Sam Trickett
• Tony G
• Phil Laak
• Andy Frankenberger
• Vanessa Selbst
• Eugene Katchalov
• Scott Seiver
• Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier
• Erik Seidel
• Patrik Antonius
• Yevgeniy Timoshenko
• Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz
• Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates,
• Tom Dwan

Qualification rounds

The qualification rounds had 24 people playing against each other to bag one of the 2 seats worth $125,000 for the premiere league. Of the 24 participants in the playoffs, 12 were professional poker players and the rest were amateurs. Some of the 12 poker professionals participating in the qualifiers included Xuan Liu, Antony Lellouche, Erich Kollman, Bodo Sbrzesny, Melanie Weisner, Alexander Petersen, Giovanni Rizzo, Bartolomeu Gomila, and Steve O’Dwyer.

The 24 members are divided into 4 groups of 6 players each – 3 pros and 3 amateurs. The players in the groups play against each other and the top players will move on to higher levels until two top players are left. The top two players win the $125,000 seat to the premier league.

Premiere League events

The Party Poker Premiere League V begins on April 4 and will take place through April 10. The 16 participants are divided into two groups of eight members each, and the top 3 players from each group will move forward to the final. The remaining two seats of the 8-player final table will be determined by a HeadsUp event between the 4th and 5^th place rankers from each group.

The winner of the final table will win the Party Poker Premiere League V title and win a huge cash prize. In addition to that, the title winner will also get a seat at the final table of the World Poker Tour this year. If you couldn’t make it to this year’s league, don’t worry. You can still enjoy the event by watching it on TV.

Event schedule

The 2012 Betfred UK Student Poker Championship will begin on Monday, April 2. All the events will take place at the Grosvenor G Casino, which is located atCoventry’s Ricoh Arena.

The championship will officially kick off with a welcome party for the students on the first day, at 7:00 pm GMT. That will be followed by the first event, which will be a high-roller event for the players. Here is a note on all the events that you can partake in during the championship.

• A ₤110 Student High Roller event will be held at 8:00 pm on April 2. This will be the first event of the championship.

• The Main Event day 1a will begin at 12:30 pm on the second day, April 3, 2012. The event has a buy-in of just ₤35 and is capped to 200 players.

• On April 3, students can also participate in a ₤500 guaranteed casino multi-table tournament, which has a buy-in of ₤55. This event begins at 8:00 pm.

• The third day of the championship, April 4, will also be day 1b for the Main Event, and will be capped to 200 players. In addition to that, students can participate in the ₤27 Freezeout casino multi-table tournament at 8:30 pm.

• The last day of the championship, April 5, 2012, will be the final day of the Main Event. The last event for the tournament will be a ₤27 Freezeout casino multi-table tournament that begins at 8:30 pm on April 5.

Besides these events, the championship may also include a team competition, where teams from different universities participate and the best team wins a cash prize. Students are also allowed one re-entry for the Main Event. So if you go bust on Day 1a of the event, you can re-enter the competition by making another buy-in on Day 1b.

Great way to begin your poker career

The UK Student Poker Championship is a great platform for those who are serious about becoming professional poker players. The UKSP, which is operated by ex-students in theUK, is open to both novice and experienced poker players, who are also students. All students in theUK, including those who are members of Poker Societies are eligible to participate in the championship. While society members are guaranteed a certain number of seats for the events, individual players have to reserve their seats in advance.

Play and win money

From March 15 to 25, the New Tropicana Las Vegas will be abuzz with poker fans and sports enthusiasts from across America. The casino will be hosting the March Mania Mega Stack poker tournament for 11 days when the NCAA events take place. The casino, in collaboration with HeadsUp Entertainment and Cantor Gaming, will be creating the ultimate NCAA viewing experience for its poker players.

Using the latest betting technology offered by Cantor, New Tropicana will be creating a Vegas-styled atmosphere for its guests. The casino will be providing the latest Samsung tablets which players can use to bet on the NCAA events, without leaving their poker tables. Not just that, participants will be able to enjoy the poker and watch the athletic events at the same time.

Schedule of events

For 11 days, between March 15 and 25, New Tropicana Las Vegas will be hosting Holdem, Omaha and other poker variants in the limit, no-limit and pot limit formats. The 2012 March Mania Mega Stack Poker Tournament will include -

• No-limit Holdem events on almost all days; these events have buy-ins ranging from $150 to $550. Events are spread out during the 11 days, such that players can participate in as many NLH games as they can.

