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POKER SCHEDULE: Online Sites Ramp Up Tournaments in Face of COVID-19 (Updated March 20)

Self-quarantined poker players still have numerous options when it comes to online poker. Several operators are offering tournament series, events, and promotions in the coming weeks.

PokerScout offers players this complete guide on where to play and what’s planned. These listings will be updated as more events are announced.

GGPoker

High Roller Series begins this week, Sunday GGMasters and big weekend events continue

The GGPoker High Rollers begin this week with the series running March 22-30. The schedule is expected to be released later this week and will be posted here when available.

That includes a total of $9 million guaranteed and buy-ins range from $210 to $5,000. Players won’t want to miss the $1,000 dailies throughout the series as well as the $250 Phase tournaments, each with a $500,000 prize pool!

The site is also giving out more than 1,000 seats guaranteed in High Roller satellites. There are numerous major events and big guarantees.

Here is the schedule of regular daily events:

  • $210 Bounty Warmup – $75,000 guaranteed
  • Daily $500 – $100,000 guaranteed
  • Daily Main $1,000 – $100,000 guaranteed

In addition, 0.5% of the prize pool will be donated to University Health Network Foundation for COVID-19 support. That will be fully matched by the operator. Here’s a look at the complete schedule:

Tournament nameDateBuy-inGTD
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 22, 20201000500000
HR Week #01 Bounty Kick-Off $210March 22, 2020210200000
HR Week #02 $5KMarch 22, 20205000150000
HR Week #03 Sunday $500March 22, 2020500150000
HR Week #04 Bounty $525March 22, 202052575000
HR Week #05 $1KMarch 22, 20201000100000
HR Week #06 Omaha $1KMarch 22, 2020100050000
HR Week #07 Short Deck $500March 22, 202050030000
HR Week #08 Turbo $500March 22, 202050050000
HR Week #09 $5KMarch 22, 20205000200000
HR Week #10 Sunday Main $1KMarch 22, 20201000150000
HR Week #11 Omaha $5KMarch 22, 20205000100000
HR Week #12 Omaha $500March 22, 202050050000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 22, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 22, 2020250500000
HR Week #13 Bounty $1KMarch 22, 20201000100000
HR Week #14 Turbo $500March 22, 202050050000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 22, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 22, 2020250500000
HR Week #15 $5KMarch 23, 20205000150000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 23, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 23, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 23, 2020250500000
HR Week #16 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 23, 202021060000
HR Week #17 $5KMarch 23, 20205000100000
HR Week #18 Daily $500March 23, 202050075000
HR Week #19 Bounty $525March 23, 202052550000
HR Week #20 Daily Main $1KMarch 23, 20201000100000
HR Week #21 Omaha $1KMarch 23, 2020100035000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 23, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 23, 2020250500000
HR Week #22 Turbo $500March 23, 202050030000
HR Week #23 $5KMarch 23, 20205000100000
HR Week #24 Omaha $500March 23, 202050025000
HR Week #25 Bounty $1KMarch 23, 2020100050000
HR Week #26 $5KMarch 24, 20205000100000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 24, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 24, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 24, 2020250500000
HR Week #27 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 24, 202021075000
HR Week #28 $5KMarch 24, 20205000100000
HR Week #29 Daily $500March 24, 2020500100000
HR Week #30 Bounty $525March 24, 202052575000
HR Week #31 Daily Main $1KMarch 24, 20201000100000
HR Week #32 Omaha $1KMarch 24, 2020100035000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 24, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 24, 2020250500000
HR Week #33 Turbo $500March 24, 202050050000
HR Week #34 $5KMarch 24, 20205000100000
HR Week #35 Omaha $500March 24, 202050025000
HR Week #36 Bounty $1KMarch 24, 2020100075000
HR Week #37 $5KMarch 25, 20205000100000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 25, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 25, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 25, 2020250500000
HR Week #38 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 25, 202021060000
