Poker Articles

Barcelona in the fall, now wouldn’t that be nice? Aside from dreams of WSOP greatness, the online poker player has many other opportunities to maximize his or her opportunities to travel and play live. You may already know about the Pokerroom/Ongame tournament the Barcelona Poker Classic, but I think it deserves another look. Qualifiers for this $5,000 buy-in, $5,000,000 guaranteed, exclusively online event are running now on the Ongame network, starting for as little as $1. Four Pocketfivers have already qualified for this tournament through the generous Pwn3d promotion (which runs through the end of June, so if you hurry you too could “Own” Pokerroom). Congrats to Mattg1983, hrk, revhockey and thechemist83 for their Pwnage. The tournament begins on September 2nd with the online phase, the top 45 finishers online move on to Barcelona. This is not an online qualifier leading to a live event, it is an online MTT which culminates in a live finish.

One thing to consider is that the lucky 45 who make it through are already in the money! That in and of itself I think will make the trip that much more fun and enjoyable. No pressure or anxiety, just the adrenaline rush of playing for a possible Million Dollar first prize. Imagine flying to Aruba, or the Bahamas, or Vegas already knowing you were guaranteed a nice payday, and the all expense paid trip is just icing on the cake. With Mediterranean beaches, Old World art and architecture, open-air cafes, not to mention the bustling nightlife of a culture which takes a nap during the day, Barcelona is easily on my top 10 list of places I’d most like to visit. To do so on Pokerroom’s dime with a guaranteed payday to look forward to would make it that much sweeter.

I think a thank you is in order to Pokerroom (as well as to Todd and Rod the reps who post here) for the Pwn3d promotion, as well as just providing top notch service when called upon. Keep in mind that these guys are separate from Pokerroom support, as Games Reps they deal with the Pokah! forums and with us directly, and they do a bang up job. The whole promotion was fun and so far has provided 4 P5ers with free 5k seats! I think hrk says it best:

“This is such a sweet promo, and I wanted to plug Pokerroom for giving us pocket fivers the chance at a 5K ticket just for playing some games there.  Pokerroom has some of the coolest and most innovative ideas in online poker (Ace of Ace competition, great qualifying structures for all levels of play, really good MTT selection, easy bonus clearing, etc.)”

So how do you go about getting a piece of this action if you don’t Pwn Pokerroom? Well for the high rollers out there you can buy in on Sept. 2nd for 5K+200, but I imagine most will want to take advantage of the many qualifiers running around the clock on the Ongame network.

There are two separate paths available, a MTT route and a Sngo route. The Sngo qualifiers start at $1, it’s a long climb up from there to the $580 direct satellite, but it can be done. The MTT qualifiers start at $6+1, and max out at a $300+20 MTT which runs once a week. It seems to me that the Sngo route is a little easier, especially if you can afford to buy in at the $68 level and accumulate a few shots at the $580 direct entry. If the MTT feeders get enough action they could be a very cheap way to qualify as well.

I am constantly impressed by Pokerroom's willingness to take risks and experiment with new ideas like the Grand, the Ace of Aces competition, Team Play, and now this, the biggest buy-in online tournament to date with a guaranteed prize pool of 5 million dollars. Not to mention the great culture they have with the Pokah! forums, and people who care about the game and understand it from a players perspective involved with developing promotions. I look forward to rooting on Mattg1983, hrk, revhockey and thechemist83, as well as any other P5ers who make it into the main event. Buena suerte ladies and gentlemen, Barcelona venimos!