• Pot limit Omaha events on March 17; there will be two PLO events on this day, with buy-ins of $150 and $340.

• A no-limit Omaha tournament on March 18, 2012; the event has a buy-in of $550.

• NLH Bounty event on March 20 and 23; these events have a buy-in of $150 each.

• $150 HORSE and Omaha Hi-lo Split events on March 19 and 23; a $250 Omaha Hi-lo Split event will take place on March 21.

The Main Event of the March Mania Mega Stack Poker Tournament will be held on March 23. This event has the highest buy-in of $1500.

Bet on NCAA events

The upside of participating in the March Mania Mega Stack Poker Tournament is that you can make money by playing poker, as well as by betting on sports, without compromising on either. The event has already begun, but you still have the chance to participate in a number of events, including the main event of the tournament. Pack your bags and head to Vegas without delay, if you wish to win anything at all.

Poker tournaments at the PPC

The Players Poker Championship may not be the biggest poker championship you can participate in. But if you want to combine the thrill of playing poker and also enjoy the leisure activities on the beautiful Caribbean island, then mark your calendars for the PPC Aruba in May. The championship will feature 4 unique events and a satellite for the main event. The events you can participate in include -

• The $350 Mega satellite tournament at 7:00 pm on May 3; Play and win this event and you will qualify for a seat at the $3,300 Championship Event.

• The $330 NLH Second Chance Turbo Event at 9:00 pm and the $550 NLH tournament at 12:00 pm on May 5; you can also participate in the NLH Second Chance Turbo on Sunday, May 6, 2012.

• The NLH Mix-Max 10-8-6-4-2 event with a buy in of $1,100 at 12:00 pm on May 6;

• The NLH Turbo DeepStack event on May 7, 2012; the event begins at 12:00 pm and has a buy-in of $550.

The main event of the Players Poker Championship is the Championship Event, which begins at 5:00 pm on May 4. The event will take place through May 7, when the final table will be played and the champion will be declared.

Qualifiers for the PPC

If you are a skilled poker player, you could participate in the satellite qualifiers for the event and enter the championship event without spending $3,300. Throughout April, satellites for the PPC Aruba will be held at Isle Casino Racing at Pompano Park, Florida. The casino will be hosting live satellites from Monday through Saturday, with buy-ins of $60 and rebuys of $40. The winners from these events will move on to the $520 Mega Satellites that take place on all Sundays in April.

One in every nine participants of the Mega Satellite will win a $4,500 worth package to the Players Poker Championship in Aruba. In addition to that, the casino is also hosting a special $50 satellite with $20 rebuys on April 1, and giving away one guaranteed $3,300 entry for the PPC main event.

WPT Boot Camp at the Westin

Just before the PPC Aruba, the Westin Resort and Casino in Aruba is hosting the World Poker Tour Boot Camp championship, where you can battle with the pros to win a share of the $250,000 prize pool. Added to that, you also get a chance to play 8 tournaments and participate in seminars on advanced poker skills. If you want to take a shot at the PPC championship, joining the Boot Camp at the Westin could be helpful. You can register for this event through phone or the internet.

The “Flighted” tournament structure was a new format that PokerStars was going to test out during the Red Spade Open III, but due to technical issues PokerStars had to change the format back to a regular tournament. The “Flighted” tourney structure looks like it’ll add a level of excitement to MTT’s at PokerStars.

“Flighted” poker tournaments will have multiple “Starting Flight” Qualifiers that players can play in. You have to make it through the “Starting Flight” in order to make it to the “Main Flight”. One rule is that once you qualify to the “Main Flight” you can’t play in any of the “Starting Flights” again to try and improve your chip stack. This will add an element of strategy to MTT’s that players have never had to think about before.

Unfortunately the “Flighted” tournament format will have to wait to debut at PokerStars because the software team wasn’t able to work out the technical issues in time. The Red Spade Open III at PokerStars will be played using a regular format now and players won’t want to miss this tournament.

When is the PokerStars Red Spade Open III?

• February 26th 2012 at 15:00 ET

The buy-in to the PokerStars Red Spade Open III is $55 and the prize pool has a guarantee of $1M minimum. The player that wins the tournaments will walk away with a minimum of $200K. Not only is the prize pool huge in the Red Spade Open III, but players will have the chance to play against the best poker players in the world.

