The American Christmas would not be complete without the snow of winter. Well, there is something else that has just come up this time; the PokerStars Winter Series is back. The tournament which has been split into 291 match events has been allocated a guaranteed prize pool of $50 million. For 19 days up to January 12, the cutesy phrase will be “unwrapping presents.”
This is an extension of Christmas for poker players who will either play for the experience or the handsome prize money. An excellent opportunity to extend the festivities, the PokerStars Winter Series is a great way for players to usher in the New Year. Not only that – those who take part in this event will have a great start for all the poker action that will happen throughout the New Year.
Even players who feel disadvantaged financially will be included in the action and proceed to the finals if they so wish. Most poker tournaments that have been hosted by PokerStars are divided into tiers to accommodate players of various financial abilities. The three-tier system that has a buy-in for high, medium and low will be used for the 2021 PokerStars Winter tournament.
Based on the number of events into which the tournament has been split, there will be a total of 97 events and each of these will have a set of 3 tourneys. Since the price points have not been pinned on every event, the actual count of events can be said to be 123. This is still a good number and will accommodate a significant number of people wishing to participate in the tournament.
When the organizers say that the price points are spread over a wide range to accommodate everyone, which is exactly what it means. The lowest price has been set at $2.20 while the highest is $10,300. With your price at hand, the only thing that remains is signing up for the action. This event will be happening in New Jersey betting platform and there will be a close out to everyone else who is not within the jurisdiction.
To assure their players that they are on familiar territory, the nature of tournaments will remain the same as has been the case in past events. Most events will be No-Limit Hold’em but there will be a taste of Stud, H.O.R.S.E., and Omaha. Game options like Zoom, Turbo and Knockout will also be featured to keep players entertained wherever they are logged in on the casino platform.
If you are interested in contesting the main event, you get to choose between three price levels depending on how much you are willing to part with. Your account should be loaded with the buy-in amount by January 9; Low – $55 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed prize pool; Medium – $530 buy-in, $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool or High – $10,300 buy-in, $2 million guaranteed prize pool.
On the same day the main event will be held, the schedule indicates that there will be another event, Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event, which is a sort of “main event.” The event which has a guaranteed prize amount of $250,000 will have players parting with a $215 buy-in.
What we cover
Special events
The action that has been planned at PokerStars will extend well beyond the Christmas festivities. There will be a special Sunday Million that will be taking place within the first few days of the New Year. The guaranteed prize pool amount for this event will be $2 million (quite impressive because the usual amount is $1 million) – that is why it is referred to as, “Sunday Two Million.”
For this one-day event, the buy-in is a bit higher than usual. Just like the guaranteed prize pool has been doubled, interested players will have to part with a buy-in of $215 instead of the usual $109. Being in a position not to afford the buy does not mean staying away from the action – the organizers have scheduled a lot of satellite events for those who would like to try their luck from the bottom. In addition to that, players can participate in $4 and $22 Spin & Go promotions that offer entry tickets to the winners.
Christmas is not the only time when PokerStars treats their players to professional online poker action. Right before the festivities began, the betting operator had two ongoing phase tournaments with buy-ins of $55 and $109; Signing up meant battling it out for a prize guarantee of $750,000 and $1.25 million respectively.
For players who are always looking for a thrill from their poker deck, they can keep re-entering phase 1 as many times as necessary so as to clear the chips in their possession. This process is however not new to experienced players because bigger live tournaments have a starting flight exactly like what the players get on offer here. Since the first phase is only allocated a time duration of 3 hours, players hold up their position in the game until time is up upon which they carry forward their stacks to phase 2.
The second phase of the tournament will only be experienced by those who pay $55 in buy-in. It will be flagged off to showcase action taking place amongst 27 players and lasting for two days. The other phase 2 which costs $109 to participate will happen 14 days after the start of the first one. This one will be bigger with 36 players who will be playing for two days.
Final Thoughts
Christmas is a season of joy and good tidings. It is amazing how much generosity goes around the world at a time like this. For PokerStars, dishing out a lot of prize money to its players is part of the spirit of Christmas. Many people will prefer to stay indoors to keep off the cold but the poker fans will be waiting to connect with the betting operator for strategic poker action.
