If you take your poker seriously and live in Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere nearby then the rest of the year is looking good for you. The Adelaide Casino Poker Championship is kicking off at the end of this month, so you’ve definitely got something to note down in your diary. What’s more, thanks to the nice people over at PokerStars, qualifying for this event can be dirt cheap when you win a tournament ticket through the satellites that will be running.

It can be pretty slim pickings for live tournament players in our part of the world, but slowly things are starting to look up. The Australia New Zealand Poker Tour is probably the most notable series of tournaments on hand, but this Adelaide Casino Poker Championship is very definitely still up there, and is even hosted at an ANZPT venue. Adelaide Casino is considered to be the birthplace of tournament poker in Australia, and so is a very fitting location for this championship.

The tournament kicks off on September 29th, runs through to October 2nd, and looks set to be a fantastic event. If you aren’t fortunate enough to satellite your way in, you can also buy-in directly for $1,500 AUD (just shy of $1,900 NZD), a price which promises a prize pool of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a repechage event, meaning if you hit a bad streak of cards on Day 1A and bust out, you are allowed to re-enter on Day 1B, giving you another shot at taking home the lion’s share of the massive prize pool.

Buying in directly is alright for some, but, let’s face it, most of us would prefer a cheaper option, and that’s exactly what PokerStars has set out to provide. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from now until September 11th there will be two types of satellites running, so make sure you’re registered. An $11 + rebuy Direct Seat Only Qualifier will run once on these days, with a guarantee of 1 ACPC seat per tournament. Much more frequently on the same days are $3.80 + rebuy Hyper Turbo Stallites, which promise a Direct Seat Only Qualifier ticket for every $11 in the prize pool. This is a great way to get in on the some of the finest poker Australia and New Zealand have to offer for next to no cost.

If you aren’t already a member of PokerStars, then this is a great reason to sign up and start playing. It’s not the only great reason, however, as FlopTurnRiver and PokerStars have teamed up to reward you for becoming a loyal member. Sign up to PokerStars through our links and you will be entitled to a $600 first-deposit bonus and $1,000 in freeroll and money-added tournaments which you may enter each and every month, and which are only open to FlopTurnRiver members.

Short of the ANZPT there simply isn’t a better poker event in Oceania than the Adelaide Casino Poker Championship. While it’s quite the journey for some of us, it promises to be very much worth the trip for the experience alone, not to mention the amazing prize pool. If you love poker as much as we do then you should definitely head along, and PokerStars is doing everything it can to get you there without you having to break the bank.