2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Offers More Than the Old Name
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure returns January 6 – 14 to kickoff 2018. The perennial first festival stop of the year underwent a branding change in 2017, but is back to its familiar name this time around. A whopping 92 events were listed on the schedule last year and that figure has been pared down to just 31.
The only games available on the tournament calendar are No Limit Hold’em and variants of Pot Limit Omaha. Of the 31 events, 29 are strictly No Limit. Gone are the Flipouts and Win the Button events, in their place are more standard fare like the Single Re-Entry $1,100 and $1,650 PCA National Championship.
Plenty of High Rollers Available
PCA opens on Saturday, January 6 with one of the most prestigious Super High Roller events of the year. The $100,000 PCA Super High Roller brought in 43 entries along with 13 rebuys a year ago and expectations are raised for this year. Jason Koon defeated Charlie Carrell heads up to win the title and $1.65 million first-place prize.
The $100,000 Super High Roller isn’t the only High Roller event in the PCA lineup. Other High Rollers include the two-day $50,000 High Roller starting on January 7, single-day $25,000 with one re-entry on January 11, and the three-day PCA $25,000 High Roller starting on January 12.
The 2017 PCA High Roller drew 121 entrants and 38 rebuys with Lucas Greenwood finishing on top. Greenwood and Nick Petrangelo chopped the prize money of the first two places before Greenwood won the heads up match. Other players to make the final table include Byron Kaverman, Daniel Negreanu, and Bryn Kenney.
The PCA Main Event Buy-in is Back to $10K
Of the many changes to PCA for the upcoming series, the most significant alteration comes with the Main Event. After two years of the buy-in being reduced to $5,300, it is back up to $10,300 for 2018. The six-day event starts on January 8 and will crown a new champion on January 14.
Christian Harder claimed his first major title by winning last year’s tournament. Harder defeated a field of 738 entrants and beat Cliff Josephy heads up to hoist the PokerStars Championship trophy.
The last time the PCA Main Event featured a $10,300 buy-in was 2015 and Kevin Schulz outlasted 816 entrants to walk away with nearly $1.5 million.
This year’s structure is plenty familiar with the event not offering any re-entry option and players able to buy-in up until the start of Day 2. Levels are 60 minutes for all of Day 1 and then transition to 90 minutes from the beginning of Level 9 all the way through the end of the tournament.
PokerStars is guaranteeing 400 online qualifiers for the PCA Main Event and it will be interesting to see what the total field size winds up being.
Post-Lims of All Shapes and Sizes
The festival winds down with competitive multi-day events. A trio of three-day events are on the agenda with three different price points all offering a single re-entry option.
The $3,300 event opens on January 10 followed by the $1,100 on January 11. Capping off the relevant three-day post-lims is the $2,200 event. That tournament starts on January 12.
On Sunday, January 13, four single-day Knockout events are featured ranging in buy-in from $330 all the way up to $10,300.
The last event takes place on January 14 in the form of a one-day $10,150 buy-in with unlimited re-entry. The tourney is a 15-minute level turbo that features a shot clock for the event’s entirety.
Every PCA series brings about its own unique storyline. Bryn Kenney dominated in January of last year to start his record-setting year. In just a few days, the action begins in one of poker’s favorite places.
Complete 2018 PCA Schedule
| Date | Event # | Name | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6 | 1 | PCA Super High Roller (Three-Day Event) | $100,000 |
| Jan 6 | 2 | NL Hold’em (One-Day Event) | $550 |
| Jan 7 | 4 | NL Hold’em – PCA National (Three-Day Event) | $1,650 |
| Jan 7 | 5 | PL Omaha – High Only (Two-Day Event) | $550 |
| Jan 8 | 7 | NL Hold’em – PCA Main Event (Six-Day Event) | $10,300 |
| Jan 8 | 8 | NL Hold’em – High Roller (Two-Day Event) | $50,000 |
| Jan 8 | 10 | NL Hold’em – (One-Day Event) | $550 |
| Jan 9 | 12 | PL Omaha – Hi/Lo 8 or Better (Two-Day Event) | $550 |
| Jan 9 | 14 | NL Hold’em – Turbo – (One-Day Event) | $2,100 |
| Jan 10 | 15 | NL Hold’em – (Three-Day Event) | $3,300 |
| Jan 10 | 16 | NL Hold’em – (Two-Day Event) | $550 |
| Jan 11 | 18 | NL Hold’em – (One-Day Event) | $25,000 |
| Jan 11 | 19 | NL Hold’em – (Three-Day Event) | $1,100 |
| Jan 12 | 22 | NL Hold’em – PCA High Roller – (Three-Day Event) | $25,000 |
| Jan 12 | 23 | NL Hold’em – PCA Cup – (Two-Day Event, Two Starting Flights) | $330 |
| Jan 12 | 24 | NL Hold’em – (Three-Day Event) | $2,200 |
| January 12 | 25 | NL Hold’em – Turbo – (One-Day Event) | $1,050 |
| Jan 13 | 26 | NL Hold’em – $100 Knockout – (One-Day Event) | $330 |
| Jan 13 | 27 | NL Hold’em – $500 Knockout – (One-Day Event) | $1,650 |
| Jan 13 | 28 | NL Hold’em – $100 Knockout – (One-Day Event) | $550 |
| Jan 13 | 29 | NL Hold’em – $5,000 SuperKnockout – (One-Day Event) | $10,300 |
| Jan 14 | 31 | NL Hold’em – (One-Day Event) | $10,150 |