HR Week #39 $5KMarch 25, 20205000100000
HR Week #40 Daily $500March 25, 202050075000
HR Week #41 Bounty $525March 25, 202052550000
HR Week #42 Daily Main $1KMarch 25, 20201000100000
HR Week #43 Omaha $1KMarch 25, 2020100035000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 25, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 25, 2020250500000
HR Week #44 Turbo $500March 25, 202050030000
HR Week #45 $5KMarch 25, 20205000100000
HR Week #46 Omaha $500March 25, 202050025000
HR Week #47 Bounty $1KMarch 25, 2020100050000
HR Week #48 $5KMarch 26, 20205000100000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 26, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 26, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 26, 2020250500000
HR Week #49 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 26, 202021060000
HR Week #50 $5KMarch 26, 20205000100000
HR Week #51 Daily $500March 26, 202050075000
HR Week #52 Bounty $525March 26, 202052550000
HR Week #53 Daily Main $1KMarch 26, 20201000100000
HR Week #54 Omaha $1KMarch 26, 2020100035000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 26, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 26, 2020250500000
HR Week #55 Turbo $500March 26, 202050050000
HR Week #56 $5KMarch 26, 20205000100000
HR Week #57 Omaha $500March 26, 202050025000
HR Week #58 Bounty $1KMarch 26, 2020100075000
HR Week #59 $5KMarch 27, 20205000100000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 27, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 27, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 27, 2020250500000
HR Week #60 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 27, 202021050000
HR Week #61 $5KMarch 27, 20205000100000
HR Week #62 Daily $500March 27, 202050060000
HR Week #63 Bounty $525March 27, 202052550000
HR Week #64 Daily Main $1KMarch 27, 20201000100000
HR Week #65 Omaha $1KMarch 27, 2020100035000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 27, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 27, 2020250500000
HR Week #66 Turbo $500March 27, 202050030000
HR Week #67 $5KMarch 27, 20205000100000
HR Week #68 Omaha $500March 27, 202050025000
HR Week #69 Bounty $1KMarch 27, 2020100050000
HR Week #70 $5KMarch 28, 20205000100000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 28, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 28, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 28, 2020250500000
HR Week #71 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 28, 202021050000
HR Week #72 $5KMarch 28, 20205000100000
HR Week #73 Daily $500March 28, 202050060000
HR Week #74 Bounty $525March 28, 202052550000
HR Week #75 Daily Main $1KMarch 28, 20201000100000
HR Week #76 Omaha $1KMarch 28, 2020100035000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 28, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 28, 2020250500000
HR Week #77 Turbo $500March 28, 202050030000
HR Week #78 $5KMarch 28, 20205000100000
HR Week #79 Omaha $500March 28, 202050025000
HR Week #80 Bounty $1KMarch 28, 2020100050000
HR Week #81 $5KMarch 29, 20205000100000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 29, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 29, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1, Turbo]March 29, 2020250500000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day1]March 29, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day1]March 29, 2020250500000
HR Week #82 Bounty Warm-Up $210March 29, 2020210150000
HR Week #83 $5KMarch 29, 20205000150000
HR Week #84 Sunday $500March 29, 2020500150000
HR Week #85 Bounty $525March 29, 202052575000
HR Week #86 Main Event $1KMarch 29, 20201000200000
HR Week #87 Omaha $1KMarch 29, 2020100050000
HR Week #88 Short Deck $500March 29, 202050030000
Phased: HR Week $1K, $500K GTD [Day2]March 29, 20201000500000
Phased: HR Week $250, $500K GTD [Day2]March 29, 2020250500000
HR Week #89 Turbo $500March 29, 202050050000
HR Week #90 $5KMarch 29, 20205000250000
HR Week #91 $1KMarch 29, 20201000100000
HR Week #92 Omaha $5KMarch 29, 20205000100000
HR Week #93 Omaha $500March 29, 202050050000
HR Week #94 Bounty $1KMarch 29, 20201000100000
HR Week #95 Turbo $500March 29, 202050050000
HR Week #96 $5KMarch 30, 20205000150000

The site also continues to offer huge Sunday GGMasters tournament guarantees. The events feature a $150 buy-in, a $300,000 guarantee, and a freezeout format.

Satellites run throughout the week with numerous on Sunday. Buy-ins begin at only $1.50.

