February is shaping up to be an action-filled month for online poker players especially for those who are into knockout tournaments! The world’s second largest online poker site partypoker is bringing back its KO Series with up to $13.4 million in combined guaranteed prize money up for grabs.
Key Details On KO Series
The knockout poker festival runs from February 2-16 and features 230 tournaments that come in different buy-in tiers: Micro, Low, Mid, High, High Roller, and Super High Roller. This makes it possible for players of every level to get in on the action and boost their bankroll.
The tournaments are all Progressive KO (PKO), played in various formats such as 8-max, 6-max, Mix-Max 6-4, Mix-Max 8-6, Battle PLO, and Big Ante. The buy-ins range from $2.20 to $2,100, with players also being given the chance to win their way into the tournaments via satellites which are available for as low as $0.55.
The KO Series has eight (8) Main Events, four (4) are played in NLH 8-Max, while the other four take the PLO 6-Max format. The buy-in for these events start from $2.20, all the way up to $2,100. Players will compete for guarantees of between $5,000 and $500,000!
Other highlights of the tournament include four NLHE as well as four PLO events running daily at 8:30pm CET and 9:30pm CET respectively. The daily NLHE events feature buy-ins of $5.50, $55, $320, and $2,100 with up to $500,000 in guarantees on offer. The PLO events also have similar price points, but the maximum guarantee sits at around $200,000.
How PKO Works
PKO adds a bit of twist and excitement to how a cash tournament is traditionally played. The buy-in is cut in half – a portion goes directly to the prize pool, while the other half is placed on each player’s head as initial bounty.
The PKO format eliminates the need for players to reach money places in order to win some cash, as they can still earn through the bounties placed on every opponent that they manage to bust.  If you knock a player out, you will win half of the bounty placed on his or her head, while the other half is added to your own bounty. Thus, the value on your head increases with each knockout.
The more bounty you earn, the more enticing target you become to your opponents. They would likely want to play hands with you in order to collect that bounty. If you win a bounty, that amount will be permanently yours, even if you eventually get eliminated from the tournament.
Bounty tournaments have gained huge popularity online as they offer the biggest values and are also fun to play. The game gets thrilling in the late stages as the bounties involved become bigger.
If you ultimately take down a PKO tournament, you will receive the top prize derived from the prize pool, you’ll get to keep all of the bounties you have collected eliminating your opponents, plus, you will take home the full amount of bounty on your own head.
The accumulated bounties might actually go higher than the first-place prize!
How KO Tournaments Differ at Partypoker
While typical PKO tournaments usually charge a rake fee, things are different at partypoker. The KO Series tournaments do not charge any rake on the bounty element of the buy-in. Thus, players get bigger values, with lesser overall rake deducted for the tournament.
Another notable difference when it comes to PKO tournaments at partypoker is that the first and second-place finishers get almost identical winnings. During heads-up, players compete for the huge final bounties, avoiding potential ICM chops.
Satellites and SPINS Now Running
If you wish to enter partypoker’s KO Series, you can do so for a much cheaper price by qualifying via satellites and SPINS. For just $1.10, you can win your way into the knockout tournament and even earn tournament dollars which you can also use in other tournaments at partypoker.
SPINS can be played for only $5.50, giving you the chance to win a $2,100 KO Series ticket. If you haven’t registered to partypoker yet, sign up now and take advantage of up to $30 worth of SPINS tickets. To find out more information, go to the partypoker website.