Poker Blog and Poker Gossip

Last week Pokerstars.com announced their satellites for the 2009 WSOP. There are 3 main ways to get to the WSOP with Pokerstars, which are: Cash Tournaments, FPP Satellites and WSOP Step Satellites. Below is information on how each of these different types of satellites work.

Why should you try to qualify for the WSOP at Pokerstars?

The best thing about qualifying with Pokerstars is some of their added incentives (which can’t be found on any other poker site). Every player that qualifies at Pokerstars will also receive:
Instant Supernova VIP status – All players will receive 100,000 FPPs in their account to use as they please, plus access to all the special features of being a supernova (special items in the Pokerstars store, private tournaments with added money and much more).
Entry to PokerStars $1 Million Freeroll Summer Spectacular – Not only will you get to go to the WSOP, you will also have a chance to win a share of $1 Million through a series of freeroll activities.
$10,000 Main Event buy-in – The main reason why you want to go to the WSOP anyway.
$1,000 for travel and expenses 8 nights hotel accommodation at the Palms – (Plus extra nights after July 10 if still in the tournament). If you have ever gone to Vegas, you will know that the Palms is probably one of the coolest hotels to stay at.
PokerStars Player Bag – Full of Pokerstars swag and other goodies.
Shuttle Bus to and from the Rio – The Palms is only a short walk to the Rio, but hey, its FREE. VIP Invitation (+1) to July 9 PokerStars Player Party
$1,000,000 in compensation if you win the Main Event (see terms for full details).

Cash Satellites

Qualify for as little as $2 to the WSOP Main Event through a series of Tournaments. This is probably the best way to get there as in some of the higher buy-in cash tournaments you will be against a smaller field with several seats up for grabs.

2009 WSOP FPP Satellites at Pokerstars

Qualify from as as little as 40 FPP credits. Definitely the CHEAPEST way, but you will be playing up against huge fields of players and prizes will most likely only be awarded to first place players in these tournaments which could mean dedicating hours to win nothing several times.

Pokerstars 2009 WSOP Step Satellites

Steps Sit & Go satellites start with a buy-in of just $7.50 or 500 FPP credits. This is one of the cheapest ways to qualify, but these Steps contain a higher than normal rake, but if sit n go’s are your specialty this is probably the best path for you to get to the 2009 WSOP!

Don’t have a Pokerstars Account? Sign-up using Pokerstars marketing code BRB500 and you will receive $50 FREE when making your first deposit of at least $50. That extra $50 might just be the extra boost your bankroll needs to get you to the 2009 World Series Of Poker!

Sky Poker is one of the easiest places to qualify for the 2009 WSOP.  The player quality is very bad, the fields are much smaller and the prizes are just as good as any other poker site!  Sky Poker is currently offering several ways to get to the 2009 WSOP.  You can qualify for the main event through one of their £10,000 packages, or satellite into one of the $1500 WSOP events through their £4,000 package option.

2009 WSOP Main Event Package at Sky Poker

Every poker player’s dream is to win the WSOP Main Event.  At Sky Poker, you can qualify for as little as £1.45.  Here is the WSOP Satellite Map:

$1500 WSOP Event Satellites

Not everyone wants to play the main event, which is why it is a nice edition to be able to qualify into one of the lower buy-in WSOP events at the 2009 WSOP.  Sky Poker has several online qualifiers for the $1500 events where you can qualify for as little as £2.30.  Here is the qualification map:

If you don’t already have a Sky Poker account, you definitely SHOULD.  This is one of the fishiest poker sites and easiest places to get to the WSOP.  Also, if you sign-up with Bankroll Boost, you will get 500 Sky Points Free + Up to £500.00 FREE.  Sign-up Now!

Betfair Poker is running a sick promotion right now where players that create a new account between now and April 12th will get a FREE iPod Touch after generating only 10,000 player points.

Here is the fine print:
* Promotion is open to new Betfair Poker players who play their first real money hand between 25th March and 12th April 2009
* All new players who generate 10,000 Betfair Poker points within their first 60 days from the first real money hand played will automatically get an iPod 8GB Touch
* Upon reaching 1,000 Betfair Poker points, new players will also automatically qualify for a seat in an exclusive freeroll, where the top 50 players will each receive an iPod Touch
* Players will be able to monitor their progress through the Betfair website
* This promotion is not open to existing Betfair Poker players
* Full Terms and Conditions can be found here

For more information visit Betfair.com

SO, you have heard about the Merge Network (created by Merge Gaming), but aren’t sure which room to make your deposit on.  Well, there are a few choices for sites to play on this network on, but I am going to tell you which is the best room!

