Summary:
How about playing in the world's greatest poker tournament? How about going for the millionaire prizes? With thousands of participants, the main event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the biggest poker tourney in the world, and the one with the highest payout.
Actually, it is kind of easy to get in the tournament, if you have U$10,000 to spend - You just have to register and pay the buy-in. I will assume you don't have this money, or you wouldn't be reading this arti...
How about playing in the world's greatest poker tournament? How about going for the millionaire prizes? With thousands of participants, the main event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the biggest poker tourney in the world, and the one with the highest payout.
Actually, it is kind of easy to get in the tournament, if you have U$10,000 to spend - You just have to register and pay the buy-in. I will assume you don't have this money, or you wouldn't be reading this article, so what you will find here is advice on possible roads to get your ticket online. Read on.
-> Online direct satellites. Most rooms offer several options of wsop satellites. In Direct satellites, you pay a high buy-in (usually $200 to $900 each) and play a multi-table tournament that gives wsop packages as prizes. These packages are usually about U$12,000 (the buy-in+expenses), and the amount of them depends on the tournament rules. You have to read the description of the tourney to know how they will distribute prizes. You should be aware that in most of these qualifiers there is no money prize, so if you don't finish in the prize zone, you usually get nothing.
-> Online super satellites. If you don't have the money to enter a direct satellite, don't worry, take a look at the wsop super satellites. They offer entries to the expensive direct satellites. From the last 4 World Series Of Poker winners, 3 qualified online trough super-satellites, going to direct satellites, so it's achievable. There are several options, and there are even super super satellites, like sit and gos, for example, which you could get entries to super satellites. If you are on a budget, super satellites offer a great opportunity. But if you are really in trouble when it comes to money, check below.
-> World Series of Poker Freerolls - Satellites. So you don't have money to spend, and still think you should try your way into the WSOP? You could try the RARE WSOP freeroll qualifiers. The poker rooms sometimes offer this kind of tourney, but they usually have thousands of people, and only one prize. Be ready for the longest road ever, hours in front of the computer.
-> Private Freerolls. If the above freerolls feel a lot to you, I really recommend that you check the private freerolls. Some poker websites join with big poker rooms to promote their softwares by giving out World Series of Poker freerolls. These are big tourneys, but not nearly as big as the open ones.
Bonus Tip:
-> Satellite Strategy. If you are new to the game, I strongly advice that you first check articles and books on poker strategy. The bonus tip of this article is for the tournaments that offer a small quantity of entries, like the freerolls, for example.
(1) Although tight is good for most of poker games, in tourneys that only give the package for the first place, you have to play a lot different, specially in the beginning. Nobody wins these prizes without courage;
(2) You have to be more aggressive, raising with moderate hands in good positions, seeing more flops, and taking advantage of the times you make good hands;
(3) A lot of players are beginners, and you should take advantage of that at the first stages. Trap them, keep them in the hand if you have the nuts, and call their bluffs if you have an above average hand;
(4) Do not bluff with crap hands! Having a lot of loose players, there is a high chance that you will get called when you don't want too, sometimes from people with better hands.
So take this information with you and try yourself into one of those tourneys. You could be the next champion, or at least, take a great trip to Las Vegas and play against the pros. Goo Luck!