In March, the site also restructured its Sunday lineup with 174 tournaments now offered with $2 million in guarantees. That includes something for every level of player – from $2 to $5,000. Highlights on the schedule include:

  • Sunday Main Events – These events run multiple times throughout the day with buy-ins from $22 to $250. Guarantees range from $12,000 to $65,000.
  • High Roller Bounty Warm-Up – This $210 event guarantees $100,000. There is also a $500 buy-in event with a $100,000 guarantee.
  • Phase tournaments – The site runs these $250 events several times on Sunday.

For a complete GGPoker review including an exclusive new player bonus up to $1,000, click here.

888poker

Superstorm qualifiers continue this week

The Millions Superstorm Main Event starting flights continue through Sunday, March 22. The site has been running numerous starting flights since March 1 with Day 2 finally playing out March 22 with a big field.

One lucky winner will walk away with a massive payday of $1 million. There are numerous other events and promotions as part of the Superstorm as well.

Earn a trip to the WSOP via 888poker

888poker is the only operator offering non-US players the opportunity to qualify online.

The site is offering multi-step satellite tournaments, with buy-ins starting for as little as 1 cent. 

This year, players have the chance to earn a $15,000 Mega Package. That features a $10,000 buy-in to the Main Event and an $888 buy-in to the Crazy Eights tournament. That also includes travel and accommodation. 

Qualifier tournaments are already underway. Here’s a look at the complete $15,000 Mega Package:

  • 12 nights at the luxury Vdara Hotel (June 26 – July 8)
  • $10,000 buy-in to the WSOP Main Event
  • $888 buy-in to the Crazy Eights
  • $1,000 for travel and expenses (paid directly to the winner’s 888poker account)
  • A special welcome session at the Vdara Hotel
  • Transportation from the Vdara to the Rio Hotel and Casino (June 27 – July 6)
  • An 888poker LIVE kit

For a complete 888poker review including an exclusive new player bonus of $88, click here.

Partypoker

POWERFEST offers huge poker festival for all bankrolls

Players stuck at home will be pleased to see the POWERFEST returning in March. The series runs March 15-29 with total guarantees of $20 million.

The series features 488 tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $0.55 to $25,500. The game variants include No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. Formats include:

  • 8-Max
  • 6-Max
  • 8-6 Mix-Max
  • 6-4 Mix-Max
  • Rebuy
  • Freezeout
  • Progressive Knockout (PKO)
  • PKO Battle

Events are split into levels ranging from Low to Super High Roller – something for every bankroll. At least 14 players are guaranteed to walk away with $100,000-plus paydays.

Four No Limit Hold’em and four Pot Limit Omaha main events are scheduled. That totals a combined $1.5 million in guaranteed prize money. All main events are scheduled for March 29 with numerous satellites also running and starting at just $0.55.

Irish Poker Open plays out online

The Irish Poker Open will now run the entire festival online from April 6-12. The Main Event on April 6 features a €1 million guarantee.

The good news about the online festival is that it will be available to players in all countries on the .COM site.

“Since our announcement last week regarding the postponement of Irish Open 2020, considerable efforts have been made to find an alternative date,” organizer JP McCann said in a news release. “However, as the uncertainty surrounding live poker events continues, we feel that the best decision to take at this point is to cancel the live festival for 2020.

“We would like to thank partypoker for taking the initiative to help ensure Europe’s oldest running Poker Festival goes ahead during these very challenging times.”

Here’s a complete schedule of events:

WPT teams with partypoker for massive new series

Partypoker also recently teamed up with the WPT to offer the new Online Series. The festival runs May 10-26 and features $30 million in total guarantees including $15 million across 10 headline events.

The WPT and partypoker have teamed up for the new WPT Online Series.The highlight will be a $3,200 WPT Online Championship with a $5 million guarantee, set to begin May 10. The series becomes an official part of the WPT Main Tour.

The new series comes after the WPT was forced to postpone several events. Like a live event, the winner will have his or her name added to the tour’s Champions Cup trophy. Here’s the complete WPT schedule.