My pick for best room on the Merge Network is Aced.com.  Aced is relatively new to the network, making their debut back in 2008.  Since then they have given players some advantages that can’t be found on any other Merge Site.  Here are some of the reasons why I think Aced is the best site on this network:

Jamie Gold – Aced sponsored Jamie Gold to play for their sites.  Part of this deal includes games where Jamie and his mom (yes, you heard that right), take part and have nice big bounties on their heads.

Outs – This is an Aced specific promotion where you get points based on events that occur at the poker table.  For example, win 5 hands in a row and you’ll get 100 outs points.  Players who receive the most points will be eligible for special tournaments and big prizes and its really easy to get these as most players don’t pay attention to them.

Daily Rakeback – Aced pays out their 30% (highest on the network) rakeback every day!  No more waiting to the end of the month to get YOUR money, Aced will pay you DAILY!

Promotions in the Works – Aced is currently working on several site specific promotions where players will get to play in LIVE celebrity tournaments.  Details are yet to be released, but when they happen, these will ONLY happen at Aced and none of the other Merge sites.

Player Points and Store - Aced is the easiest of the merge rooms to get player points and use these points for items in their store.  Unlike many poker sites that have unrealistic requirements to get points, Aced actually makes it rather easy to get stuff for playing at their room!

For more information about Aced.com, read our Aced Review or sign-up today and get 30% rakeback PLUS a 100% up to $1000 sign-up bonus!

Right now Pokerstars is counting down to their 25th BILLION hand dealt in a cash game on their site. Ever since yesterday around 1pm they have been handing out cash to players in million-milestone hands which happen every 15 minutes or so. Here is how it works from their website:

Milestone Hands will be announced on the table with a pop-up message, before play is paused to ramp up the excitement. A host will then arrive at the table to explain exactly what’s happening. Players involved in every millionth hand dealt during the 25 Billion Bash will win the following:
Limit /  Winner / The Rest
Micro / $300 / $125
Low / $750 / $250
Medium / $1,250 / $500
High / $2,500 / $1,000

There will also be a VIP multiplier, with bonuses for the following VIP tiers:
VIP Tier / Multiplier
SilverStar / 15% Bonus
GoldStar / 30% Bonus
PlatinumStar / 60% Bonus
Supernova / 120% Bonus
Supernova Elite / 200% Bonus

For example, if you are dealt into a Milestone Hand on a Medium stakes table and win the hand, you’d receive $1,250. If you are also a Goldstar VIP, you’d receive an additional $375 (30% Bonus).

Here is what happens after one of the hands I witnessed yesterday:

Oh ya, and if you are in the 25th Billion Hand… you are gonna win some nice stuff.  Here is what the winner of that hand will get:

• $100,000 in cash
• European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final package
• PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package
• World Series of Poker* package
• World Championship of Online Poker Main Event ticket

In addition to the milestone hands, Pokerstars is also upping the Sunday Millions tournament to $2.5 Million and the Sunday Warm-up to $1.25 Million along with some great reload bonuses.  So, if you aren’t playing at Pokerstars now, this is definitely one of the best times to check them out!  (Use pokerstars marketing code BRB500 for $50 FREE on your first deposit!)

On December 28th, 2008 at 15:30 EST Pokerstars will attempt to go for a new record in the Guiness Book of World Records and YOU can be part of it.  The tournament will be a $10 + $1 buy-in with a massive overlay.  In fact, Pokerstars is guaranteeing $500,000 and only allowing 35,000 players!!!!!  This means they will be putting up $150,000 of their own money to make this beneficial for all those that decide to play in this historic tournament.

The prizepool of the tournament will be as follows:
1st – $30,000
2nd – $20,000
3rd – $15,000
4th – $10,000
5th – $7,500
6th – $5,000
7th – $3,500
8th – $2,500
9th – $2,000
Last prize is 8750th for $20

The tournament will be No Limit Texas Holdem, with 3000 starting chips, and 10 minute blinds for the structure.

This tournament is guaranteed to fill up fast, so even if you aren’t sure if you can play I suggest at least registering at Pokerstars.com today to hold your spot.  If nothing else, you will at least have bragging rights to say that YOU were part of a world record.

If you don’t have an account at Pokerstars, sign up using our link and get $50 free on your first deposit!