Instructions For Entering A Poker Satellite
Satellite Tournaments came of age on in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the world series of poker on a thirty nine dollar satellite tournament. The first tournament fed into another satellite for the main event in Las Vegas. Chris won that one too and almost sold his seat to the big show. The rest is history.
The amateur beat the odds and took the gold bracelet. The resulting explosion of on line poker has been called “the Moneymaker effect”. A whole industry was born out of this Cinderella story.
Satellite Tournaments, not surprisingly, also experienced a huge boost in popularity. Typically the prize is a seat in a larger tournament. In the case of Chris Moneymaker, he turned $39 into $2,500,000 with the power of Satellite leverage.
Many land based tournaments have on site satellite tournaments where players can win their seat to the main event. Major names often appear in these. Some players come to major tournaments just for the side games and Satellites are a part of it. A seat won in an on site satellite can be sold or used. World class players like Scotty Nguyen are found in on site Satellite events.
The most popular satellite tournaments are on line. Major poker rooms send thousands of players to the World Series of Poker every year hopeful that one of their players will win giving them bragging rights. One site will pay ten million dollars if any of their satellite winners takes the gold bracelet at the WSOP main event.
Qualifiers are a type of satellite event. Qualifiers award seats to more lucrative on line tournaments. This allows players whose bankrolls don’t justify a several hundred dollar entry fee play for the big cash prizes.
There are forums, blogs, and entire websites dedicated to satellite tournaments. To find a satellite first ask yourself what tournament you hope to win a seat to. If you don’t fly winning a seat for a major event at the Aviator Club in Paris won’t be much good if you live in Idaho. Once you know what tournament you hope to win a seat for it’s simply a matter of finding the satellite that suits you best.
You might want to buy a thousand dollar seat on site in Las Vegas for one of the many land based Satellites feeding the World Series of Poker. If online play is more amenable you have more choices. Usually more than one poker room will be having Satellites for a given event. Since these are advertised typically on the poker room’s home page it is easy to find them with your favorite search engine.
Typing the text “WPT Satellite” into google’s search engine produced 303.000 results. You may even find a sign up bonus that covers your entry fee to the satellite. Comparing the offerings is a good way to find your comfort zone.
Once you have decided on the room and picked the satellite you want it’s a matter of registering for the tournament and being ready to win when the tournament starts. Super satellites are feeders to satellites making your trip to the big show even more affordable. Some sites have freeroll tournaments that pay in tournament dollars that cannot be cashed out but will pay your entry to a satellite for a major event.
Most on line tournaments registrations are intuitive and painless. Should you have questions all of the major rooms offer live chat support.
The satellite puts the highest paying tournaments within the reach of nearly every player on the planet. Will average Joes’ keep winning major events? The on line poker rooms and other satellite providers are banking on it.
Satellite tournaments allow average players to compete with the world’s best in the biggest shows for very little cost. The risks are minimal and the rewards can be fantastic.
