Poker Articles

Happy Birthday Full Tilt Poker! It’s hard to believe that the world’s second largest online poker site is only turning five years-old. Full Tilt is rolling out the red carpet for players as part of its aptly-named FIVE promotion, which runs from July 9th through July 19th. Over $1 million in added prize money, extra Full Tilt Points (FTPs), and larger pro bounties will be on the line over the course of the ten-day extravaganza. One of the highlights is the site’s $20,000 freeroll – yes, a freeroll – that kicks off at 17:05 ET on Thursday, July 9th. As its name implies, the $20,000 freeroll will cost you $0 to enter and registration is already open and filling up fast. Let’s check out all of the news from Full Tilt’s big birthday bash.

The $20,000 freeroll kicks off the festivities on Thursday. The site notes that early registration is recommended: “Don’t wait to join; this tournament will fill up fast.” Stalling might result in you being left out of the Full Tilt $20,000 freeroll like players were shut out of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday. Throw your hat into the ring today.

Other blockbuster events include $5,000 Every Five Hours. The series of FTP tournaments begins on July 14th at 00:05 ET and runs through July 19th at 20:05 ET. The buy-in is a scant five FTPs. In order to play, simply fire up the Full Tilt Poker client and visit the "Tournaments" tab. The $5,000 Guaranteed events are shaded in pink to make them easily indefinable and run every five hours.

Also starting at 00:05 ET on July 14th, you can earn FTPs up to five times faster. A special 24 hour long Happy Hour kicks off early Tuesday morning and applies to play in ring games, sit and gos, and multi-table tournaments. Between July 14th and 19th, regularly scheduled Happy Hours will award five times the typical number of FTPs, meaning you’ll generate points at a highly accelerated rate. During Happy Hours, special yellow smiley face icons will pop up next to games in the Full Tilt lobby.

The army of Full Tilt Poker pros will be getting into the act for the site’s birthday extravaganza. Find any Team Full Tilt member in a tournament with over 30 players. Bust them out and you’ll earn five times your buy-in back. This portion of the FIVE promotion starts at 00:00 on July 14th and runs through the end of the day on July 19th. To make the process of finding a Team Full Tilt member easier, any tournaments they are registered for will be shaded in red in the lobby. Those who are slated to compete include Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow (pictured at left), Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Durrrr Challenge participant Patrik Antonius.

Finally, Full Tilt is boosting the guaranteed prize pools for its Sunday majors by $700,000 on July 19th. Mark your calendars now. Go ahead, we’ll wait… The Sunday Brawl, which regularly sports a guaranteed prize pool of $350,000, will instead feature $500,000 up for grabs. The Brawl, a high-stakes bounty tournament, starts at 14:00 ET. Four hours later, you can play in Full Tilt’s $1 Million Guaranteed, a $535 buy-in event, which will actually boast a $1.5 million “birthday” prize pool. The Sunday Mulligan will sport a $250,000 guaranteed purse on July 19th and begins at 19:05 ET. These tournaments are regularly dominated by PocketFivers and we’d expect nothing less on a special birthday weekend.

PocketFives.com offers 27% rakeback on Full Tilt for new accounts. In addition, you can participate in a massive $20,000 monthly rake race and qualify for a $20,000 monthly freeroll. The latter is open to any new rakeback players who register through PocketFives.com or existing customers who rake at least $75 in any calendar month. New Full Tilt Poker rakeback players also qualify for a 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus. Learn more about Full Tilt Poker rakeback.