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The True Nature of WSOP Satellites

Entering a big tournament by winning a satellite is great – you get to play an expensive tournament for a very small buy-in. Or – do you?

The first player to enter the WSOP Main Event through a satellite was Tom McEvoy in 1983, when he won the title. Twenty years later, Chris Moneymaker became notorious for having won his Main Event seat in a $39 online satellite.

Many a cheap satellite makes a small fortune

However, the story doesn’t tell how many of these he had played before winning one. Anyone who has tried to play satellites at poker sites such as Party Poker must have noticed an annoying fact: you’re not guaranteed to win a seat in the big tournament.

The idea that satellites are a way of winning cheap entry into a big tournament is flawed in two ways. Firstly because of the reason just mentioned: instead of winning a seat you may just as well lose your satellite buy-in.

Certainty comes at a price

How many satellites will you play before giving up? It’d sure be a mistake to invest more money in satellites than the total buy-in in the bigger tournament. Would you invest half the buy-in without even be sure you get to play in the big tournament?

Secondly, even if you manage to win a satellite, you’re still paying the full buy-in in the big tournament.

How come?!

Well, let’s say ten people paid up $1000 each and you won the match. Then naturally you’ve won $10,000. The only difference to winning them in cash is that you’re not allowed to use them at free will; you’re required to spend them on the big tournament.

Prize money already spent

You could just as well win a regular cash tournament and pay the $10,000 tournament buy-in with your own money. Would you do that? If not, maybe you should think twice before playing WSOP satellites.

On the other hand, what’s wrong with taking a shot at the really big events? Of course it’s tempting, who doesn’t want to go? Your little Spinner sure does, and he tries some satellites at Mansion Poker even though he wouldn’t necessarily spend $10,000 on the buy-in if he won them in cash.

And, let’s admit it – it’s very exciting to play poker when you’re getting close to the money in a WSOP satellite.

Whatever you choose to do – may the skill be with you!

/Spinner

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 7:27 am and is filed under Other, Poker, World Series Of Poker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.