On December 27, 28, and 29, the first ever PocketFives Winter Poker Openwill take place at Running Aces Harness Park in Columbus, Minnesota. The $335 buy-in tournament has two starting days and 20% qualifiers will be held on December 26 and 27 for those looking to get in on the cheap. Orchestrating the Open is longtime PocketFives member Chris Fox Wallace (pictured), who sat down with us to preview the big live event.

PocketFives: Why Running Aces? What makes Running Aces a good venue for the PocketFives Winter Open?

Chris Wallace: It was a no-brainer. We wanted to hold the tournament at a poker room known for tournaments. I’m a member of the pro team at Running Aces here in Minnesota where they really go all out for tournament players, so it was a perfect fit.

PocketFives: What kind of turnout are you expecting? Can you talk about the event’s format and structure?

Chris Wallace: It’s so hard to predict what the turnout will be because Running Aces has never run a big tournament like this between Christmas and New Years and because PocketFives has never backed a live tournament like this. I think it will be big, and hopefully the weather holds up. The structure at Running Aces is incredible. Think of every possible level, stick them all onto your structure sheet, start with 20,000 in chips with blinds at 25/50, and you get an amazing structure that really gives you room to work and time to get a feel for how your opponents are playing.

PocketFives: What about players who are not used to playing live poker? Is this tournament suitable for them?

Chris Wallace: The structure is so good that they will be amazed at how long they can play without being forced to get their chips in the pot. When I made the transition from online to live poker, Running Aces was the card room I started to call home. The fact that the dealers are friendly and helpful makes the transition easy.

PocketFives: Where can people stay who want to come in from out of town? How close is Running Aces (pictured) to other major cities in the area?

Chris Wallace: It takes me about 20 minutes to get to Running Aces from my home in St Paul. The card room is on a major highway and both starting days begin at low traffic times. We know some players are coming from significant distances to play in this event, so re-entry is open until the end of the second break, four hours and 20 minutes after the start of the event. If you take a bad beat early in the tournament, you can rebuy and your drive wasn’t wasted.

If you’re coming in from out of town, view our list of hotels. Most of them will give you a special rate if you tell them you are in town visiting Running Aces. I know players who have stayed at the Country Inn and Suites, which is a five-minute drive from the poker room, and they were very happy with the accommodations.

Visit PocketFives’ Live Events pagefor more details on the Winter Poker Open. We’ll see everyone on December 27 for Day 1A or on December 28 for Day 1B!