Poker Articles

By Dan | Published Jul 31 2009, 01:08 PM

From October 3rd through 10th, the annual Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic will play out from the sunny island nation. Side tournaments will take during the week-long festivities, with the $5,500 buy-in Main Event kicking off on Monday, October 5th. Ultimate Bet, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network, is giving players a chance to stamp their tickets to Aruba this weekend in a 25 Seat Super Satellite. The tournament kicks off at 17:30 ET and comes with a $530 buy-in. Satellites will also run throughout the day to give players a chance to qualify at a discounted rate.

Each Aruba prize package is valued at $8,500 and includes the $5,500 Main Event buy-in plus $3,000 in spending money to use towards hotel and airfare. The tournament can be found in the Ultimate Bet lobby under the name “Aruba 25 Seat Super Satellite.” At 14:45 ET, the online poker room is holding a $66 buy-in satellite to the 25 Seat Guarantee. At least 15 seats in the $530 buy-in event will be up for grabs in the qualifier. The massive event is one of the first chances PocketFivers will have to win their way to Aruba, where an annual gathering of online poker’s elite occurs.

On August 30th, Ultimate Bet will hold another 25 Seat Aruba Guarantee. On September 13th, just a few weeks before throngs of players will descend upon the Radisson Resort and Casino in Aruba, a 50 Seat Guarantee will play out. I can’t describe the setting in Aruba with any more adjectives than a press release distributed by Ultimate Bet did. Here’s what you can look forward to: “Players will enjoy action-filled cash games and poker tournaments, invitation-only parties, mingling with Hollywood ‘celebs and UB’s burgeoning stable of Pro players, plus guaranteed sun drenched days on what is arguably the world’s best beach.” Plus, who doesn't want to hang out with Phil Hellmuth (pictured at left)?

Heading to the sun drenched beaches of Aruba, for many players, involves winning a satellite. If the 25 Seat Guarantee doesn’t pan out for you this weekend, don’t fret. Every Sunday at 20:30 ET, Ultimate Bet offers a $530 buy-in Aruba Super Satellite that guarantees at least three $8,500 packages. Every Tuesday at 20:45 ET, you can hit the felts in a $215 buy-in Aruba Super Satellite that offers up at least one package. Finally, every Wednesday at 21:45 ET, a $109 rebuy takes place that shells out at least one ticket to paradise.

The first ever Aruba Poker Classic was held in 2002, with Juha Helppi emerging victorious from the pack after defeating Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Gordon heads-up. In 2003, Erick Lindgren outlasted a field of 400 players to claim $500,000. In 2004, Eric Brenes bested 646 other players en route to victory, while one year later, Freddie Deeb pocketed a $1 million first place prize. In 2006, Devon Miller defeated Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy and in 2007, Travis TravestyFund Rice was tops in Aruba and earned $800,000. The reigning Aruba Poker Classic champion is Matt Brady, who banked $1 million at last year's final table (pictured at right).

Here’s a schedule of events for the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic. All times are local:

Saturday, October 3rd
$120 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $500+40 Event – 3:00pm
$650 Single-Table Satellites for Main Event – 3:00pm
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 3:00pm
$500+40 No-Limit Hold’em Tournament – 7:00pm
Welcome Banquet - 8:30pm

Sunday, October 4th
$120 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $500+40 Event – 12:00 Noon
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 12:00 Noon
$650 Single-Table Satellites for Main Event – 12:00 Noon
$500+40 No-Limit Hold’em Tournament – 7:00pm

Monday, October 5th
Aruba Poker Classic Main Event Day 1A- 12:00 Noon
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 12:00 Noon
$120 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $500+40 Event – 2:00pm
$650 Single-Table Satellites for Main Event – 2:00pm
$500+40 No-Limit Hold’em Tournament – 7:00pm

Tuesday, October 6th
Aruba Poker Classic Main Event Day 1B – 12:00 Noon
$440 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Wednesday’s $2,000+100 event – 2:00pm
$120 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $500+40 Event – 2:00pm
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 2:00pm
$500+40 No-Limit Hold’em Tournament – 7:00pm

Wednesday, October 7th
Aruba Poker Classic Championship Event Day 2 – 12:00 Noon
$440 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $2,000+100 Event: 11:00am
$120 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $500+40 Event – 1:00pm
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 1:00pm
$2,000+100 Two-Day No Limit Hold’em Tournament Day 1 – 3:00pm
$500+40 No Limit Hold’em Tournament – 7:00pm

Thursday, October 8th
Aruba Poker Classic Championship Event Day 3 – 12:00 Noon
$225 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $1,000+60 Event – 11:00am
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 12:00 Noon
$1,000+60 No Limit Hold’em Tournament – 3:00pm
$2,000+100 Two-Day No Limit Hold’em Tournament Day 2 – 3:00pm
Local Charity Event – 7:00pm

Friday, October 9th
Aruba Poker Classic Championship Event Day 4 – 12:00 Noon
$120 Continuous Single-Table Satellites for Today’s $500+40 Event – 11:00am
$120 Cash Sit and Gos – 11:00am
$2,000+100 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Tournament – 2:00pm
$500+40 No Limit Hold’em Tournament – 3:00pm

Saturday, October 10th
Aruba Poker Classic Championship Final Table – 12:00 Noon
Awards Banquet – TBD

Don’t forget that you can sign up for 30% rakeback on Ultimate Bet through PocketFives.com. We hold a monthly $20,000 rake race on the online poker site, which is among the largest recurring promotions you’ll find anywhere. The rake race champion walks away with $2,000 and the top 100 spots pay out. With August now upon us, start raking by visiting Ultimate Bet today.