Satellite tournaments have always been the most common ... more]]> Want to Play More Live Tournaments?

The Best Alternatives to Satellite Tournaments

Satellite tournaments have always been the most common way to play live poker events at a discount.

Casinos that host major tournaments usually run a few satellite tournaments on the days leading up to the event.  However, due to the popularity of online poker, the bulk of tournament entrants nowadays earn their seat through online satellite tournaments, usually with low buy-ins and huge fields.

Winning your way to a major poker event through satellite tournaments is not an easy task.  Satellite tournaments can take as long as 8 hours to play and often award packages to less than 2% of the field.

For players who would rather not play long satellite tournaments, there are now a number of alternative ways to earn seats to live poker tournaments.  These methods make it much easier to consistently earn buy-ins and sponsorship packages to a variety of poker events around the world.

The best alternatives to traditional satellite tournaments are:  Built-in VIP Programs, offered at some online poker rooms; external Poker Rewards Programs; and Step Tournaments.

VIP Programs

Most online poker rooms have a built-in VIP program, which rewards players with points based on the number of raked hands they play and tournament fees they pay.

These points are usually redeemable for buy-ins to various online tournaments at the poker room, such as satellite tournaments and MTTs with large guaranteed prize pools.

A few poker rooms allow their users to save up huge amounts of points and exchange them for entries into live events.  Players who take advantage of this option don’t have to win a satellite tournament, but are usually treated like satellite winners and required to wear the poker room’s logos at the events.

 The best example of an online poker room with a built-in VIP program is PokerStars.  They run a tiered VIP program with levels to accommodate everyone from recreational players to multi-tabling grinders.  The more points you earn each month, the faster you earn points in subsequent months. 

Players who make it to the highest tier of their VIP Program receive a sponsorship package that includes a $5,200 buy-in to PokerStars’ online WCOOP Main Event, as well as buy-ins to two major live events, such as the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, EPT Monte Carlo, or the WSOP Main Event.

Pros:

-          High volume players earn sponsorship packages to live events quickly

-          Points can be spent on many items other than tournament buy-ins

-          PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker room, so there is a tonne of action.

Cons:

-          It takes a very long time for low and medium volume players to earn packages

-          Players are required to wear PokerStars gear and logos at the events

Players can only earn points when they play at PokerStars

Poker Rewards Programs

There are now a number of websites devoted solely to helping poker players play more live events, without having to play any satellite tournaments.  The best example we’ve found is Buy-in Bank.

Buy-in Bank provides online poker players with a rewards program that is free to join and quite similar to the built in VIP Program at PokerStars.  The main difference is that players are able to play and earn points at multiple online poker rooms.

The VIP points at Buy-in Bank are known as Grinder Points.  These points can be exchanged in the Buy-in Bank’s Poker Tour Store for buy-ins to major and minor poker tours around the world.  Grinder Points don’t have an expiration date, so players can earn the tournaments seats they want at their own pace.

When cashing in Grinder Points, you are given the option of receiving just your buy-in, which is great for events close to home, or a full sponsorship package including an additional $2,000 in spending money.

Buy-in Bank also offers a backed sponsorship program for their members for future live tournaments.  Players who are interested in the program are given the option of wearing Buy-in Bank gear at the events.  Unlike PokerStars VIP Program, there are no contractual requirements to wear logos.

The final difference is that Grinder Points have a much higher value than PokerStars FPP points, even though both are earned at roughly the same speed.  This is because Buy-in Bank and similar poker rewards programs focus solely on helping online players play more live poker tournaments.

For example, entry into the EPT London Main Event costs 700,000 FPPs at PokerStars and can only be purchased by players at the 4th-tier of their VIP Program.  The same package costs 112,500 Grinder Points and is available to all Buy-in Bank account holders, regardless of their play volume.

Pros:

-          Buy-ins and sponsorship packages to live events are earned quickly

-          Choosing buy-in only packages allows you to earn tournament entries even quicker

-          Users can play at multiple poker rooms and earn backed sponsorship deals

Cons:

-          Grinder Points can only be used for live tournament entries and spending money

-          You can’t sign up to earn Grinder Points at poker rooms where you already have an account.

