Partypoker Ontario, which runs alongside BetMGM Ontario and bwin on a single online poker network in the province, has announced a brand new Micro Series, set to debut this Sunday.
Over CAD $200,000 is guaranteed in the low stakes series, spread across 88 numbered events. It span 15 days and culminates in two No Limit Hold’em Main Events.
It will be the fourth online tournament series for Ontario online poker players at BetMGM Ontario network and the first one catered towards low-stakes players. In April, the network hosted the third installment of its Ontario Championships series boasting CAD $500,000 in guaranteed prize money.
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Partypoker/BetMGM Ontario Micro Series Highlights:
- Takes place from June 11 to 26
- Combined guarantees of CAD $200,000
- 88 numbered events and over 200 individual tournaments
- Buy-ins start at CAD $0.11 and top at $265
- Two Main Events with combined guarantees of CAD $28,000
- BetMGM/partypoker Ontario’s first-ever low buy-in series
Compared to the Championships series, the Micro Series, as the name suggests, is targeted at those with smaller budgets. Even so, the series will keep the same structure as other, more prestigious series — with tournaments split into three buy-in tiers: Low, Medium and High — for almost all the 88 events. This means that the total number of individual tournaments is just north of 200.
The lowest buy-in will be just CAD $0.11; the high end is $265. The series comprises two Main Events, both played as PKO tournaments. The $5.50 buy-in Low-tier Main promises CAD $3000 in guarantees, while the higher version carrying a $55 buy-in boasts CAD $25,000.
Both Mains comprise several Day 1 flights — running daily from June 11 through June 26, with all surviving players coming together on June 26 and competing until the winner is crowned. Players can qualify for the Main via sub-satellites starting at just 55 cents.
In addition to these low-cost qualifiers, there are a dozen satellites, each costing CAD $11 to enter and each guaranteeing at least one CAD $55 seat added to the prize pool.
Along with the Main Events, other highlights include the bounty opener events named as PKOpener with buy-ins of CAD $0.55, $11 and $55. The $55 buy-in sports $5000 in guaranteed prize money, while the $11 edition promises $1500 and the 55 cent guarantees $50.
The second-largest guarantee of the schedule is reserved for the CAD $265 buy-in Super High Roller structured as a 7-max PKO. It is scheduled to run on the final day of the series and satellites will be available for as little as 1 cent.
The rest of the schedule includes the full range of tournament formats, from the usual mix of 6-max to 7-max and 8-max tournaments, Progressive Knockouts (PKOs) to Pot Limit Omaha (PLO), from deepstacks to turbos and hypers — to suit all types of players.
The PKOs come in different forms including an Ultra version where 75% of the buy-in goes towards the bounty pool instead of the usual 50% and a Total KO edition where the entire buy-in is designated towards the bounty pool and players only compete for bounties in the tournament.
The schedule also comprises short stack hyper tournaments with players receiving just 50 big blinds as the starting stack.
BetMGM Ontario, third in our best online poker sites in Ontario rankings, isn’t the only one interested in competing in the low buy-in tournament space. GGPoker Ontario (previously WSOP.ca) is hosting the microFestival along the same dates, with total guarantees of CAD $400,000.
Buy-ins start from just CAD $1 and go up to $25. The series reaches its highest point when it runs the $10.50 buy-in Mystery Bounty Main Event with a massive guarantee of CAD $100,000.
Other competitors PokerStars and 888poker have also run micro-stakes series exclusively for Ontario players in the past, though they are not scheduled as of now.
