Tournament poker is one of the most exciting forms of the game and one that gives you the chance to turn a small investment into a massive sum of money.

Although there are thousands of tournaments running every week on various online poker sites, nothing beats the excitement of sitting down in a real life casino, feeling the cards and chips in your hands and competing for huge cash pots.

How Can I Qualify for a Major Live Poker Tournament? Full Package Satellites. A satellite that offers a full package to an event usually awards the winner with a seat to the. Seat-Only Satellites. Here is how you can play your way in to big money online poker tournaments for free or at very little cost. All the big poker rooms run what are known as satellite qualifiers for their major tournaments with a. All players who participate in a minimum of four (3) WSOP Online Circuit series tournaments in a given session but did not otherwise qualify for the Championship Event will be entered into a “winner take all” freeroll with a chance to win a seat to the year-end WSOP Online Circuit Series Championship.

The three biggest- and most popular- live tournament festivals are the World Poker Tour (WPT), World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the European Poker Tour (EPT).

1. If you have a small bankroll, or you just don’t want to spend too much money trying to qualify for the World Series of Poker Main Event, Bovada Poker Poker’s qualifying tournaments start at just $1. So, you buy into the $1 + 0.10 “Cheap Seat” tournament and if you qualify from that, you play in the Main Event Quarter-Final.
2. Qualifying for the WSOP starts with online WSOP satellite tournaments. Some World Series of Poker satellites can be very expensive. The buy ins can range from $100 all the way up to $1000. The most expensive buy ins will guarantee you a seat at one of the single table tournaments.

All three of these festivals offer dozens of tournaments at various venues around the world, capped off with a high buy-in Main Event that pays hundreds of thousands of dollars (or euros). It’s also a chance for players to immortalise themselves in the poker history books by winning titles.

However, the high cost of entering these major live tournaments is a big deterrent to many budding poker players. A typical EPT Main Event costs €5,300 to buy into, whilst WSOP entry prices range from $1,000 and increase to an eye-watering $50,000 for the highest buy-in events.

Unless you are a successful professional poker player, or have a very well paid job, investing €5,300 plus travel and accommodation for a single tournament may be a step too far. Fear not however because thankfully there are ways to win a seat at the biggest championships and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home.

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How To Qualify For Pokerstars Tournaments

All of the pre-eminent online poker sites including: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, partypoker, 888poker, PKR and Betfair Poker offer special tournaments known as satellites.

These satellites play like any standard tournament but with one key difference: they do not boast a cash prize. Instead, they offer seats to Main Events and sometimes entire packages that include hotel accommodation and travel expenses.

Below are the most popular type of satellite competitions that are available on most online poker sites:

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Full Package Satellites

A satellite that offers a full package to an event usually awards the winner with a seat to the Main Event, money towards travel and accommodation costs and sometimes even spending money. Full Package Satellites generally become available a month or two before the big events begin with PokerStars the only place to qualify for EPTs, partypoker the place where you can qualify for the WPTs and sites such as 888poker and Betfair Poker often putting packages together for the WSOP.

Seat-Only Satellites

These tournaments are similar to the full package tournaments except the winner(s) only receive a seat to the Main Event and nothing else. If you live near the tournament venue, or know someone who stays nearby, these type of satellites are perfect.

Steps Satellites

Steps satellites have grown significantly in popularity during recent years because they offer hopefuls the chance to win a comprehensive package for very little outlay. Steps usually take the form of single table tournaments where the winner progresses to the next highest step and continues to do so until they win the main prize.

In most circumstances, finishing in second or third place in a step satellite gives you another shot at the same step level. However, if you finish outside of the top places then you will be dropped down to the next available lowest step. This format allows players to make a small buy-in last a long time whilst you step up and down the various levels.

Flip or All-In Satellites

If you are short of time and want to leave qualifying for an event completely up to chance, then participating in Flip or All-in satellites is the best option. These tournaments see the blinds and antes placed so high that everyone is automatically all-in at the start of the tournament and will remain so until the winner is determined.

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Generally speaking, this form of satellite requires very low buy-ins and they are great fun to watch!

Once you’ve decided type of satellite is best for you, make sure you sign up to your preferred poker site via PokerNews for all the best, latest and biggest sign-up bonuses.

If the World Series of Poker is acknowledged for introducing world championship poker, the World Poker Tour can be credited for revolutionizing the game through live tournaments. The WPT is not only a source of entertainment but is also educational especially for novice players.

Take the case of the 'hole cam,' a lipstick sized gadget. This innovation was introduced during the 2003 World Poker Tour. The hole cam allows the audience to view the hole cards of the players adding a dramatic appeal by revealing possible strategies based on the bets and bluffs of the players.

Aside from the hole camera, the WPT hosts also serve as a source of information for new poker players. Each time the hosts speaks to the crowd using certain poker terms, a drop-down box is flashed on the screen explaining the terms so that newcomers will have a better understanding of their definition. This is the main reason why the WPT was able to generate the interest of millions of fans and players all over the world.

WPT elimination rounds are conducted annually starting from May to April of the following year, culminating with the world championship poker event at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. A total of sixteen qualifying matches are conducted at different locations around the world. The winner of each tournament will converge for the Main Event.

The final round of the elimination tournaments are shown live and the winners, aside from the cash prize, will get a $25,000 entry fee to the WPT Championships.

Free Poker Tournaments For Cash

The qualifying tournaments are just one way of gaining entry to the WPT Final Event. Likewise, players can gain outright entry by paying the $25,000 fee or by competing in different satellite tournaments for a lower buy-in cost that will serve as prepayment for the entry fee. In fact, the Bellagio has its own satellite tournament conducted weeks prior to the final event with the winner getting a prepaid entry fee.

The final table of the World Poker Tour championship round is televised from the Bellagio and can be seen by a live audience. Since this world championship poker event began, the prize for the winners has increased tremendously. In the 2006 edition alone, the prize pool was expected to be over $12 million with the winner pocketing more than $4 million.

How To Qualify For Poker Tournaments 2020

Involving No Limit Texas Hold'em, the WSOP was the pet project of Stephen Libscomb, who serves as the CEO of WPT Enterprises, the firm managing the World Poker Tour.