Qualifying for Big Tournaments via Satellites

A Poker Satellite event is a qualifying tournament where players are aiming to win either a seat to an event or a package that consists of entry into a larger more prestigious poker tournament. A well-known poker satellite is the $1000 buy-in to a ten-man one table tournament to win a seat to the WSOP* Main Event worth $10,000. If you win your seat this way you are known, in poker jargon, to have "satellited in" to a tournament.

Satellites can offer one or more seats or packages to a larger tournament. Super satellites are, like our examples above, where there is one package to be won and it is winner takes all. Your strategy must be aggressive as you need to win all of the chips. Shrinking violets should find a different game because poker satellites are very competitively contested. In tournaments where there are more than one seat or package available alters the strategy. You do not need to win the tournament if the top eight finishers all win the same prize. The main difference to normal poker tournaments are that the prize is the only thing that matters. A high finish means nothing if you do not win the seat or package.

If a poker series is passing through your town events will usually be over $200 to buy into which is quite high for the average player. Satellite events will be scheduled within the last month before the tournament to give players the opportunity to win a seat more cheaply than buying in. These satellites will usually be contested in the casino venue where the larger tournament will be held or online at an online poker room that is sponsoring the event.

Many professional poker players have used satellite poker tournaments to great effect in the past. Chris Moneymaker paid $40 for a satellite seat, won the event and went on to earn $2.5 million by winning the 2003 WSOP* Main Event. Recently Liv Boeree won €1.25 million winning the EPT San Remo poker tournament after initially winning a €500 satellite tournament.

Playing satellites can be a great way of earning really high prizes in relation to your bankroll.

* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLc ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with Titan Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.