PokerStars Pros and players from the online team at PokerStars will be playing in the tournament. Each of the Pros playing in the tournament will have a $100 bounty of their head. If you’re lucky enough to knockout one of the pros from the tournament the $100 bounty will be credited to your PokerStars instantly.

The buy-in is only $55 and with $100 bounties up for grabs the Red Spade Open III presents huge value. PokerStars is also running a lot of satellites to the Red Spade Open III right now and you can win a seat to the tournament for a fraction of the buy-in. Another way to make sure you have a seat in the PokerStars Red Spade Open III is by purchasing a ticket to the tournament with your FPP’s in the PokerStars VIP Store.

You need to be a SilverStar VIP player at PokerStars in order to purchase a ticket to the Red Spade Open III with FPP’s. You can buy a ticket to the tournament for as little as 3100 FPP’s depending upon your VIP level although the cost of the ticket starts at 3500 FPP’s for SilverStar players.

Features of the mobile application

The PokerStars Mobile Poker application is available for Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users, as well as Android devices. The mobile application is easy to use and comes with many exciting features.

• Using the app, you can access the Texas Holdem and Omaha real-money or play money games in the no-limit, pot-limit and limit formats. You can also play the Omaha Hi/Lo variant.

• The app also comes with multi-tabling and chat features. With these features, you can play at several tables at once and also interact with other players located anywhere in the world, using your mobile device. You can also check the hand history for selected players.

• The app also allows players to register for all the PokerStars events no matter where they are located in Britain.

• Just like in the desktop version, you will be able to earn the Frequent Player Points (FPPs) and VIP Player Points (VPPs) when you play on your mobile.

• The “Play Now” button in the mobile version enables easy and quick access to the sit n go games, multi-table tournaments, and ring games that are being offered at a given time.

In addition to all this, the PokerStars Mobile Poker app also gives you easy access to the ‘how-to’ guides, tutorials and FAQs.

Quality online poker experience on the move

PokerStars has stated that the online poker experience that the players have enjoyed on their desktops can now be carried to their mobile devices through this app. Also, as the mobile app will keep you stay connected to the global PokerStars community, you can use your mobile to participate in any game or tournament that involves both mobile and desktop players.

How the app works

To start using this exciting application, just visit the PokerStars mobile site and download it to your mobile phone or tablet powered by IOS or Android operating systems. Here is how to do it.

• Visit the site www.pokerstarsmobile.com using your mobile’s browser to access the download link. Alternatively, you can have the download link sent to your mobile phone, by entering your phone number on the space provided on the PokerStars online site.

• If you are an Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch user, you can download the application from the Apple iTunes store. If you are an Android user, click on the “Android” icon on the mobile site to download the application to your phone.

• Once the app is downloaded, you can log in and access the lobby to select a game of your choice.

If you are not yet a registered member of PokerStars, you should visit the online PokerStars site through your desktop or laptop and register first.

The Iron Man Freerolls at VC

Victor Chandler is offering its players the chance to win packages worth €12,000 to EMOP Lisbon through its Iron Man Freerolls. To register for the freeroll, members of Victor Chandler have to earn the required number of VIP points and buy-in for an amount equal to the number of “earn points” or the required VIP points. Winners of the freeroll tournaments will get a package worth €2,000, which includes €1,100 buy-in for the Main Event at Lisbon, accommodation at Hotel Vila Gale Cascais for 4 nights and €350 for travel.

Schedule of events

Of the six Iron Man EMOP Lisbon freerolls, two were held in the first week of February. The remaining four freerolls would take place between February 16 and February 29, on the Bet Victor Poker site.

• The Iron Man EMOP Lisbon 3 will take place on February 16. To participate in this event, you need to accrue 100 VIP points and register with a VIP Point buy-in of the same amount.

• The Iron Man EMOP Lisbon 4 event will be held on Tuesday, February 21. You can register for this event with a VIP point buy-in of €250, after you accumulate 250 VIP points.

• The 5th Iron Man EMOP for Lisbon will be held on February 26, 2012. You can register for this event with a buy-in of €500 and 500 VIP points.

• Your last chance for winning a Lisbon EMOP package would be on February 29, when the sixth and the last Iron Man EMOP Lisbon takes place. The event requires 750 VIP points and a VIP buy-in of the same amount.

All the above events will begin at 20:15 CET on the scheduled days, on the Bet Victor Poker site. And if you want to participate in any of these events, you better start collecting your VIP points without further delay.

