Online Poker

June 28, 2009

PokerStars has begun holding steps tournaments into its first European Poker Tour Season 6 event in Moscow.

The European Poker Tour is a massively valuable poker tournament series, with Season 5 having had a total prize pool of over $60,000,000. This season is expected to bring even more players and thus a lot more prize money. Events will be held this season in Moscow, Barcelona, London, Warsaw, Vilamoura, Prague and the famous European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Last season, Poorya Nazari managed to take $3,000,000 away after winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Season 6 of the European Poker Tour will open with an event in Moscow, at the Radisson SAS from 18 August to 23 August. The buy-in will be RUB200,000 + RUB12,000 which is close to USD$6,432 + USD$385.93 currently, though obviously that could vary. PokerStars understands that this is a significant investment, so they have begun to hold steps tournaments to offer places in the EPT Moscow tournament.

Every step can be bought into directly or else a place can be earned by coming first or second in a previous level step tournament. The top prize is a USD$9,700 tournament package, which includes the buy-in to the Moscow EPT event as well as accommodation and some money for expenses. There are six steps tournament levels, and while any can be entered into with a buy-in, the most highly skilled players may be able to earn a place in the Moscow tournament for as little as $7.50.

Step 1 tournaments cost only $7.50 or 500FPP, the reward points used by PokerStars. Other than advancement to the next step for first and second place, third place wins $1.50.

Step 2 tournaments cost $27 or 1,750FPP, unless a step 2 ticket has been earned. First and second place advance to step 3, third and fourth place win another step 2 entry, and fifth place wins a step 1 entry.

Step 3 tournaments cost $82 or 5,125FPP, if a step 3 ticket is not used. First and second advance to step 4, while third through fifth places win another step 3 entry. This is likely due to step 3 being the beginning of the more expensive tournament entries.

Step 4 tournaments cost $215 or 13,500FPP to enter, though a step 4 ticket is more advisable at this point. First and second advance to step 5, while third place alone earns another step 4 entry, fourth and fifth earn a step 3 entry, and sixth place earns a conciliatory step 2 ticket.

Step 5 tournaments are within spitting distance of the final prize, and thus they have a tournament entry fee of $700 or a step 5 ticket. No FPP option is available. First and second advance to a step 6 finals tournament, while third and fourth place may try again with a step 5 ticket. Fifth and sixth place suffer a minor setback by receiving step 4 tickets.

Step 6 tournaments have a $2,100 entry fee or the much more preferable option of a step 6 ticket. With 10-players per step 6 tournament, the competition is fierce. First and second win the $9,700 prize package to the European Poker Tour Moscow event. Third place wins $1,650. With so much on the line and only a very limited number of prize places, you would have to be quite confident indeed to buy-in to one of these step 6 tourneys rather than earning a place there by winning at previous steps.

PokerStars will continue to run more satellite tournaments into European Poker Tour Season 6 events as they draw closer. To try your hand at winning entry through steps tournaments, join PokerStars today. New members can benefit from a 100% bonus on first deposits of up to $50. Accepting members from the USA, PokerStars is one of the most popular poker rooms online, and they are the organizers of the European Poker Tour.