Details of two exciting online poker festivals, one old and one new, have been revealed over the past few days. The established and renowned PokerStars presented the established and renowned World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), while the younger site Bodog unveiled their latest invention, the Bodog Mini Series of Poker.
The WCOOP is set to begin on September 3rd, and tournament organizers at PokerStars have granted the online community a sneak peak at their provisional schedule via a post on PokerStarsBlog. According to the blog, the PokerStars masterminds would like to hear the opinions of online players before the schedule is written in stone.
Potential commentators are unlikely to complain about the increase of guaranteed money on offer throughout the series. A huge $40 million is guaranteed across the WCOOP’s forty-two events, a leap of $10 million over last year. Those looking for the juiciest overlay will want to keep an eye on the 14 events which have over $1 million guaranteed. Most enticing is the the 8th iteration of the perennial WCOOP two-day main event, which will round off the series on September 20th. Players will be charged a buy-in of $5,200, and can expect to battle it out for a portion of the mammoth $10,000,000 guaranteed.
This largest ever WCOOP offers 9 more events than last year and is scheduled to feature at least two tournaments every day. Almost every poker discipline is covered. Along with mixed events there are tournaments for Hold ‘em, Razz, Omaha, Single/Triple Draw Lowball, 5-Card Draw, 7-Card Stud, and even Badugi. Buy-ins start at a healthy $109, with most falling somewhere between $200-$600. The very top end entry fees are reserved for the triumvirate of “High Roller” events. Two No Limit Hold ‘em events ($10,000 and $25,000 buy-ins) and one H.O.R.S.E. event ($10,000 buy-in) are sure to feature only the very finest online pros.
Astute observers will notice that the three-tier system trialed at this year’s Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) is absent. This series, which ran earlier in the year, featured three versions of every event, each at a different level of buy-in. Tournament organizers had said that if the experiment succeeded it may be repeated in this years WCOOP. It seems that either the tests did not go well enough, or this is a feature yet to be unveiled.
Those with more modest bankrolls may instead turn to the brand new Bodog Mini Series of Poker. This petite series is set to run in tandem with the World Series of Poker main event from July 3rd-15th. Fifteen hold ‘em events will be on offer, each with a buy-in of $10 + $1. The addition of a series leaderboard adds a unique twist, with the top finishers allowed entry into a special invitation-only final.
The top 10 on the leaderboard will be granted direct entry to the final, along with any player who bought into all of the 13 previous events. Extra spots will be up for grabs in the semi-final, which will feature 11th-50th place on the leaderboard, as well as any player who has bought into at least 7 events. The top 18 finishers in the semi will qualify for the final. Everyone who makes the finale’s last 8 will be in line for a prize: 6th-8th places will receive a $100 + $9 entry into the regular Sunday $100,000 guarantee, while 4th and 5th spots are treated to a $270 Bodog Flight Club seat; 2nd and 3rd place will be well compensated with a Bodog Poker Open IV package, buying them in to every single tournament; the top prize is a $12,000 package for the WSOP 2010 main event.
The schedule for the Bodog Mini Series of Poker:
1 Fri, July 3 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
2 Sat, July 4 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em turbo
3 Sun, July 5 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
4 Mon, July 6 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em rebuy
5 Tue, July 7 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
6 Wed, July 8 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em six-max
7 Thu, July 9 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
8 Fri, July 10 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 Limit hold’em
9 Sat, July 11 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
10 Sun, July 12 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em four-max
11 Mon, July 13 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
12 Tue, July 14 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 Pot-limit hold’em
13 Wed, July 15 8:35 p.m. ET $10+$1 No-limit hold’em
Semi-final Tue, July 21 8:35 p.m. ET $0+$0 No-limit hold’em
Final Thu, July 23 8:35 p.m. ET $0+$0 No-limit hold’em
The provisional WCOOP 2009 schedule:
9-3 #1 14:30 $215 NL Hold’em (6-max) $1,250,000
9-3 #2 16:30 $215 Razz $290,000
9-4 #3 14:30 $215 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max) $500,000
9-4 #4 16:30 $215 NL Single-Draw 2-7 (w/ rebuys) $200,000
9-5 #5 12:45 $109 NL Hold’em $1,000,000
9-5 #6 14:30 $215 NL 5-Card Draw $200,000
9-5 #7 16:30 $215 FL Hold’em $400,000
9-6 #8 12:45 $215 NL Hold’em $1,000,000
9-6 #9 14:30 $10,300 NL Hold’em “High Rollers” $2,000,000
9-6 #10 16:30 $530 NL Hold’em (2-day) $3,000,000
9-7 #11 14:30 $320 Mixed Hold’em (6-max) $340,000
9-7 #12 16:30 $215 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max, 1R/1A) $500,000
9-8 #13 14:30 $320 7-Card Stud $150,000
9-8 #14 16:30 $320 FL Badugi $100,000
9-8 #15 20:00 $1,050 NL Hold’em $500,000
9-9 #16 14:30 $530 NL Hold’em Triple Shootout $500,000
9-9 #17 16:30 $320 8-Game $300,000
9-10 #18 14:30 $530 Pot-Limit Hold’em (6-max) $400,000
9-10 #19 16:30 $320 FL Triple Draw 2-7 $100,000
9-11 #20 14:30 $215 NL Hold’em (w/ rebuys) $1,200,000
9-11 #21 16:30 $530 FL Omaha Hi/Lo $400,000
9-12 #22 14:30 $530 NL Hold’em Heads-Up $1,000,000
9-12 #23 16:30 $320 H.O.R.S.E. $400,000
9-13 #24 12:45 $215 NL Hold’em $1,000,000
9-13 #25 14:30 $25,500 NL Hold’em “High Rollers” Match Play $800,000
9-13 #26 16:30 $1,050 NL Hold’em (2-day) $3,000,000
9-14 #27 14:30 $320 Mixed (PLO/PLHE) $400,000
9-14 #28 16:30 $320 NL Hold’em (Second Chance) $800,000
9-15 #29 14:30 $320 Pot-Limit Omaha (w/ rebuys) $700,000
9-15 #30 16:30 $530 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo $200,000
9-15 #31 20:00 $1,050 NL Hold’em $500,000
9-16 #32 14:30 $215 NL Hold’em (big antes) $500,000
9-16 #33 16:30 $320 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo $500,000
9-17 #34 14:30 $530 NL Hold’em 6-max (w/ rebuys) $1,000,000
9-17 #35 16:30 $2,100 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max) $600,000
9-18 #36 14:30 $530 NL Hold’em (1R/1A) $1,000,000
9-18 #37 16:30 $1,030 FL Hold’em (6-max) $400,000
9-19 #38 14:30 $530 Pot-Limit Omaha Heads-Up $500,000
9-19 #39 16:30 $2,100 8-Game $400,000
9-20 #40 12:45 $215 NL Hold’em $1,000,000
9-20 #41 14:30 $10,300 H.O.R.S.E. “High Rollers” $1,000,000
9-20 #42 16:30 $5,200 NL Hold’em Main Event (2-day) $10,000,000