More Tournament Poker at Bellagio

Two months ago I wrote about the advent of tournament poker at Bellagio. It has turned out to be a very successful and exciting adventure. The $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'ern tournament that was held shortly after the World Series of Poker attracted 146 entrants and paid out more than $1.4 million in prize money. First-place prize money of $556,460 and a beautiful trophy were captured by Gus Hansen. The World Poker Tour filmed the final table, and it will be televised in January 2003. Cameras were installed to show the hands of all the players, so it will be a very interesting show to watch. Many friends, relatives, well-wishers, and poker fans turned out to watch this final-table event. It was a first-class operation that was supervised by Tournament Director Jack McClelland.

Bellagio will host seven more major tournaments from the end of July to December (see the Tournament Trail for events/dates). However, Jack McClelland recently informed me that additional, smaller tournaments have begun as well. These tournaments are being held every Friday at 5 p.m. The buy-in is $1,050, and first-place prize money of at least $20,000 is guaranteed. The schedule offers a different type of poker tournament each week. Through the month of September, the following tournaments are scheduled: July 26: limit hold'em, Aug. 2: Omaha high-low split, Aug. 9: no-limit hold'em, Aug. 16: seven-card stud, Aug. 23: limit hold'em, Aug. 30: no-limit hold'em, Sept. 6: Omaha high-low split, Sept. 13: no-limit hold'em, Sept. 20: seven-card stud, and Sept. 27: limit hold'em.

Players start with $2,500 in chips, the blinds start at $25-$50, and the rounds are each 60 minutes long. The payout structure is as follows: 30 players, five places paid; 60 players, nine places paid; 125 players,18 place paid. Single-table satellites for these tournaments begin each Thursday at 11 a.m. and the buy-in is $125. The winner receives a $1,050 seat plus $50 in cash. Players start with $1,000 in tournament chips, and the blinds start at $25-$50 and increase every 20 minutes. For $125, a player has a chance to win at least $20,000 in the tournament each Friday. What a great return on investment!

When playing a satellite, you must be much more aggressive than you would be in a normal tournament situation. You must raise more often and with lower-quality hands. There are two reasons for this: You have a smaller amount of chips and the rounds are much shorter than you would find in a normal tournament. If you do not play aggressively and pick up some chips, the blinds will eat you up very rapidly, as they are increasing every 20 minutes. You should be aware that other players are also behaving in this manner. Therefore, do not give them credit for having the same quality of hands that you would normally expect to see in a typical live-game environment. When someone raises, you should reraise if you were planning to raise with your hand in the first place. You want to isolate the raiser and hopefully beat him out of the pot.

These new Friday tournaments have definitely upped the ante for poker tournaments in Las Vegas. They are the biggest buy-in weekly or daily tournaments in Las Vegas. Previously, the biggest buy-in was only $120. If you enjoy playing in poker tournaments, you definitely should visit Bellagio on Fridays. It will be a pleasant and exciting experience, and could also prove to be very profitable. Good luck at your next tournament.