Satellite Poker Tournaments
Table Of Contents
- Best Satellite Poker Tournaments
- Wsop Main Event Satellite Tournaments
- Satellite Poker Tournaments
- Free Satellite Poker Tournaments
Sometimes it can be difficult for recreational players to make head or tail of poker satellites, especially for major online festivals.
A Little Small Talk Goes a Long Way. When you first sit down for a satellite poker session, the task. Satellite Tournaments. Ever wanted to play a bigger tournament, but the bankroll is saying 'NO!' Well this is your chance to win an entry to a bigger event, without upsetting your bankroll! The Satellite Tournaments.
So with the partypoker MILLIONS Online in full swing, and the second starting flight of the $5M GTD Main Event taking place this weekend, we thought we'd call in the help of partypoker Ambassador Dzmitry Urbanovich.
He gives us the lowdown on what events amateurs should look to satellite into, how easy satellites are as well as his personal experience satelliting into tournaments.
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Why Should You Play Satellites?
When people sit down to play tournaments, they may not even have considered playing in satellites. Dzmitry says that he always likes to play satellites whether it's live or online, especially for Main Events.
'Satellites usually have soft fields and it is always nice to play the tournaments for 10% (usually) of the buy-in,' he told PokerNews. 'I play satellites all the time; I'm mostly playing ones with the most seats guaranteed only.'
Dzmitry told us that in the past he's qualified into $50,000 and $25,000 buy-in tournaments through satellites, and says that for $5,000/10,000 Online Main Events, he's probably qualified for around half through satellites.
$5,300 $5M GTD #MILLIONOnline Main Event day 1A is today!
— Dzmitry Urbanovich (@UrbanovichPoker)partypoker MILLIONS Online Satellites
Dzmitry says that he definitely won't be missing this weekend's partypoker MILLIONS Online $5,300 Main Event Mega Satellite, which guarantees 50 seats!
'$55 phase satellites with no DBI to the final have been running consistently for a long period of time, and I was lucky enough to qualify from Sunday’s $530 mega satellite. Everyone who has the goal to qualify for the MILLIONS has lots of opportunities to qualify.'
Related: partypoker MILLIONS Online Main Event Satellites Run All Week
Are Satellites Easy?
Even a talented poker player like Dzmitry - with over $6M in lifetime earnings - doesn't consider satellite into festivals easy, but says that depending on the tournament it could be the right option.
'Tournaments with solid guarantees, deep structure, ideally multi-day (if it works for you) should be your target. If you have a lower bankroll and you start from the cheaper phases then go for these main events! It’s great that there are so many opportunities for this on party.'
With the Irish Open Main Event coming up on partypoker in March, Dzmitry is already looking ahead to satelliting into more tournaments.
Dzmitry's Top Satellite Tips
Here are a list of Dzmitry's top satellite tips. Put them into practice over on partypoker and you'll be joining him in the big buy-in Main Events in no time!
- Remember that there's always another tournament
- Be smart in choosing events you're trying to qualify - it should suit your bankroll and your skill/confidence level
- Study the format a bit before you start playing them as it has some unique concepts
- Remember, that you don't need to win all the chips, the goal is to survive
- Work the big stack - you don't want to be a player who calls someone's all-in around the bubble, you want to be the one who is pushing all the chips yourself
Join the Love Party!
If you don't already have a partypoker account, simply download partypoker through PokerNews to take advantage of the Love Party and get in on the epic MILLIONS Online action.
The first part of the promotion is simply completing a daily Love Party mission. The first step is to opt into the mission via the client's 'Promotions' section.
After that you will be presented an easy-to-complete mission such as winning a cash game hand with a suited big slick. You will be awarded a random prize after you complete the mission which could include a MILLIONS Online ticket worth $55!
This is not all as partypoker also giving you the chance to claim a mystery prize this week simply by making a deposit using the 'LOVEPARTY' deposit code between now and Mar. 3. The prize could be a freeroll ticket, a SPINS ticket, or even $50 in cold, hard cash!
Head to partypoker today to not miss out on the free love before time runs out.
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Best Poker Sites For Satellite Qualifiers for Live Events
Such As WPT, EPT and World Series Poker Tournaments.
While there have never been so many opportunities to qualify online for the prestigious live events such as the WPT, EPT and World Series Of Poker, there are major (and often unclear) differences in what is on offer at various online poker sites. In recent times the picture has got even more clouded, with many smaller local events (country-specific and one-off tournaments around Europe or the Caribbean for example) and some of the big tours getting bought out by the poker site operators.
Here I compare 3 of biggest sites poker satellites to help you choose the place that best matches your personal goals. These are 888.com (now the 2nd biggest site online, with by far the softest qualifiers), Titan Poker (always super-soft via the iPoker Network!) and separately the US sites, where things change so fast I have now created a separate page here at Sit N Go Planet just to keep track. I mention PokerStars.com at the end for completeness, though there are some good reasons not to choose this site.
Picking the right qualifiers (especially taking time to search for those with soft fields) can make the difference between enterting the biggest tournaments around the world or not. Make sure that you take the time to choose the best online satellites, and don't just jump into the first game you find.
Best Poker Site For Satellites - Candidate #1 – 888Poker.com
While the other major poker sites have lost players or at best stagnated, 888 Poker has been growing rapidly over the last couple of years. Their secret is to focus on amateur and recreational players, and not the 'pro grinders' who kill off the games at places like PokerStars. I now play most of my poker at 888, and recommend that you see how different (as in easier) the games are for yourself.
