World Poker Tour/ World Series Of Poker

[KefAAAA]

I was wondering how one would get on the WPT and/or get to play in the WSOP? I've heard of satellites but I'm not sure of exactly what they are or how they work. A little clarification would be much appreciated.

Thank You,
Kef

[Fitz]

First of all, the WPT or the WSOP, are poker tournaments. They are just like a golf tournament, pool tournament or any other tourney. You can pay an entry fee, sit down at the table, and take your chances. Depending on the size of the tourney, anywhere from the top 3 to top 63 players will get in the money and get paid. The WSOP is actually a large group of about 25 different tourneys; these culminate in the main event which is a $10,000 buy in no limit hold 'em game. This is what most newbies think about when they think of the WSOP.

The WPT is a series of tournaments from all over the world. Just like the WSOP, you can buy your way into the tourney for full price, or you can play a satelite and try to win your way in. You can go to the WPT web site, and see the schedule for next season's tourneys; when they are close to you, go check it out, and take a shot.

Satelite tournaments are smaller tournaments in which you can play to win a seat in a larger tournament. They can range from an $1100 buy in single table tourney where first place gets a seat in the WSOP main event. There are also tournaments that might have a smaller buy in, maybe a couple of hundred dollars, where maybe 150 or 200 players play for multiple seats in the bigger event. There are even satelites for satelites; not to be confusing, but no matter the dollars involved, a satelite is a small tourney that gains you entry into a bigger tournament.

Aside from these tournaments, most local card rooms sponser some kind of tourney, and that would be a good way to get your feet wet. Ameristar here in KC has a weekly limit hold 'em tournament that is $40 buy in. There are usually between 50 and 100 entrants, so if you get in the money it can be a nice payday. It is also a cheaper way to begin to learn to play in tourneys. Most online sites offer tournaments too. There are single table, multi-table and even satelites for some of the big events including WPT and WSOP events.

Sorry for being so long winded, but I hope this explanation helps. Hang in there, and good luck.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

You say you're from the Northeast. The question then is, how far from Connecticut Indian Country?
Oct 27 - Nov 15 (approx.) Foxwoods is running The World Poker Finals. The championship event is a $10,000 NLHE tournament and the final six left standing will be part of next year's WPT show.

How do you get in other than walking up on the first day of the event and paying $10,000? Easy (maybe that's the wrong word). Foxwoods is running a series of single table satellites (called Act I & Act II) that feed into multi-table super-satellites (called Act III). For Act I, the buy-in is $30. The final 2 left at the Act I table win a voucher good for the buy-in to an Act II table (or your can buy-in directly to the Act II for $115). The winner of the Act II table wins a voucher for a seat in the Act III super-satellite(or you can buy-in directly to the Act III for $1,060). Act III's always run on Thursdays at 7:00 PM, beginning on July 24, and every 2 weeks after that. For every 10 Act III entries, one seat in the $10,000 NLHE event will be issued, so if there are 100 participants in the Act III, the whole 10-person final table gets in.

So you see, for as little as $30, you too can get to meet Shana and VVP!

[Ed S.]

That is sweet. Where else across the country do they have similar tournaments like the one you described?


Ed S.

[microlimitaddict]

there are tournaments and satellites big and small all over the place. card player magazine has a lot of advertisements from the calif card room especially and their tourneys (ranging in buy-in price).


the horseshoe and gold strike in tunica, miss (near my home stomping grounds in memphis) is having a decent size series of tourneys in late july/early aug but they are better known for the World Poker Open in jan/feb that culminates in one of the WPT events.

also, dont forget that one can win their way into the WSOP via satellites on the various sites as was the famous case with champion Chris Moneymaker who earned his entry and trip to Vegas by winning an online satellite that cost him something like $40 to enter.

in short, there are several ways to make a millionaire of yourself....yet somehow surprisingly few ever pull it off. go figure /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

pokerpages.com also lists a lot of the big and small tournaments from around the country....just enter the area of the country (or world) that you are interested in learning more about.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

You'd have to check with individual casinos.poker rooms about similar satellites. When we get closer to the WSOP (probably after the first of the year), various casinos and online poker sites will offer satellite structures for getting a buy-in to the big one.