I’ve already mentioned in a previous article how much I’ve enjoyed some of the poker festivals that have taken place so far in 2019. The inaugural PSPC was an absolute smash, the WSOP offered some moments that will be talked about for some time around the felt and we witnessed arguably the best high-stakes festival ever with the first ever Triton Super High-Roller London Series.
- 2019 Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza IV – October 28–December 1
Let’s start off with something controversial. The Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza has attracted a lot of eyes as of late – but not for the right reasons. The upcoming series has come under a lot of justified criticism as of late for its capped prize pool and uncapped rake. Specifically, in the T&C’s, it states that “100% of all funds collected will go to meet the $150,000 Total Prize Pool. Any funds collected above and beyond the total prize pool will be the sole property of the Venetian Poker Room.”
The norm, as we all know, is that any additional entry buy-ins that exceed the guaranteed prize pool get added to the total, however this is not the case for this tournament – anything extra, the house gets to keep. This has the potential to be very dangerous for the poker ecosystem. To that effect, Doug Polk has started spreading the hashtag #BoycottTheVenetian and my fellow Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor Chris Wallace gives a detailed op-ed on the topic.
I personally agree that it’s time for poker players to vote with their feet so that other series do not follow suit, but it will sure be interesting to see how this one plays out.
- 2019 Malta Poker Festival – October 30–November 4
The Malta Poker Festival definitely has a special place in the heart of Cardplayer Lifestyle founder, Robbie Stazynski. His write-up of last year’s events should be more than enough to get you excited.
With buy-ins from €6, that’s right SIX EUROS, to €1,100, there’s something for every poker player attending be that those who have a limited bankroll or those chasing a big score in €500,000 GTD MPF Grand Event.
It’s also a perfect time to escape the winter chill and visit a stunning island where you’ll get enough vitamin D to last you through to Spring.
- 2019 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Grand Final – November 18–December 1
Definitely one to watch for UK poker fanatics – with live streams on the Grosvenor homepage and YouTube – there’ll be plenty of poker content to seek your teeth into from the GUKPT Grand Final. There’s also the bonus of UK fans not having to stay up to the early hours of the morning to watch the start of an event.
This summer saw the GUKPT break their own record for a second consecutive year on the number of entries for the Goliath 2019 event, as 9,300 hopefuls contributed to a prize pool that grew to over £900,000. In fact, the tournament became the largest-ever live poker tournament held outside of Las Vegas – not bad for a £125 buy-in event!
With a poker buzz surrounding the United Kingdom, you can expect to see lot of action in London this winter. As with the aforementioned Malta Poker Festival, there’s a range of buy-ins that make this festival affordable to the full spectrum of professionals and recreational players.
- 2019 Poker Masters – November 4–13
The Aria again hosts this year’s Poker Masters that will be broadcast exclusively on PokerGO. This high-roller series has also had additional events added to its schedule. In particular, mixed events such as the $10,000 8-game and $10,000 Big Bet have been added whilst this year’s PLO event has had the buy-in reduced to $10,000, which should create a larger playing field. The cherry on the top for this festival however, is the return of the $100,000 NLHE Main Event.
Expect every player to bring their A-game as the player who accumulates the most points throughout the series will receive rake-free entry to all 2020 Aria high-roller events.
- 2019 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) – October 13–November 4
The World Series of Poker Europe returns to Rozvadov, Czech Republic, once again and thousands of poker players around the world will compete for gold bracelets and plentiful riches. This year’s series sees an increase in the number of bracelet events from 11 to 15 as well as five additional events being added to the schedule.
Have you made your plans for WSOP Europe @PokerroomKings yet?
Busy tournament schedule and non-stop live action too.https://t.co/5oFxxUv5Xt pic.twitter.com/Yax9gxLsUo— WSOP (@WSOP) September 17, 2019
The most notable of the new events is the €250,000 super high roller which should attract some of the biggest names in poker. With over €20 million up for grabs at Kings Casino in Europe’s largest poker event, we should be in for a cracker.
Another story that will play throughout the series is who will win the WSOP player of the year (POY) title. Among the front-runners are Robert Campbell, last year’s WSOP POY Shaun Deeb, and Daniel Negreanu. It essentially goes without saying that this the WSOPE will generate a host of must-watch poker content.
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