DateBuy-InEventGuarantee
May 3$5,000WPT Grand Opener $2 million
May 10$3,200 WPT Online Championship$5 million
May 10$530WPT500$1 million
May 12 $5,200Bounty Hunter NLHE$1 million
May 14$5,200 PLO$500,000
May 18$1,1000 NLHE Six-Max $1 million
May 19 $5,200Mix Max$1 million
May 21$25,500Super High Roller$2 million
May 21 $2,100Turbo PKO$500,000
May 24 $10,300High Roller$2 million
May 25 $1,600WPTDeepStacks$1 million

For a complete partypoker review including an exclusive deposit bonus up to $1,000, click here.

PokerStars

SCOOP Returns for part of Europe in March

The Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) returns March 22 to April 9 for players in France, Spain, and Portugal. The series features €12 million in tournament guarantees across 19 days of action.

The series offers a range of buy-ins, including the €250 Main Event on April 5 with a €1 million guarantee. Players can win a seat for a fraction of the cost with hundreds of tickets given away through Depositor Freerolls. These run on March 21, 28 and April 4.

Players can also win their way into the Main Event with special €12.50 Spin & Go’s. Some other highlights of the series include:

  • March 22 – €250 Sunday Special PKO with a €200,000 guarantee
  • March 29 – €50 Special PKO with a €250,000 guarantee
  • April 5 – €50 Warm-Up guaranteeing €175,000

Swap Hold’em debuts

PokerStars will soon be offering a new twist on Texas Hold’em. The new cash game variant, Swap Hold’em, is now available at PokerStars.

Swap rules are almost identical to Texas Hold’em. However, before players have the option to fold they can swap out one or both of their hole cards for new ones. Players can swap once per hand, at any point pre- or post-flop.

Players can see which players swapped their cards and how many by looking at the swap icon by each player’s avatar. If a player does swap, they can see the cards they held originally by hovering over their own swap icon.

Swap Hold’em is the latest limited-time cash game from PokerStars. It’s currently available on the .UK and .NET sites and will soon be available on .COM, .EU, .BE, and .EE.

For a complete PokerStars review including an exclusive deposit bonus up to $500, click here.

*** Those playing online poker in the US can find a complete list of online poker sites and events by clicking here. ***

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888poker Goes Big With WSOP Mega Packages, Online Qualifiers Already Underway

888poker is now offering players a chance to qualify for the WSOP.

As the summer approaches, poker players from around the world are anticipating the World Series of Poker. Those outside the US looking to qualify for events online have one option – 888poker.

The site is the only operator offering non-US players the opportunity to qualify online. 888poker will host various online events and promotions for the next few months. The operator has even more planned for this year’s Road to Vegas promotion.

Getting to the WSOP via 888poker

There will be plenty of opportunities to qualify with 888poker. The site is offering multi-step satellite tournaments, with buy-ins starting for as little as 1 cent.

This year, players have the chance to earn a $15,000 Mega Package. That includes a $10,000 buy-in to the Main Event and an $888 buy-in to the Crazy Eights tournament. That also includes travel and accommodation. 

Qualifier tournaments are already underway. Here’s a look at the complete $15,000 Mega Package:

  • 12 nights at the luxury Vdara Hotel (June 26 – July 8)
  • $10,000 buy-in to the WSOP Main Event
  • $888 buy-in to the Crazy Eights
  • $1,000 for travel and expenses (paid directly to the winner’s 888poker account)
  • A special welcome session at the Vdara Hotel
  • Transportation from the Vdara to the Rio Hotel and Casino (June 27 – July 6)
  • An 888poker LIVE kit

What to expect from this year’s WSOP

The WSOP is set for May 26 to July 15 this summer. Series officials have been releasing events over the last few weeks including 14 online events.

888poker partners with WSOP.com in the US in Nevada and New Jersey. Players will have a chance to play for a gold bracelet in both states.

Online events range in buy-in from $400 to $10,000. In New Jersey, 888poker NJ also offers its own online poker experience for players in the Garden State.

The 2020 WSOP schedule also includes a slate of events dubbed the High Roller Series. There are also numerous $1,500 events with new leaderboards planned for both series of events.

The Crazy Eights is set to begin June 26 with one re-entry allowed per flight. 888poker ambassador Vivian Saliba finished fourth for $308,888.

The event featured 10,185 entries for an $8.1 million prize pool. California’s Rick Alvarado won the top prize and took home $888,888.

