More Ways to Get Into WSOP on the CheapIt's Amazing How Far a Poker Dollar Goes These Days |
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A bottle of cola. A Big Mac. A pack of fancy tooth-whitening chewing gum. A dozen eggs. A pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. A toothbrush.
All these cost more than what some people will spend to enter the World Series of Poker's main event this year, which will be the largest poker tournament man or woman has ever seen. And thanks to the astoundingly large online player population, some players will get to try for a piece of that pie for as little as $1.10. Others will have sneaked in for more than that ($33, $160, $370, etc.), which is still super-cheap compared to the $10,000 those who have the money will plunk down at a counter at the Rio this summer for their entry into the biggest poker tournament in the Universe.
The number of people trying to qualify for this year's main event online has set the watermark high. Just among Bodog.com and PartyPoker.com, more than 60,000 people have tried to get in, and there's still more than a month-and-a-half of qualifiers to go. There are more online poker sites than ever before, and the opportunity to get into the WSOP for so little is unique to this era. It's obvious people are trying to take advantage of it.
Since CardPlayer.com published its first guide to get into the WSOP on the cheap in March, hundreds of players have already qualified for the event. And although the clock is ticking, there are still plenty of chances to get into the WSOP for next to nothing. Heck, some of those players will have paid literally nothing thanks to freerolls, but that's another story altogether.
Satellites for the WSOP main event run until the middle of July at most sites. The following is an update of some of the cheapest and most interesting chances to get into this year's tournament. Play any of these, and the life you change might be your own.
More information about inexpensive satellites to the main event - including some information that's included in the following paragraphs - can be found in the previous article here, originally posted March 7.
Absolute Poker
Every two weeks, AbsolutePoker.com holds a $108 qualifier in which an $11,000 main event prize is awarded for every 110 players. People can buy into this tourney directly, or qualify daily the following ways:
Bodog
Bodog.com is expecting to send 700 players to the main event. So far, more than 200 seats have been won there. This Saturday (May 27), 40 players will win seats in several multi-table tourneys held throughout the day, and that goes on each Saturday until the end of July. Players can get into these tournaments for as little as $1.50. The prize package is worth $12,500.
Multi- and single-table qualifiers for the weekend tourneys run daily around the clock. Bodog.com also offers a tiered "stages" way to get into the main event. Win the first stage for $1.10, and you advance to the second stage, which can be bought in directly for $8.80. Make it to and win the fifth stage, and you're going to the WSOP.
Doyle's Room
This Saturday (May 27), a $217.80 supersatellite with 30-minute blind levels will take place. Players can buy directly into this or get in the following ways:
And every Saturday, a $207.90 rebuy tournament takes place. Players can get into this by winning a $25.41 sit-and-go, winning a $3.15 multi-table, or winning a feeder to the $3.15 multi-table for a penny.
Players can buy in directly to any of these tournaments, which is still pretty cheap.
FullTiltPoker
On July 16, the site will hold a tournament that guarantees at least 100 people will win seats to the main event. The tourney costs $535 to buy into directly, but of course many people will get in for much cheaper.
Multi-table qualifiers to the tourney cost $8.80, $26, and $75. Single-table sit-and-go qualifiers cost $75, but players can win their way into these in single-table sit-and-go qualifiers for $26.
The site has a plethora of other ways to get into the event. Visit the site for details.
InterPoker
Players can win this site's $15,500 package to the main event for as little as $1.20. But it also has the most expensive weekly qualifier out there. For every 750 people entered in this multi-table tourney, one gets into the $750 buy-in that awards at least one main event package each Saturday.
Players can also get into the big tourney by entering daily $10 or $18.70 single-table qualifiers that send players into an $81 daily multi-table tourney. InterPoker.com also holds $109 and $170 single-table tourneys into the $750 satellite.
Titan Poker
The $12,000 WSOP packages can be won for as little as $2.50. Winners of these get into the $23 tourney, in which seats to the $300 main event satellite are given away.
PartyPoker
Being one of the largest online sites, PartyPoker.com offers plenty of chances to get into the main event, and the "steps" tournaments give people more chances for their dollars. For other ways, see the previous article.
Players are only five single-table "steps" away from winning an $11,000 prize package. The site has two different sets of WSOP "steps," the "regular" and the "quick."
The "regular" route starts at $10. Win that table and advance to step two, which would cost $55 to enter straight-up. Finish in places 2-4 in step one, and play again. Finish in fifth, and receive $5. Finish in first or second place, and advance to step three. Finish anywhere else but last, and loop back to step one.
This route continues until players reach the final step, which would cost $640 to buy directly into. Win it, and you're in the WSOP. Finish second or third, try the final step again. Finish fourth, try step four again, finish fifth or sixth, try step three again, finish in places 7-9, try step two again. Be the first one out, and win $35.
The "quick" steps are different in that they're more expensive, which means more people advance to higher steps. Win the first $60 step, and the winner advances to step three, the runner-up advances to step two, players placing third or fourth try step one again, and fifth place gets $30.
Win "quick" step two, and you're in the final step. It costs $120 to buy directly into "quick" step two. "Quick" step three costs $280 to buy directly in, "quick" step four, $640, and the final "quick" step, $1,665. Like the "regular" steps, players repeat and loop back if they don't manage to advance.
PokerStars
Like PartyPoker, PokerStars is another huge site with plenty of cheap qualifying opportunities. The ones that are running around the clock, nearly on the hour, are the WSOP double-shootout events. For $16, players can win their way into the Sunday $650 qualifier in which as many $12,000 packages are awarded as possible.
A double-shootout means players advance by winning their table, like in a single-table tourney. They then have to win the second table to advance. The site also hold $160 shootouts that award the winners main even prize packages.
Again, more opportunities to make it into the WSOP can be found here.
Ultimate Bet
This site has a ton of single- and multi-table satellites to win a $12,000 package, and they start for as little as $3.30. People playing in these tourneys are trying to get into the $215 tourneys in which the prize packages are won.
Make sure to visit the previous article to find the cheapest and best way to spend your poker dollars.
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