Best way to qualify for WSOP

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
Yep, Party is a rip off. Don't understand why they can't see this in the long run. Poker Stars is pretty smart in my opinion, with the free acomodations, for sure they're having the best players.

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Sirio, you're right that for players, trying to qualify at Party is a "rip off" compared to PokerStars.

However, that does not mean Party's strategy is worse, from a business perspective, than Stars'.

PokerStars is giving away 100 WSOP seats through FPP and TLB freerolls. That's a million-dollar promotional expense. (Actually more than that, because Stars will also pay for 9 nights' hotel accommodation for those 100 players.) Will this giveaway attract a million dollars of extra business to the site? Perhaps, but I would think there are other more effective ways to spend the promotion budget.

When players win their seats in PokerStars' cash qualifiers, that's $10K going right off the site. I'm not really convinced that the advantages PokerStars gains, from publicity and so forth, will build the site enough to compensate for the cash leaving the site by way of players qualifying for the WSOP ME.

By contrast, Party is charging a bundle in rake on all its satellites, and taking the hotel costs out of the prize pool. Despite that, they still get the same promotional advantage of having players wear their clothes on ESPN. It's a terrible deal for players (compared to the alternative), but that doesn't mean it's a bad business decision by Party.

[MicroBob]

FPP's do actually have cash-value.

It's just a little bit of cash-value...but it's what they give for the raked-hands and tourneys you play in there.

To the player it feels like it's "free" but it's really not any different than if they called them their super-special PS-dollars ($PS not unlike their $T or $W)


Additionally...the 40fpp and 400fpp round-1 tourneys under the WSOP tab typically have TERRIBLE under-lays for the 2 or 9 seats worth 4k points that are given.
Thus they are making even more of their FPP points back when 700 players pay 40FPP's each and the pay-out of FPP's (9 seats of 4k points) is WAY below what they are taking in.



Pokerstars gets to say "Look at us!! We are giving away $1-million worth of WSOP seats via our FREE fpp points program" but in reality those players earned and spent more than the $1-million worth of FPP points to win those seats in the first place.


However, I don't disagree with your assertion that Party might as well charge whatever they can get away with. If enough players are willing to pay a higher rake on the tournaments than obviously they are charging what the market will bear.
For the thinking player like me it's now a decision of whether the lesser skill of many of the party players is worth the increased entry-fee (this, of course, is exactly like one's decision of where to play one's ring-games too).


But I do disagree with the idea that Stars is essentially screwing themselves on this. They most certainly are NOT doing it for the publicity at the WSOP alone. they ARE making a profit on their satellites. Almost undoubtedly.


So far...I've been doing decently on Stars trying to build up my T$ and W$ totals (as well as my total of FPP's) and have yet to play any of the Party WSOP satellites.

Individual results may vary.

[Bartman387]

THe cheapest but biggest long shot is ROyal Vegas POker. You can start with as little as a $1 sit & Go buy in.
It works like this:
level 1: $1+.10, top 2 spots win level 2 freeroll
Level 2: $5+.50, top 2 spots win level 3 freeroll, 3rd wins jumpback
Level 3: $22.50+$2.25, top 2 win level 4 freeroll, 3rd wins jumpback
Level 4: $100+$10, top 2 win level 5 freeroll, 3rd wins jumpback
Level 5: $450+$45, top 3 win level 6 freeroll, 4th wins jumpback
Level 6: $1350+$135, 1st wins $12,500 WSOP package(I think that inlcudes travel accomodations), 2nd wins $1,000

So as you can see it's quite a journey, but for $1 its a cheap chance.

[d1sterbd]

Any thoughts on the Party WSOP steps?

[MrBlini]

Yes, the Party WSOP steps have awful vig. It's effectively around 50% if you do all the steps.

[MrBlini]

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The $160 double shootouts on Pokerstars are good, especially if you're good at playing shorthanded.

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I agree. I qualified through a PokerStars double shootout, and I would definitely recommend this route to others. You just have to win two consecutive single-table tournaments. I know some weaker (but decent) players from another site who have also had good success with these, winning the first table a high percentage of the time and then falling just short of the big prize.

My double shootout field was not particularly tough. Play the double shootouts that already have a bunch of people who won the 5+.50 crapshoot tournament registered.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, the Party WSOP steps have awful vig. It's effectively around 50% if you do all the steps.

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It is not that high. I debunked that myth a while ago.

[MrBlini]

I must have missed it! Do you have a link?

Thanks,
B

[Skipbidder]

Your surest bet is to try the fork over $10K plan. Your success rate for getting into the WSOPME will be very high if you do this.

[M.B.E.]

Here's the thread.