Step Tournaments

Step Tournaments are a modified version of satellite tournaments, consisting of a series of single table tournaments or SNGs.  Players are able to start playing at any step they choose and progress up or down the steps based on their performance in each Step Tournament they play.

In 9 or 10-player Step Tournaments, the top two players climb to the next step, the 3rd and 4th place players remain at the same level, and most other players move down a step or two.  Usually only one or two players receive no prize at all.

By climbing the Steps and winning the SNG tournament at the Final Step, you win a sponsorship package to a live poker tournament.

Pros:

-          Each Step Tournament takes a lot less time to play than a multi-table satellite tournament

-          The buy-in for Step 1 is as low as $0.10 at some poker rooms

-          Players can start at whichever Step they can afford to play

Cons:

-          Climbing to the Final Step takes much longer than playing a single MTT satellite tournament

-          One mistake can cost players their Step Ticket, forcing them to start over after hours of play

-          Step Tickets are not redeemable for cash, making them an all-or-nothing prospect

Full Tilt Poker has announced that they have added player achievement badges so that Full Tilt Poker players ... more]]>  

Full Tilt Poker has announced that they have added player achievement badges so that Full Tilt Poker players can show off their accomplishments at the Full Tilt Poker tables.  Full Tilt has come out with four badges that you can earn and display while playing online at Full Tilt.  The four badges include a Full Tilt Poker Academy badge, an Iron Man Challenge badge, a True Poker Player badge and a Rush Poker badge.  How to earn each badge is explained below.

The Full Tilt Poker Academy badge is earned when you have completed three or more Academy Challenges in a one month period.  Many of these challenges are fairly easy to complete and don’t require a huge bankroll so this badge should be doable for even new players.

The Iron Man Challenge badge isn’t really new because you could achieve this badge before as long as you qualified for one of the Iron Man Challenge levels in the previous month.  This requirement hasn’t changed so earning your Iron Man Challenge badge could be difficult.

The True Poker Player badge is earned by playing at any Full Tilt Poker table.  This badge is basically useless because any and every player will have earned this badge.  However, if you want a badge to display at least you’ll have this one.

The Rush Poker badge is achieved by earning 50 Full Tilt Point playing at Rush Poker tables during a month.  Rush Poker is a great new invention by Full Tilt Poker and the hands go so quick it would be easy to earn 50 FTP’s even if you are playing at the smallest stakes available!

Badges are often fun to have and I think this was a great idea by Full Tilt Poker because it allows players to show off their accomplishments in game.

Another poker room that allows you to really express yourself at the table is PKR.  At PKR you can adjust your character to wear what you want and look exactly like yourself.  If you haven’t tried out PKR I definitely recommend it.  Many players who try it out won’t play anywhere else.  Just remember to use a PKR bonus code when signing up in order to get the best bonus possible so you can grow your bankroll at PKR.

With the World Series of Poker fever having gotten everybody talking this summer, Party Poker hasn’t forgotten about ... more]]>  

With the World Series of Poker fever having gotten everybody talking this summer, Party Poker hasn’t forgotten about the other large poker event expected this year – the World Poker Tour. So, the website is preparing to send you to the tournament, which will be held between the 29th of August and the 5th of September in London, as opposed to the Vegas-held WSOP. They are organizing satellites with seats worth $12,000 to the event.

                             The packages consist of the buy in (which costs $8,000), the acommodation in a five star hotel, and an extra $2,000 for you to spend around while you’re not playing.

                             So this summer, until the 8th of August, you will get the chance to win one of these fantastic packages. Here’s how you can do it:

    The first and cheapest way to get into the WPT race is to enter in the daily freeroll. If you manage to get yourself one of the first 50 spots, you will win an entry to the next qualifier.

    Next, the Sub Qualifier, which costs $1 to enter, will be held every day. You can enter with $1 only if you have won a previous freeroll. If not, you can enter an alternate $8 tournament. Manage to get a top position here and you can move on.

