If you’ve been playing poker for a while, and are confident that you could hold your own in a big international tournament, chances are that your sights are set on the World Series of Poker (WSOP). If you’ve been honing your skills by playing online poker, you’re already well versed in using the sites where you’ll be able to qualify. Today we run through all of your WSOP qualifying options…
WSOP Satellites
You can win your way to Las Vegas by seizing victory in an online poker qualifier.Poker sites hold satellite events, which you can enter for just a couple of pounds, and these feed players in to larger competitions, including the World Series of Poker. All you need to do to qualify is win a series of tournaments, or even just a single satellite event. If you’re determined to be in Las Vegas next year, we recommend trying to qualify early on a poker site that has become an official World Series of Poker Satellite Location by the correct means. Poker sites must meet three criteria to be eligible. Firstly that sanctioned poker games are legal in their jurisdiction, next, that their location is more than 75 miles away from a Caesars Entertainment Casino property, and finally, that they are willing to pay the $500 non-refundable deposit to guarantee the person who qualifies a seat in the competition. It’s vital you double-check that they’re legitimate, or you could end up being turned away upon arrival in Las Vegas.
If you win one of these satellite events, usually you will be given the WSOP entry fee in cash, and then it will be your responsibility to buy yourself in to the Main Event. Speaking of which…
Direct buy in’s
Of course, if this all sounds like too much hard work or you’re a seasoned pokerpro and you want to guarantee your spot,you can always just shell out the entry fee of $10,000 (approx. £8,235). In this case, all you need is the cash, and your ticket to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas qualifiers
So, you back yourself, but you haven’t secured victory in any of the online qualifiers or satellite events, and you definitely can’t afford the buy-in – what options are left? Well, you can fly to Vegas and attempt to qualify! Every day throughout the WSOP, there live satellite qualifiers held which have buy-ins of far less than the $10,000 entry cost for the Main Event. During these competitions, those who are successful will earn tournament chips that they can use in any of the WSOP’s gold bracelet tournaments.
With the event only just concluded for 2016, now’s the time to start formulating your strategy so that you don’t miss out on your chance to win millions next summer.