Return of the Red Spade Open

I can get jaded about poker sometimes, so wrapped up in improving and maximizing my hourly rate that I lose sight of what is fun about this game and what is remarkable about its internet incarnation. Then PokerStars rolls out something like the Red Spade Open that, if you stop to think about it, should make your head spin. This is a tournament with a $55 entry fee and a MILLION DOLLAR guaranteed prize pool.

More than 20,000 players from around the world will all compete in the same tournament, at the same time. In a matter of hours and through the magic of the internet, a few lucky players will turn $55 (or less, obviously there are tons of satellites and an FPP buy-in option) into six figures. Of course a few people do that every week in the lottery, but this is a competition where skill matters, where at least some players will actually have a positive expected value, and where rather than raking a massive cut of the prize pool the way a state lottery does, PokerStars is actually adding money via bounties on myself and the other Red Spade pros.

The tournament takes place this Sunday, November 20th, at 3PM Eastern. Even though we’ve never met and live on opposite ends of the Earth, you’ll have the chance to compete against me and win a bounty for busting me. I think that’s pretty cool.