In total, 888poker sent more than 100 qualifiers to the WSOP in 2019. Of those, 17 cashed in the Main Event for just over $1 million. Some of the top 888poker finishers were these Canadians:

  • Dean Morrone – 159th place for $59,295
  • Sam Greenwood – 45th place for $211,945

888 is hoping to send a big group of players again for the action in 2020. Maybe someone will even top those finishes this year. Qualifiers continue online, players can get in the game and book that trip to Vegas.

Looking to play at 888poker? Here’s PokerScout’s complete review and a chance to earn an $88 No-Deposit Bonus and a 100% Match Bonus up to $800.

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Why 888Poker Should Grab Your Attention Right Now

888Poker is going all-out this year. The entire 888Poker Squad will be coming to Las Vegas to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the WSOP, and there are some great WSOP packages up for grabs. 

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the most recognizable poker event in the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of players make a summer pilgrimage to the Rio in order to hunt for the famous gold bracelets.

888Poker has an existing connection to WSOP, in that the two sites share a network in New Jersey. So, it’s probably not a surprise that 888Poker is piggybacking onto the tremendous wave of interest that follows the annual tournament series.

However, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the World Series of Poker. So, the site is bringing its entire 888Poker Squad to Las Vegas to celebrate.

The Squad is a group of top notch 888 ambassadors. Its members include:

  • 2014 Main Event Winner Martin Jacobson
  • Poker announcer Kara Scott
  • Online poker legend Chris Moorman
  • Dominik Nitsche
  • Vivian Saliba
  • Ana Marquez
  • Sofia Lovgren

888Poker is offering exclusive qualifiers online to give players a shot at hanging out with this group of poker celebrities. There’s no doubt that the winners will receive a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

888Poker Main Event Packages

888Poker is a WSOP Main Event sponsor again this year. So, the site is going to offer an exclusive Main Event package on its site.

The Squad package is worth $12,600 in terms of a cash value. It includes:

  • Main Event $10,000 buy in
  • 6 free nights at the luxurious Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas
  • $1000 for travel and expenses
  • Shuttle service back and forth to the Rio
  • Dinner on the first night of the Main Event
  • Vdara welcome session
  • 888Poker Live Kit
  • Meet and Greet with some of the top players in the world.

Some of the elite squad members will also host private training sessions as a cherry on top of the deal. The squad member prize winner that lasts the longest in the 2019 Main Event will also win a $12,600 package to the 2020 WSOP Main Event.

How to Qualify for the 888Poker Squad Packages

888Poker is awarding packages through the Sunday $1050 Main Event Package Qualifier tournament. This qualifier runs every Sunday at 20:30 GMT.

If $1050 is a little too much for your bankroll, don’t worry. There are multiple lower buy in events that can help get you on the road to the Sunday Qualifier. Some are even available for just 1 cent!

For instance, each day at 20:01 GMT there is a $16.50 satellite that can get you into the Sunday $109. In turn, the Sunday $109 event runs every Sunday at 17:12 GMT and guarantees 5 seats directly to the $1050 Main Event Qualifier.

The WSOP is back at the Rio and bigger than ever

After earlier speculation to the contrary, the WSOP will be back at the Rio again this year. The 50th WSOP begins on May 28 and runs until July 16.

A few new additions have been added to the WSOP lineup this year, including an event called the Big 50, which will commemorate the WSOP’s anniversary.

The Big 50 is a $500 buy-in no-limit event with a $5 million dollar guaranteed prize pool. First prize for this tournament will be a cool $1 million.

Even better, every player’s initial entry is rake free. The first flight for the Big 50 will occur on May 31. 

The WSOP expects record numbers again this year, due in part to sites like 888Poker running these great package deals. Make sure not to miss out and get into the action with 888Poker.

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NJ Online Poker Treads Water Heading Into Two Big Tournament Series

NJ online poker

There is a lot of excitement in New Jersey these days. Unfortunately, it isn’t around online poker. Instead, all eyes are on legalized sports betting as the first big week of betting on football concludes.

A weekend full of games and mobile sports betting did nothing to help bolster the fledgling online poker market. The good news is it didn’t really hurt it either.

