Keep On Rockin' In the Free Roll

:: snake

It was a week or so ago when Chops told me he was planning on dedicating the majority of his online play to WSOP main event satellites.

As anyone who follows the granddaddy of poker events knows, this strategy of getting in on the cheap (anywhere from a $10 buy-in and up) and surviving several rounds of tournaments is a mix of lottery luck and poker prowess, and yes, is one that has paid off in spades for the last two WSOP champions; making it the biggest ROI this side of late ‘90s IPOs. Simply put, other than being filthy rich or good enough to have someone stake you, from here on out online satellites will likely be the way the majority of players will earn a seat at the $10,000 event.

For Chops, this decision to focus on satellites sprung from an honest assessment and humble acceptance that his original plan of winning a $10,000 seat from $50-100 sit-n-go’s just didn’t quite have the steam he imagined.

He confided in me, “As of now Colin, I’m a bit short of the buy-in.”

Chop’s candid analysis in the face of a plan gone wrong was refreshing to me. Immediately after our conversation, I likewise took inventory of my own earnings status over the past six months.  And you could imagine the shock when I discovered I too have yet to amass enough for my WSOP seat.

I mean, how can it be after all those tournaments in Los Angeles, the weekend in Tunica, even the day at the Vic in London, all of those weekly games here in Atlanta, and 24 hour marathon online sessions that I’m nowhere near the requisite 10 g’s?  How?

Complete and utter shock I tell you.

So after a brief Rounders moment where I thought I’d take my current bankroll, grab a poker friend and hit as many college games, “municipal workers” games, and NYC underground games against Russian mobsters (and after realizing I didn’t have a friend nicknamed Worm), I decided to ‘get real’ and look into which sites are having satellites right now as well as the various formats offered.

What I’ve found is interesting. While there are plenty of multi-table satellites out there, as one would expect, what has surprised me is how many freerolls exist to land a seat at the WSOP main event.

Okay, sure the odds of winning that coveted seat in a freeroll situation would be like catching a flush on the flop three times over the past 3 or 4 months and each time getting beat by a straight flush, likewise caught on the flop, but wait, such luck, bad for me but good for someone else, does exist and just might be coming my way, or yours.

So ‘tis the season to begin thinking of how you’re going to be the guy everyone hates because you won $5,000,000 from a freeroll. Here’s some places to begin that journey:

>> FULL TILT POKER - Make your first deposit, or, if you've already deposited, get your Full Tilt Points balance up to 100, and you'll automatically be entered into their WSOP $10K Freeroll.
>> EMPIRE POKER – While this one is not so free it may be worth it if you’re already playing on Empire. 2 seats are guaranteed each month. You can enter a multi table tournament for Free and if you make it to the top, you win a $10,000 entry seat to the WSOP 2005. BUT the catch is you must reach 3000 raked hands per month.
>> PARADISE POKER - For April, May and June, they’re giving away 1 FREE WSOP prize package each month. Play in one of the daily “WSOP Free” freeroll tournaments and if you place in the top 50 you’ll qualify for the end of month “WSOP Final”. The winner of the “WSOP Final” will win a FREE $12,000 prize package.
>> PARTY POKER – Can’t seem to find one on their site. Anyone?
>> POKER STARS – The online home to the last 2 WSOP champions, PokerStars will be giving away 100 WSOP prize packages free to its frequent players. There will be 96 chances to win by playing in Frequent Player Point buy-in tournaments and four more packages awarded to their top Tournament Leader Board Players.

I’m sure there are more, and if you come across one you like please share here. For now, good luck…unless you’re playing at my table.