With the rise of sweepstakes online poker platforms, Clubs Poker is expanding its game offerings further to stay competitive, becoming the latest operator to introduce Mystery Bounty tournaments.
Mystery Bounty tournaments (MBTs) have taken the poker world by storm—first in live poker and now online—with nearly every major operator embracing this popular knockout format.
Similar to Progressive Knockout (PKO) tournaments, this format typically splits the buy-in between the regular prize pool and the bounty pool. However, unlike PKOs, bounties only come into play once players reach the money. The twist is that the bounty amounts remain hidden until a player is eliminated, adding an element of suspense and excitement.
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Clubs Poker is now only the second sweepstakes poker site to offer Mystery Bounty tournaments, following Global Poker. The launch was long anticipated—last year, Clubs Poker CEO and co-founder Jon Kaplowitz mentioned on the pokerfuse podcast that Mystery Bounty tournaments would debut soon, and that promise has now been fulfilled.
For those unfamiliar, Clubs Poker launched in July 2024 and operates under the sweepstakes model, similar to Global Poker. Catering to players across 44 US states, the platform differs from traditional online poker sites like PokerStars, BetMGM and WSOP by using Sweeps Coins (SC), which can be redeemed for cash prizes at a rate of $1 per SC.
The newly launched ClubWPT Gold and Stake US have yet to introduce Mystery Bounty tournaments.
MBTs Still Growing in Popularity
Currently, this popular tournament format is available on a limited basis, running only once or twice a day. However, as players become more familiar with it, the frequency is expected to increase.
MBTs on Clubs Poker have buy-ins starting at just 1.1 SC, with guaranteed prize pools of 150 SC. On weekends, both the guarantees and buy-ins increase, with prize pools reaching 500 SC and buy-ins going up to 15 SC.
These tournaments are played 8-handed, featuring a 6,000 starting stack, 7-minute blind levels, and a late registration period of just over an hour, with re-entries allowed. Players can find them in the tournament lobby under the “Mystery Bounty” label, highlighted in pink case.
The format has become a staple in the poker world, as widespread today as Progressive Knockout (PKO) tournaments were when they first gained popularity. The appeal lies in the fact that players don’t need to go deep in the tournament to win big—bounties can range from as little as 1x the buy-in to massive payouts of 100x or even 1,000x the buy-in.
While Clubs Poker may have joined the trend a bit later, Mystery Bounty tournaments remain rare in the sweepstakes poker space. Players in states like New York, California, Florida, and Texas currently have just two legal options—Clubs Poker and Global Poker—to play this format online.
However, what sets Clubs Poker apart is its extensive variety of game formats, many of which aren’t available even on regulated online poker sites. In addition to supporting PKOs, the platform offers a wide range of poker variants, including Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 5-Card and 6-Card Omaha, Courchevel, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, Razz, 2-7 Single Draw, Badugi, Badacey, 8-Game, and HORSE. These formats are available in both cash games and tournaments, making Clubs Poker the only online poker room in the US to provide such a diverse selection.
The room has also shown a commitment to niche Omaha formats, recently hosting an PLO-exclusive tournament series featuring 32 events and a total guarantee of 55,000 SC. The series culminated in a 55 SC buy-in Main Event with a 5,000 SC guaranteed prize pool.
Besides, the room also offers various features such as Bomb Pot, Run It Twice, Straddle, and Bad Beat Jackpot.
More Mystery Bounty tournaments can be expected to be added to Clubs Poker’s lineup soon, potentially even featuring in its next tournament series.
