PokerStars 2009 WCOOP Starts Thursday

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, is gearing up to present the seventh annual World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) on Thursday. The 45-event series will span across 17 days and culminate with a $5,200 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Main Event on Sunday, September 20.

PokerStars has tagged guarantees to each of the 45 tournaments, as players will have a shot at a prize pool of at least $40 million. Fourteen events have guarantees of at least $1 million, including three High Roller tournaments. The Main Event will award a minimum of $10 million to those participating. Winners of each WCOOP event will also receive a personally engraved gold bracelet from PokerStars.

One thing is certain: The online poker community is eager for the launch of the 2009 WCOOP. “I’ll be playing almost all of the No Limit Hold ‘em events,” said Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky, who is currently ranked #14 on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings. “I don’t play many other games, but I dabble in Pot Limit Omaha and will probably play the heads-up and a few of the six-max events.”

Like Wilinofsky, online pro Nick “agriffrod” Mitchell will partake in most of the No Limit events as well as some of the Pot Limit Omaha and Mixed Hold’em tournaments. “WCOOP is the biggest series of the year,” Mitchell told Poker News Daily. “The Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) comes around four times a year, so it’s a little less exciting. As far as value goes, I’d say WCOOP is better because the tournaments are all huge. There’s even a $100 tournament with a $1 million guarantee.”

PokerStars has been running satellites to each WCOOP event for weeks and will continue to do so throughout the duration of the series. Players can win a seat in a number of different ways by using Frequent Player Points (FPPs) or buying in for as little as $0.50. The tournament staff has even added special satellites to its schedule based on the requests from members of various poker forums, further tightening the site’s grasp as tops in the industry at customer service.

“PokerStars has done a phenomenal job with their satellites to this year’s WCOOP,” Wilinofsky added. “The extreme satellites were a smash hit and the variety of steps that are running means that there’s a way for every bankroll to make it into WCOOP. I think that that adds a lot of value for both the people winning satellites and the regulars, so kudos to PokerStars for doing a bang-up job.”

Here’s a look at the comprehensive WCOOP Schedule All events are listed in Eastern Time and guarantees appear in parenthesis.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 14:30 - $215 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max ($1.25 million)
Thursday, Sept. 3, 16:30 - $215 Razz ($200,000)
Friday, Sept. 4, 14:30 - $215 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max ($500,000)
Friday, Sept. 4, 16:30 - $215 No Limit Single Draw 2-7 with Rebuys ($200,000)
Friday, Sept. 4, 20:00 - $109 8-game ($50,000)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 12:45 - $109 No Limit Hold’em ($1 million)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 14:30 - $215 No Limit 5 Card Draw ($200,000)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 16:30 - $215 Limit Hold’em ($400,000)
Sunday, Sept. 6, 12:45 - $215 $215 No Limit Hold ‘em ($1 million)
Sunday, Sept. 6, 14:30 - $10,300 No Limit Hold’em ($2 million)
Sunday, Sept. 6, 16:30 - $530 No Limit Hold’em ($3 million)
Monday, Sept. 7, 14:30 - $320 Mixed Hold’em Six-Max ($350,000)
Monday, Sept. 7, 16:30 - $215 Pot Limit Omaha Cubed Six-Max ($500,000)
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 14:30 - $320 Stud ($150,000)
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 16:30 - $320 Badugi ($100,000)
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 20:00 - $1,050 No Limit Hold’em ($500,000)
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 14:30 - $530 No Limit Hold’em Triple Shootout ($500,000)
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 16:30 - $320 Eight Game Mixed Event ($300,000)
Thursday, Sept. 10, 14:30 - $530 Pot Limit Hold’em Six-Max ($400,000)
Thursday, Sept. 10, 16:30 - $320 2-7 Triple Draw ($100,000)
Friday, Sept. 11, 14:30 - $215 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys ($1.25 million)
Friday, Sept. 11, 16:30 - $530 Limit Omaha H/L ($400,000)
Friday, Sept. 11, 20:00 - $320 No Limit Hold ‘em ($300,000)
Saturday, Sept. 12, 14:30 - $530 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em ($1 million)
Saturday, Sept. 12, 16:30 - $320 HORSE ($400,000)
Sunday, Sept. 13, 12:45 - $215 Special Sunday Warm-Up ($1 million)
Sunday, Sept. 13, 14:30 - $25,500 Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em ($800,000)
Sunday, Sept. 13, 16:30 - $1,050 No Limit Hold’em ($3 million)
Monday, Sept. 14, 14:30 - $320 Half PLHE, Half PLO ($400,000)
Monday, Sept. 14, 16:30 - $320 No Limit Hold’em 2X Chance ($800,000)
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 14:30 - $320 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys ($700,000)
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 16:30 - $530 Stud H/L ($200,000)
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 20:00 - $1,050 No Limit Hold’em ($500,000)
Wednesday Sept. 16, 14:30 - $215 No Limit Hold’em Big Antes ($500,000)
Wednesday Sept. 16, 16:30 - $320 Pot Limit Omaha H/L ($500,000)
Thursday, Sept. 17, 14:30 - $530 No Limit Hold’em with Rebuys Six-Max ($1 million)
Thursday, Sept. 17, 16:30 - $2,100 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max ($600,000)
Friday, Sept. 18, 14:30 - $530 No Limit Hold’em Cubed ($1 million)
Friday, Sept. 18, 16:30 - $1,050 Limit Hold’em Six-Max ($400,000)
Friday, Sept. 18, 20:00 - $215 No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo ($200,000)
Saturday, Sept. 19, 14:30 - $530 Heads-Up Pot Limit Omaha ($500,000)
Saturday, Sept. 19, 16:30 - $2,100 Eight Game Mixed Event ($400,000)
Sunday, Sept. 20, 12:45 - $215 Special Sunday Warm-Up ($1 million)
Sunday, Sept. 20, 14:30 - $10,300 HORSE ($1 million)
Sunday, Sept. 20, 16:30 - $5,200 Main Event ($10 million)

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Poker terminology:

BAD GAME - Any game in which you figure to be the loser, because the other players are better than you.
WHEEL - A-2-3-4-5. Usually discussed in the context of lowball where it is the best possible hand. Can also refer to a 5-high straight in high games. Also: BICYCLE.
NUT / NUTS - The best possible hand of a given class. Not a LOCK unless all cards have been dealt. The "nut flush" is the highest possible flush, but might still lose to, e.g., a full house. Usually used in Hold'em games.
NICKEL - Five dollars, usually represented by a red casino check.
S&M - Sklansky & Malmuth. Generally refers to the ideas and algorithms published by these two authors. When used in a 7-card stud context, often refers to "7 Card Stud For Advanced Players", and when used in a Hold'em context, often refers to "Texas Hold'em For Advanced Players".
TOURNAMENT - A highly structured game involving potentially dozens of tables where all participants pay an entry fee and obtain a fixed number of chips. Once a tournament has started, additional players may not enter. As the game progresses players bust out and are eliminated until only one winner remains.

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