Consequently, the bottom line is online poker in New Jersey is just treading water.

Here are the key stories from the U.S. regulated poker scene since our last report published on Aug. 28 are:

  • The three major online poker networks are showing declining trends across the board
  • WSOP.com continues to show the sharpest declining trends post World Series of Poker
  • PokerStars NJ gave a few cash game players back to WSOP.com
  • partypoker NJ is holding steady and remains relatively flat across the three major metrics

Now, let’s take a look back at the cash game and tournament trends for the two-week period ending Sept. 9, 2018.

U.S. Regulated Online Poker Operators

The major U.S. poker operators are:

Operator Network Provider Other Sites in the Network
WSOP.com 888 888poker
PokerStarsNJ PokerStars None
partypokerNJ partypoker Borgata Poker and PlayMGM-NJ

Pala Poker also operates in New Jersey on its own network. We do not include Pala Poker in this report because the traffic volume is low and doesn’t affect the latest US online poker trends.

Major online poker tournaments summary

The poker tournament schedule was void of any major tournament series over the past two weeks, and it shows. Not even Sunday football was successful in attracting players to the virtual felt.

With the launch of New Jersey mobile sports betting, there was hope that players would fire up their poker client while rooting on their favorite team. The hope was short-lived.

Each online poker site held their regular scheduled Sunday Major tournaments, with one exception. WSOP.com lowered its Sunday $100,000 guarantee to $75,000 over the Labor Day holiday.

It was surprising to see WSOP.com lower its guarantee. It has, after all, handily met its guarantee all but once since the launch of shared liquidity.

WSOP.com, thanks to the lower guarantee, generated prize pools well north of the posted guarantee. PokerStars NJ and partypoker NJ, however, posted overlays for each of their major Sunday tournaments.

The tournament scene is likely to get a boost with two upcoming tournament series on the docket.

From Sept. 18 through Sept. 30, WSOP.com will offer the first WSOP.com Online Circuit event. The series boasts over $700,000 in guarantees and will award 13 rings over the 13 days of play.

WSOP.com combines the player pools between Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. This Online Circuit series stands to impact New Jersey online poker more than most.

Right on the heels of the WSOP.com Online Circuit event, PokerStars NJ is bringing NJCOOP back to the Garden State. The popular tournament series will run from Sept. 29 through Oct. 15 and guarantee over $1 million in prizes. The 47-event series will also be giving away three Platinum Passes.

There is a lot of excitement around the inaugural online circuit event and the return of NJCOOP to New Jersey’s online poker rooms. Let’s hope that enthusiasm translates to some large prize pools.

Sunday major online tournaments by the numbers

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly $175,000 NLH 213 $75,000 $92,100 $17,100
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special, $35,000 Guaranteed 146 $35,000 $27,156 -$7,844
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 150 $35,000 $30,000 -$5,000

Information for the tournaments held on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018

Tournament Entries Guarantee Prize Pool Difference
WSOP $320 Sunday Weekly $100,000 NLH 247 $100,000 $113,100 $13,100
PokerStarsNJ $200 Sunday Special, $35,000 Guaranteed 181 $35,000 $33,666 -$1,334
partypokerNJ $215 Sunday $35,000 Guaranteed NLH 168 $35,000 $33,600 -$1,400

Average cash game and peak traffic summary

Much like the tournament report, the cash game numbers are relatively unexciting. That is actually not entirely bad news.

For the past month, we’ve seen an exodus of poker players in the online poker market. For the past few weeks at least, all three operators are holding relatively steady.

WSOP.com gained some cash game players while PokerStars NJ lost a few, but overall there were not any big shifts like we saw a month ago. The loss of players post WSOP is still affecting WSOP.com’s sharply declining trend line. Expect that to begin to flatten out over the coming weeks.

Peak traffic numbers, with the exception of some good days, seem to be on a constant decline. When you think about it, it’s a pretty interesting number to track.

If a more significant number of players on a site at one time has the power to attract more players, then this number tells a pretty grim story. Most poker players prefer to play when the most games were running. Knowing that, the peak traffic number should continue to climb, or at the very least hold steady. Instead, it continues to decline.

It will be interesting to see how a month of big tournaments will impact the cash game and peak traffic numbers.

