WSOP Satellites 2022
The World Series has returned for another year of relentless poker action. The Series is back to its regular schedule this year, running all summer from May 31st to July 20th. The return of the WSOP means that another WSOP Main Event winner needs to be crowned. After the success of 2021’s return to live poker, everyone is expecting the WSOP 2022 Main Event to be one of the biggest yet!
Unchanged since its inception in 1970, the buy-in for the Main Event is $10,000, which may be a little out of the price range for the average player. However, never fear! We’re here to tell you how you can win your way into the Main Event without coming up with ten grand. If this sounds good to you, you should consider playing a satellite.
What is a satellite?
A satellite is a tournament where a player can win entry into a larger tournament instead of cash. These tournaments allow players the chance to play large buy-in tournaments for a small investment. Famously, the winner of the 2003 Main Event, Chris Moneymaker, managed to win his seat into the Main Event from a $39 satellite!
Satellites can come in multiple tiers. Some satellites give you an entry into the tournament you wish to play, like the Main Event. These are Tier 1 satellites, as you only need to win one to enter your target tournament. There are also satellites where you can win a seat in a Tier 1 satellite called Tier 2s. Again, there can be multiple different tiers, culminating in an entry to the main tournament.
The more tiers there are, the cheaper the buy-in will be, but the more tournaments you have to win before you win your entry to your target tournament. However, most Tier 4/Tier 5 satellites cost less than $1 to enter, so firing off multiple entries to these in the hope that you get a lucky run won’t break the bank.
Multiple US-facing sites give you a chance to satellite your way into the Main Event, and we’re here to break down who’s offering what:
America’s Card Room
Unfortunately, those of you who were hoping to qualify for this year’s Main Event with ACR have just missed out – their big WSOP Satellite (the WSOP Takedown) concluded on May 22nd with ten lucky winners earning their seat in the world’s most prestigious tournament.
While there are currently no other satellites planned, ACR has a history of putting on satellites for the WSOP, so it pays to keep checking the lobby for any updates. If not, you can always try your luck next year!
Black Chip Poker
Black Chip Poker and ACR share the same network of players and share the same tournament schedule. Unfortunately, this means that any Black Chip players have also missed out on the opportunity to play the WSOP Takedown tournament this year. However, there are still plenty of great tournaments to play – you may not be able to win a direct seat, but you could still win enough to buy in directly!
WSOP.com
The official site of the World Series is also hosting satellites to the Main Event. You can win your way into the Main Event every day in May via an $80 satellite. There are even freerolls on offer – if you deposit with the code “Main22”, your account will be credited with a ticket to one of these freeroll tournaments.
GG Poker
GG Poker hosted the online version of the WSOP back in 2020 and has had a strong partnership with the World Series ever since. This year, they’re hosting satellites to the Main Event directly on their site. It features direct satellites that start from as low as $250 up to $1050. If that seems a little steep, there are feeder satellites that you can play for as little as $1.
Summary
When it comes to tournaments like the Main Event, not everyone can afford to spend $10,000 in the hope of winning it big. This is why satellites are so popular; they give everyone a chance to play in these world-famous tournaments, no matter how small their bankroll is. If you’re good enough or lucky enough, you can earn your seat at the Main Event for just a few bucks!
WSOP Satellites FAQs
If you cash in a WSOP event, you will be required to pay taxes on those winnings if they’re over a certain amount. However, depending on your country of residence, you may be able to claim some of those taxes back by filling in some tax recovery forms.
When you play a WSOP satellite, you’re playing to win a seat in one of the events at the Series. Once registration has ended, you will be able to see how many seats are available to be won. For example, if there are ten seats available, the tournament will play down until only ten people are left. Once they reach this number, the tournament ends, and each player is awarded a seat – no matter how small/big their stack size is.
You can qualify for WSOP events by playing a satellite online or in a casino.
The exact length of an event will vary depending on the specific one you play. For example, some are over in a day, whereas others, like the Main Event, would take you nine days of play if you were to win.
The estimated value of the average gold WSOP bracelet is somewhere between $3000 and $5000. The Main Event bracelets are often worth considerably more as they’re created by high-end designers and loaded with precious stones.
A WSOP satellite is a tournament where the prizes you can win are seats to World Series events. You can play WSOP satellites online (depending on the poker room) and in some casinos in Las Vegas.
The entry fee for the Main Event is $10,000.
This year the World Series is being hosted by two casinos – Paris Las Vegas and Bally’s Las Vegas.