More Iron Man Freerolls for EMOP

If you don’t think you can earn enough VIP points for the EMOP Lisbon packages, you could try your luck in July for the Iron Man freerolls for EMOP Dublin. A total of 10 Iron Man EMOP Dublin freerolls will take place this summer, starting July 1. The winners will get a package worth €2,000 which includes €1,100 buy-in for the Main Event, accommodation at the Clontarf Castle in Dublin and €350 for flight tickets. The VIP point requirement for these freerolls ranges between 1 and 900.

Timing your poker tournaments

Usually, online poker tournaments are not timed, and continue till somebody wins the table. But Sky Poker has other plans for its poker players. To make the game of poker all the more exciting, the online poker room will now be timing your poker tournaments. The timed tournaments offered by Sky Poker are – 15 minutes, 30 minutes and one hour tournaments. So how do these tournaments work?

To begin with, these timed tournaments are like the multi-table poker tournaments that SkyPoker usually offers. But as they come with a time restriction, the tournament ends soon after the specified time elapses. For instance, if you have entered a timed tournament of 1 hour, then you would be able to play only for one hour, after which the game would be frozen. This brings up another question. How would the winner be decided? Who gets the money?

Once the play is frozen, the prize money would be given away depending on the number of chips you have. So if you are left with 20% of the chips, then you get 20% of the total prize pool and so on.

Tournaments in a hurry

If you want to participate in a poker tournament, but don’t have the time for it, now you know what to do. Simple, just play the Timed Tournaments at SkyPoker. Unlike the usual poker tournaments that can range from a few hours to a day or more, these tournaments are restricted from a few minutes to an hour. So if you can’t spare the whole day for winning big poker tournament money, just spend 15 or 30 minutes, and you will still have a chance to win a piece of the big prize pool.

But then, there is a catch here. Although these tournaments are great when you are in a hurry, you won’t be able to win any Players League Points that can be used to enter other tournaments or win freebies.

Other tournaments at SkyPoker

Besides the timed tournaments, Sky Poker also offers televised and non-televised tournaments to its players. The televised tournaments allow you to participate in poker tournament that will be broadcasted on Sky Poker TV. So if you win, you could get popular on TV. The non-televised tournaments include the regular and guaranteed tournaments, freerolls, satellites, and deep stack tournaments. Sky Poker also has Added tournaments, where it allows players to win more by adding some extra amount to the prize pool.

Speed tournaments, where the blinds increase at a faster pace, are also offered on Sky Poker. In addition to all that, the online poker room also runs special poker tournaments from time to time.

The first stage of the Genting Poker Series took place between the 1st and the 5th of February in Start City Casino in Birmingham. The event included a number of poker events like rebuy satellites, single chip ‘flips’, and other side events alongside the NLHE Main Event. The Main Event started off on the 2nd of February and ended with the final on the 5th. There were 365 players for the event, which had a buy-in of £440. Players could also participate in qualifier satellites with buy-ins of £22 and £43 for the main event, which had a total prize pool of ₤100,000.

The side events that players could participate in included the £109 NLHE on the 2nd and 3rd February, and the £160 NLHE on the 4th. The finals of the Main event took place on Sunday, 5th February. Ruslan Vlasov, a native of Nottingham, had won the main event to gain more than ₤20,000 of the entire prize pool.

Coming up on the GPS tour

The next leg of Genting Poker Series would be the second one, which takes place at the Fox Poker Club in London. The event would take place between March 28 and April 1 of 2012. This would be followed by the third stage of GPS, from May 30 to June 3, which would be held at Edinburgh’s Genting Club Fountain Park. The fourth leg would be held from 1st to 5th August at the Genting Club in Stroke, while the 5th leg would take place at the Genting Club in Sheffield, between 26th and 30th September.

The sixth leg takes place on the Genting Poker website, allowing online poker players from across the country to participate in day long tournaments. GPS online will take place between the 8th and the 11th of November. The last leg of the Genting Poker Series, which is also the Grand Final, will be held between 5th and 9th of December at the Palm Beach Casino in Mayfair, London.

Other rewards

In addition to the cash prizes, players are also offered special jackpots and other prizes for live events.

• The first player with 4 Aces to lose to a straight flush gets to win a Bad Beat jackpot, a Sponsorship Package worth ₤10,000.
• In case the first three cards dealt in a Flop are aces, all the players at the table win a seat to the following main event.