Satellites, both online and live have become increasingly popular in poker especially as Canada’s poker scene begins to ramp back up. In order to be “juicy” however, these satellites still require a solid commitment by hosts and promoters if they hope to achieve record breaking or sell-out event numbers come game day.
A happy balance has seemingly finally been struck between having EVERY low buy-in daily and weekly tournament seed some future major, to now offering dedicated schedules, step type progressive formats, plenty of multi-table super satellites a few months out and on demand sit-n’-goes on the virtual or brick & mortar felts. If you really want to play an event in 2014, chances are, you have plenty of ways to get there.
So why drum up the obvious once again?
Well, with recent events around the country hitting field caps and plenty of buzz around upcoming ones, opportunity knocks once again. Those players willing to put in the time can often accumulate multiple seats and if an event sells out, sell at a premium, or at the very least get face value or tournament dollars instead of dumping the at a discount because of low demand.
With hype comes larger super satellite fields and most players would agree that it’s a bit easier to squeak into the top 15% of 150-400 players than 15 to 40, especially for those already experienced with the flow and tactics needed to play these types of events. Many of the live venues are now offering tournament packages for 1 in every 7 players in the event, in an effort to make the odds even more attractive. There are plenty of more “casual” players that often hope to take a bigger shot, and bring some friends to do the same. It’s no secret that the higher up the buy-in levels they advance, the less in their comfort zones most will be…
The question now is what are you going to do with your ticket?
Many would agree that poker took a bit of a lull from 2008 to about 2012, for a variety of reasons, but it seems those days are finally behind us. Hard times meant that serious players tended to start looking at each other a bit more like “comrades” than competitors. Instead of a successful satellite player to live events being envied for his ability to accumulate a commodity of value and short, these days that same player is often confused or grouped in the same class as a concert ticket scalper – all this to say there is zero glory involved and usually can be even a little negative backlash, or it might seem “desperate” to sell at less than face value.
The accepted etiquette and ethics of the game sometimes seem counter-initiative of the end goal to profit, even though all seem to agree that exploiting edges is the name of the game. Bottom line is, if there is an easy way to make money that isn’t breaking the real rules, those that prefer fortune over popularity or fame are going to take it and if it’s in your wheelhouse, so should you.
Are you actually yourself selling short by dumping everything though?
Probably, popular opinion might say. If you are able able to grind out enough seats to make it worth your time, chances are you can “do this all day”. Making money isn’t your problem and you are most likely going have a real shot at a life changing score. Huge fields packed with players that are playing bigger than they normally would don’t come around everyday and since word of “soft tables” travels fast in the poker community, each sequential running of series can see fields get tougher through thicker pro presence.
Logically, it stands to argue that one should be trying for at least one seat while the gettin’ is good and looking to take as many easy shots at others as reasonable. It’s so much easier to min cash than win a tourney and 7 to 11 times your buy-in is a lot more than a min-cash usually pays. The main problem was availability, but hopefully that ship has sailed for years to come.
Thoughts on the topic? Please leave them here in the comments or in our forum.
