Super Satellites. For a poker tournament player on a limited budget, satellites to the biggest events both live and online are a god-send. They are of course even better news for poker sites and B&M card rooms. It’s a given, for most sites other than Pokerstars, that the majority of a site or network’s player base is not going to have the means or inclination to splash out several hundred dollars or more in the weekly biggies. Poker operators don’t tend to publicise that fact though, instead they prefer to give the impression that they offer satellites as a bonus or a helping hand to their players so that even the smallest fish has the chance to qualify for a million or whatever the prize is.
The problem with that is that these fish have no hope of negotiating 5 or so satellites levels to get to the main event so don’t be fooled into thinking that the satellites are there to benefit the player. Any guaranteed tournament that is offered either on or offline is created with a distinct number of predicted direct buy-ins which will be deducted from the required total for success. The remaining number will be the number of satellite winners required.
So poker outfits are therefore entirely reliant on players to play their satellites in order to be able to offer the biggest tournaments. They’ll have an expected number of runners to come from each one and may well guarantee a certain number of seats in each too, content to lose a few quid in the satellites as opposed to something more painful in the big one. This is where game selection comes in. Always important when it comes to choosing your cash table, game selection is often overlooked when it comes to tournaments, and especially satellites.
In looking online over various sites in the past week various satellite options have gone begging with seemingly nobody aware of the value being missed. If we assume that Europe is the current online poker hotbed then we can further assume that peak hours finish not long after midnight CET. You can of course investigate the site or network you play on to be sure but the point is this: if you’re willing to look outside of peak hours for action then you will be rewarded.
More often than you’d think sites and networks are spraying satellites around every few hours, sometimes more frequently than that and they will also run around the clock. Again, they are not fussed about taking relatively minor hits in these as opposed to the bigger hit elsewhere, it is more important that one, two or however many more people are certain to be in the final. Now when these run in off-peak hours and offer guaranteed prizes you must be poised to strike. So many times a cheap satellite offering an expensive seat in the next round or final has auto-cancelled because only 1 player signed up for it, and this is happening in a lot of places. If you’re prepared to look early or late you can find them and if you’re savvy and register at the last minute you could easily find yourself heads-up and half-way to claiming your place in the next round. Even though you and your opponent will be taking advantage of the site in question’s generosity you are still doing them a favour as an auto-cancelled satellite is more than likely no good to them. If it’s a rebuy, and your opponent is clued up then you’ll both treat it as a freezeout and accept defeat if the other wins, ready to move on to the next value proposition. Even if you are unsuccessful this time you will have attained one of the crucial things that any gambler. not just a poker player, seeks to achieve – VALUE VALUE VALUE! In basic terms the art of getting something for a fiver when it should cost you £20. If you continue along these lines your bankroll will be more than grateful in the long run.
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