Factors that will impact U.S. regulated online poker in the coming weeks

Obviously, the most significant factor to impact New Jersey online poker is the two upcoming New Jersey online poker tournaments. Both series are sweetening the pot enough to entice serious poker players in the region to set up shop in the Garden State for a while.

The excitement around sports betting is another area that may impact poker. New Jersey is now home to seven sportsbooks. Avid sports bettors (which describes many poker players) may choose to spend their evenings and weekends at their favorite sportsbook. Of course, that may result in taking players away from the virtual felt.

Pennsylvania, which many hope will launch online gaming soon is taking its sweet time in doing so. While we continue to keep an eye on the state’s progress, don’t expect any movement in the near future.

We will keep our eyes on the New Jersey poker scene, and the complete U.S. regulated online poker landscape and report back here on Sept. 25.

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888poker XL Eclipse Championships Make Most Of Opportunities To Win

XL Eclipse

888poker has finally released details of its Fall XL Eclipse Championships. Events begin on Sept. 13 and run through to Sept. 23.

This is a critical time of the year for poker operators. The end of the Summer slump when long sunny days take players away from their screens signals the beginning of the Fall program of tournament series.

Success in attracting players back from their Summer breaks is a major factor in retaining players through the winter months when online poker is most popular. It’s also one of the best times to attract new players, and big money tournament headlines are an important marketing tool in getting poker novices on-board.

The headlines 888poker is offering for the XL Eclipse are nicely targeted. The magic $1 million number is up there not just in the Main Event guarantee, but also as part of a side promotion.

Players can win cash bonuses for winning more than one tournament. Two tournaments merits a $1,000 bonus, three gets $10,000, but win four tournaments and the bonus leaps to $100,000 and hitting five victories secures a jackpot payout of $1 million.

Winning five events is an outside chance for any player, but with 34 events scheduled it’s definitely within the realms of possibility.

Event #32 is the $1,050 buy-in Main Event and it comes with the $1 million guarantee so essential to pull in a large field. The high buy-in is a deterrent to casual players, but there are a vast range of satellites scheduled between now and the event starting.

There is even a mega satellite that begins less than three hours before the Main Event itself. The Main Event Mega Satellite – 50 seats GTD comes with a $215 entry fee and kicks off at 15:05 just in advance of the Main Event start at 18:00 on Sunday, September 23.

The numbers to look for to see if 888 can surpass its performance in 2017 are 1,149 entries, 413 rebuys and a total prize pool of $1,562,000.

All tournament winners get an extra prize

888 is handing out extra prizes to all the top tournament winners. Each winner receives entry to the XL Inferno Champion of Champions Event which offers a WSOP Main Event package for first place. Full prize list is:

  • 1st $12,600 WSOP Vegas Main Event package
  • 2nd $2,700 Crazy 8s WSOP Side Event package + $1,050 tournament ticket
  • 3rd $2,700 Crazy 8s WSOP package
  • 4th – 5th $1,050 tournament ticket
  • 6th – 9th $215 tournament ticket
  • 10th – 34th $55 tournament ticket

As there will be a maximum of 34 entries, less if any players win multiple events in the main series, every player is guaranteed a prize.

XL Eclipse Schedule has lower guarantees but wide choice

In 2017 888 experimented with a schedule that offered lower individual tournament guarantees spread across a larger number of events. This let them offer an XL series with the highest amount in guarantees in its history, $9.2 million.

For 2018, the schedule is more like the 2016 version. The total offered in guarantees is down to $2.8 million but the average guarantee has almost doubled compared to last year.

Writing for the 888 magazine, Chad Holloway explained:

“Last year’s XL Eclipse Series was comprised of 197 events, and while it was a success, players let it be known they prefer quality over quantity.”

The schedule includes events with buy-ins from $5 for the XL Eclipse #15 – $15,000 Mini R&A up to the prestigious $2,600 buy-in XL Eclipse #16 – $200,000 High Roller.

As always, 888’s main competitors have competing tournament series running in September, but both PokerStars and partypoker have set their start dates a little earlier than 888. PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and partypoker’s Powerfest both hold their first events on Sep. 2.