    The next step is the daily Satellite Qualifier, which can get you access to the satellite. You can enter in this competition either via entry (which you might have won beforehand), or by paying its $70 entry. The first 10% of the players get to qualify to the satellite.

    The WPT London Satellite will send you directly to the WPT. For every 20 players, another spot opens up for the $12,000 package.

So there you have it – it’s that easy. With practically $0 investment you can get a chance of a lifetime. If you’re not a member of Party Poker yet, check it out now.

The question of which poker game to play is a good question for internet poker players. As online ... more]]>  

The question of which poker game to play is a good question for internet poker players. As online poker becomes more and more popular, it is getting easier to find action at all poker variants. There are many options out but the answer to that question depends on your goals in poker, your playing style and your own personal preference.

Poker Variants

There are quite a few different poker variants to choose from. Texas Holdem is the most popular poker variant but it’s hardly the only one. A few of the most other popular poker variants include Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo and Seven Card Stud. There are even more choices, but these are a few of the most popular.

My personal recommendation is that you start out with Texas Holdem. The main reason I say this is because it is the easiest poker game variant to learn and you will never have a problem finding action. Most poker players are familiar with Texas Holdem so it’s easy to find action at even the smallest internet poker sites.

A small stakes Texas Holdem game is plentiful and still quite soft. These games will give you a chance to get familiar with the game without risking a lot of money. In addition to that, there is more poker strategy written about Texas Holdem than any other poker variant out there. If you’re new to Texas Holdem, this is a major advantage. Other poker variants have limited strategy resources.

At the same time, the main advantage of learning other poker variants is the lack of strategy content out there. If you can learn how to play a savvy Omaha or 7 Card Stud game, you’ll make a lot of money off all the other poker players out there. Many skilled Texas Holdem players try to play other poker variants without first learning the proper strategy for these games. These players end up donating a lot of easy money to smart Omaha / 7 Card Stud players.

That single advantage is a major one but I still suggest you start out with Texas Holdem. The game is much easier to learn from scratch than almost any other poker variant out there. Once you get comfortable with Texas Holdem, you can then expand into new poker variants.

Game Type

There are three main types of poker games:

• Fixed Limit Cash Games
• No Limit Cash Games
• No Limit Tournaments

Texas Holdem cash games are good for players who want to grind out a steady profit at the tables. These are the types of games in which each player buys in with cash and can stay for as long as he wants. The blinds never increase and there are no predetermined prize pools. It’s just a cash table in which you try to make as much money as possible while there.

Fixed limit cash games are the best games for mathematically oriented poker players. In fixed limit cash games, money is made by consistently making the mathematically correct decision. In summary, fixed limit poker is a technical poker game. It requires a mastery of odds and the ability to makes lots of simple calculations at the tables.

No limit cash games are considered more of an art than a science. It is still important to know the basics of poker math but there is more of an emphasis on setting up the other players for the occasional big pot. In no limit poker, most of your money comes from winning medium and large pots. This game type is best for poker players who prefer action and do not mind risking entire buyins on a single hand.

No limit tournaments are also extremely popular these days. The main thing to know about no limit tournaments is that you have to put in many hours to see a significant return on your investment. Tournament play does not provide small, steady profits; it provides lots of tough losses and the occasional huge win. Tournament poker is exciting but it requires a strong mind to deal with the long stretches between big scores.

Summary

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Personally, I prefer no limit cash games because they offer the greatest combination of steady profits and big wins. There are no limit cash games on the internet that range from penny stakes to games that accept $100,000 buyins. Plus, new players are trying internet poker every day and there is always a steady stream of new money.

Most other poker players prefer no limit cash games as well. Tournament play is too spotty to rely on for 100% of your profits but it can be fun to supplement your cash games with the occasional tournament. That way you can get the whole tournament experience but still not have to go weeks between big scores. But whatever you want to play, you can aleays rely on pokerstars.com. Being the biggest poker site in the world, it is always easy to find a game that suits your need. Get started today and get a $500 welcome bonus. Just use the pokerstars marketing code: PSP1056 and your first deposit will be matched 199% up to $600.

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