Most, however, don’t have the bankroll to play high-cost tournaments like those on the EPT, WPT or WSOP.
More and more poker rooms arund the world have figured this out and are catering to lower buy-in players with new live events of a quality unseen in the first years of the poker boom.
PokerListings' own Battle of Malta is one example. 888poker’s new Live Local Series with €/£/$220 buy-in tournaments is another.
With online satellites starting at 1 cent, 888Live Local truly is a global series any poker player can access.
25 Events, 15 Cities, 10 Countries
The 888Live Local Series will travel all over Europe in 2015 and even make trips to Canada and Australia.
The schedule for the first six months has been released and the venues include Valencia and Barcelona, Milton Keynes and Newcastle, Prague, Estoril and Tallinn.
And then there’s that extra stop in Melbourne …
Overall 25 events in more than 15 cities in 10 different countries are planned for 2015 with event buy-ins of just 220 -- be it Euro, pounds or dollars (with a few exceptions).
All Weekend Events, 1c Satellites
All 888Live Local Series main events will take place over the course of three days -- almost always Friday, Saturday,and Sunday.
Players won’t have to take a week off from work for a poker tournament where, as you know, you can’t be sure to last until the last day. This makes the series much more convenient for recreational players.
As for the tournament structure, the starting stacks in the main events will be 25,000 chips. The first blind level will be 50/100 and the levels will last for 30 minutes.
If you prefer to satellite your way into a live event then you have several possibilities.
888poker is running online qualifiers around the clock. Direct satellites cost $30 to play but if you want to go the long route just 1c on a Step 1 qualifier can get you started.
You'll need to make your way through five levels of MTTs to get your 888Live ticket from there.
As the local series events all have more or less the same buy-in, if you do win a ticket you can pick the event of your own choice.
If you live close to one of the venues you can also watch out for live satellites as 888poker will host at least one live satellite on the night before the local series event begins.
888Live London Already Big Success
So, does this work? And is it worth it?
The first event of the 888Live Local season took place in late January at the Aspers Casino in London.
It had a guaranteed prize pool of £50,000 and drew more than 600 entries, more than doubling the prize guarantee.
£120,000 was awarded to 63 players in the money.
The winner Terry Jordon took home a first prize of £23,700 and the first pay-out level was £440. Check the video recap below:
Off to Dublin!
The next 888Live Local event gets underway this weekend at ClubPoker Ireland in Dublin starting Friday, February 20.
The buy-in in €220 so if you’re in the area make your way to the casino and be a part of it/access the live satellite.
Also, mark your calendar for the next event in March.
888Live Local will hit Valencia in Southern Spain, which is always a prime vacation destination.
Complete schedule for 888Live Local Series in the first half of 2015:
Date
Location
Casino
Buy-in
February 20-22
Dublin/Ireland
ClubPoker Ireland
€200+€20
February 27 – March 1
Valencia/Spain
Cirsa Valencia
€200+€20
March 5-8
Prague/Czech Republic
Card Casino Prague
€200+€20
TBA
Melbourne/Australia
Crown Casino
A$250+A$25
March 27-29
Milton Keynes/GB
Aspers Casino
£200+£20
April 17-19
Estoril/Portugal
Casino Estoril
€200+€20
April 24-26
Vienna/Austria
TBA
€200+€20
May 1-5
Lloret de Mar/Spain
Casino Costa Brava
€200+€20
May 29-31
Newcastle/GB
Aspers Casino
£200+£20
June 26-28
Tallinn/Estonia
Casino Olympic Tallinn
€200+€20
If you don’t have an account at 888poker yet, check out the video below for an easy step-by-step guide to registration:
For everything else you need to know about 888poker, head over to our 888poker review page.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com