Poker Satellite Tournaments – Going Big

February 2, 2012

Poker satellite tournaments are responsible for the success of many of today’s professional poker players. When you watch a WSOP or WPT event on TV you probably don’t think about how these people got there. Are they all rich amateur poker players that have an extra $5,000 to $10,000 laying around? You will be surprised to learn that many of them won their seats via low cost poker satellites at online poker rooms. Chris Moneymaker is the perfect example. He was partially responsible for the big online poker boom that started in 2003-2004. If it wasn’t for a $39 satellite tournament offered by Pokerstars in 2003 you wouldn’t even know who Chris Moneymaker is right now. Here is an overview of how satellite tournaments turned Chris into a poker legend.

Poker Satellite Tournaments – The Chris Moneymaker Story

In 2003 Chris Moneymaker was an accountant and also worked part-time at a restaurant. He enjoyed playing small stakes poker at Pokerstars as a hobby. At this point Pokerstars wasn’t the giant it is today. Pokerstars was focused on tournaments in 2003.  Chris played in a $39 WSOP Main Event satellite at Pokerstars. After that he quit his jobs and became the spokesperson for Pokerstars.

Satellite Tournament Guide

Nowadays online poker sites like Pokerstars send thousands of players to major live events around the world. Every poker room I have ever played at has promotions like this. To win a five figure seat package at a live event you can go one of two routes in regards to satellite tournaments:

  • Low buy-in, multiple steps – The road to the Main Event can start with as little as $1.10 or you can simply use poker points to buy in to the satellite. This is true for both satellite sitngos and tournaments. If you go this route you will likely need to win several satellites in a row. Winning a $1.10 satellite will mean you win a seat at a $30-$40 satellite. Winning this will give you a seat at a $1,200 buy-in satellite. When you win this you will have your package to a live event. I just made up these numbers right now. Depending on the poker room and the promotion you might only need to win 2 satellites or you could have to win 5 sitngos.
  • High buy-in, single step – You can jump straight into a direct satellite to a large live event by risking a little more cash. The actual amount of cash will depend on the satellite. If you want to invest a couple hundred dollars into your new online poker career you can sign up for a direct satellite.

How Satellites Work – A Real Example From Pokerstars

I just checked at Pokerstars and I found a good example of the types of satellites available today. The prize is a seat package at the LAPT (Latin Poker Tour) Grand Final in Brazil. This package includes the seat buy-in, hotel reservations and $1,630 in spending money, for a total of $5,700. To buy directly in to the Grand Final satellite it would cost $215. There are five different satellite buy-in levels to get into the Grand Final if $215 is out of your budget:

  • $4.40
  • $16.50
  • $22
  • $44
  • $51

This gives everyone a chance regardless of their bankroll. If you want to risk a little more and give yourself much better odds to get a seat at the Grand Final satellite you can play in 6 or 10 player sitngos.

Another option would be using your Pokerstars FPPs to purchase a ticket to a satellite. You can buy satellite tickets through the VIP store. A $215 satellite tournament ticket costs 13,500 FPPs at Pokerstars.

Written by admin · Filed Under Gambling, Poker | Leave a Comment 

Online Poker Growing In Asia – PlayPokerOnline.com Report

February 2, 2012

PlayPokerOnline.com has reported that Asia is likely to be the next hot spot in the online poker industry. The online poker boom that swept the USA 7-8 years ago could pale in comparison to what may happen in countries like China and India. More and more people in Asia are expected to play poker online for money in 2012. India alone is home to 1,200,000 people, roughly 4 times as many people as the United States. India is also on the cutting edge of technology so access to computers and high speed internet is actually better there than it is in the US, except maybe in cities where they would be the same. India also has a massive economy which is growing must faster than many European countries.  When you combine these factors you come up with the potential for the largest online poker boom in history.

Other Asian countries are also starting to warm up to online poker. South Korea is a good example. They recently hosted an Asian Pacific Poker Tour event in Seoul. The APPT is sponsored by Pokerstars and they have been running it since 2004.

Another hot spot for online poker is in Macau. Many of you likely associate Macau with gambling because of their world famous casinos. The APPT hosted a poker tournament here as well.

According to a PlayPokerOnline.com press release published by MSNBC about the growth of online poker in Asia there are many international gambling companies setting up businesses and partnerships in a host of Asian countries.

PlayPokerOnline.com reports that one of these companies is 2UP. This online gaming company recently issued a report that concurred that there is big potential for growth in several countries in Asia. This is also true for other forms of online gambling like casinos.

PlayPokerOnline.com also reported on another company that has done some research into online poker in Asia. Media Entertainment Consulting Network recently published a study the potential for an online poker market in India. They estimate that online poker could generate $50 billion per year in India.

India has an excellent economy and an educated work force. They also have a large population so the government would certainly love to tap in to this kind of revenue. After reading PlayPokerOnline.com’s press release about this I think that the most impressive emerging market is in India. Other the next few years we will certainly see many companies setting up in India. Rooms like Pokerstars and Party Poker probably have already started this process. This is great timing for Pokerstars especially. They had to ban US players last year so India could recover the lost traffic and revenue easily, and then some.

For more information on this topic or anything else poker related check out PlayPokerOnline.com. They offer guides and articles on a host of topics including the legality of online poker in certain parts of the world. They also cover poker room reviews, poker bonus codes, poker rules articles, poker strategy articles, deposit option articles and general online poker guides. They are one of the Internet’s top resources for the latest poker news and they can help you get better than normal bonuses at the best poker sites.

Written by admin · Filed Under Gambling, Poker, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment