Online Gambling - Poker

Staff Writer
June 28, 2009

PokerStars have already begun holding steps satellite tournaments into the first European Poker Tour Season 6 event in Moscow.

The European Poker Tour is one of the most important poker series in the year, with many World Series of Poker winners having also won EPT events before. Held in many different locations in Europe over several months, the European Poker Tour tournaments feature many of the best non-US professional poker players. The EPT often doesn’t see quite as many American pros due to the inconvenience and number of poker playing opportunities within North America.

Nevertheless, online poker players from the USA who would like to make more of a holiday out of their entry into a major live tournament may be interested in entering the European Poker Tour. With the EPT Season 5 total prize pool having exceeded $60,000,000 over its 11 events, and players such as Pieter de Korver winning more than $3,000,000 of that, the European Poker Tour is certainly worth the time and effort for talented poker players.

The first event for Season 6 will be held in Moscow at the Radisson SAS from 18 August to 23 August. The buy-in will be RUB200,000 + RUB12,000, which works out to around USD$6,432 + USD$385.93 currently. Obviously, that’s a fairly high price to pay for someone who isn’t sure of their poker prowess, which is why PokerStars have offered steps satellite tournaments to play your way to Moscow.

You could be six tournaments or less away from a USD$9,700 prize package that covers the buy-in for the EPT Season 6 Moscow event as well as accommodation and some expenses. Depending on how much you can spend and your skills, you can choose to start playing at step 1 or step 6. Once you have come first or second in a step 6 tournament, you will have won the major prize package and can start planning a trip to Moscow.

At step 1, the entry fee is $7.50 or 500FPP (the reward points of PokerStars). Coming in first or second in one of these tourneys wins you a step 2 ticket, while third place wins another step 1 entry and fourth place wins $1.50.

At step 2, the entry fee is $27 or 1,750FPP, unless you have a ticket from another steps tournament. Again, first and second place win tickets to a step 3 tourney while third and fourth place win another step 2 tournament ticket. Fifth place win a step 1 ticket.

At step 3, the entry fee kicks up to $82 or 5,125FPP, unless you already have a tournament ticket for it. First and second win step 4 tickets and third, fourth and fifth places win more step 3 tickets.

At step 4, the entry fee is $215 or a whopping 13,500FPP, otherwise a step 4 ticket is required. First and second advance to step 5, while third place gets another step 4 ticket, fourth and fifth places get a step 3 ticket, and sixth place gets a step 2 ticket.

At step 5, victory is tantalisingly close, keeping most players from buying-in directly with a $700 entry fee and no FPP option. A step 5 ticket will also grant entry. First and second place in step 5 means advancement to the final round, step 6. Third and fourth place players get another step 5 chance. Fifth and sixth place players receive a step 4 ticket.

Step 6 tourneys are the final step toward winning the EPT Moscow $9,700 prize packages. They have an entry fee of $2,100 or a step 6 ticket and they are 10-player events. Only those exceptionally confident of a win would buy-in directly to this tournament level, as prizes are only awarded to the first three places. As per usual, first and second both win the major prize, while third place receives $1,650.

Those who would like to enter the European Poker Tour Season 6 through step tournaments should join PokerStars today. New players can benefit from a 100% bonus on first deposits of up to $50. PokerStars is one of the most popular places to play poker online, and it accepts players from the USA.