Satellite qualifiers to live events (as well as bigger online tournaments) have benefited from this growth spurt. 888 were the main place to play for World Series of Poker qualifiers this year, and now have WSOPE (World Series Europe) seats available too. What I like best about 888 is the smaller to mid-range events which you can win tickets for. These include tournaments in the med (for example Malta), Tallin in Northern Europe and the UK / Ireland / Mainland Europe too. These are EUR1000 to 2500 buy-in events. Big enough to give huge prizes, yet easier to win seats to online than the bigger $10k events. You'll get prizes which include hotel, travel and spending money as well as the tournament entry. I have not listed specific tourneys, as these change throughout the year - keep an eye on the 888 website to make sure you do not miss out!
Satellites at 888 are tiered, and you can often buy-in to the lowest levels for just a few cents. Some of them have 4 or 5 levels, though most will get you to the $30 and $150 levels quickly. The buy-in for the tournaments (usually at the weekends) which award the tickets depends on the size of buy-in for the event itself. The bigger ones are $1050 buy-ins (typically $14k packages awarded) and the smaller ones $525.
888 are so confident that you'll like their site, that they offer up to $88 free for new players. This starts of with $8 in tournament tokens and cash game buy-ins, then gives you $8 more as you earn points in the games. No credit card info or deposit is needed for this, and if you like what you find you can still get the 100% matched welcome bonus further down the line - the amount of the freebie does vary between countries.
I'm a huge fan of the qualifiers at 888 - see the latest live tournaments that you can win a seat in at www.888poker.com now!
Satellite Qualifiers | Key Benefits |
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Best Poker Site For Satellites - Candidate #2 – Titan Poker
Titan Poker make a great choice for players outside the US looking for the best online satellite poker qualifiers for one BIG reason. This site are part of the huge iPoker Network and pool players with some of Europe's biggest sports-betting brands (including Bet365 and William Hill). You got it, sports-betting... now at this point some readers will be wondering what this has to do with satellite qualifiers to live events?
What this means is that most of the opponents you find at the tables will be sports betting fans who discovered the poker room through these big brand names - and are, shall we say, not the most experienced players or particularly savvy on poker strategy!
This makes Titan Poker one of the easiest sites to beat anywhere - and when you see the games I am very sure you will agree!!
OK, back to the satellites. I like the way these are organized at Titan, who have a well established 3-stage system that allows big and small bankroll players both to have a shot. Stage 1 usually gives out the tickets to the events (the EPT and lots of smaller live events around Europe are covered). The stage 3 and stage 2 games feed players through to the qualifiers themselves. These games come in different formats, with Sit N Goes, freezeout and rebuy (including turbos) all available.
Titan have shown a real commitment to looking after their recreational / amateur players - and recenty introduced a new scheme attached to their loyalty club called 'Titan Treasures' for exactly this crowd. You collect gold coins for completing tasks, then swap them for bonuses. This is on top of the extra cash bonus SNG Planet readers can claim at this leading site - the deal is a 200% welcome match + $20 free cash, which I ensure goes into your account within 48 hours of depositing with bonus code SNGPLANET . Click here to check out just how soft those Titan Poker games can be!
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Best Poker Site For Satellites - Options for US Players
Things move very quickly when it comes to the offshore sites which provide poker games to US based players. I have created a separate page which keeps track of the options for satellite qualifiers at some of the biggest and best of these sites including BetOnline, Intertops and America's Cardroom.
You'll find it here: Best US Online Poker Satellites
The qualifiers are often to live events out in the Caribbean or in places like Panama (in the case of ACR). You can also win seats in some of the bigger online tournaments - including the $640 buy-in $1,000,000 guaranteed events which ACR are running regularly. While there are no longer any official World Series Qualifiers, you can find games which award 'Vegas Vacation' packages... which just happen to be timed for the WSOP side events!
Best Satellite Poker Tournaments
Honorable Mentions for Satellite Qualifiers
PokerStars offer the most satellites of any online poker site. They own the EPT brand, as well as many regional and national tours. While there is little doubt you will find many good opportunities to qualify for online events there, the opposition is decidedly tougher than those at the sites featured above. The nature of the rewards at PokerStars, and the way you can exchange online tournament entries for tournament dollars means that there are a huge number of pros compared to amateur players. Armies of grinders use software to work small mathematical edges, making the games noticeably tougher. I would not stop anyone enjoying the occasional Sunday Million or EPT qualifier - though you will maximize your chances of getting to a live event by switching to 888 instead!
Wsop Main Event Satellite Tournaments
Party Poker is the owner of the WPT brand. They push this strongly and have a lot of local, WPT500 and the big $10k major events on offer. There is also a live addition to their popular 'PokerFest' online event these days. The games are soft at this site, though many countries are excluded from the games. Without the range of tournaments it is hard to recommend them too strongly, though if your heart is set on a World Poker Tour tournament - then this is the place to head. Check out www.partypoker.com for more.
Satellite Poker Tournaments
Summary / Conclusion
Free Satellite Poker Tournaments
888 Stand out from the pack for live qualifiers these days by hitting the sweet spot between soft games and a wide range of target tournaments. They offer up to $88 free to try the games, meaning you can take a look at the real money games without any risk. I'm a big fan of 888, check them out for yourself at www.888poker.comnow!