PokerStars WCOOP 2009

By Nick Haslem - September 3, 2009  

The 2009 World Championship Of Online Poker (WCOOP) gets underway at 4:30 AM AEST. This year PokerStars have upped the ante to an incredible 45 event series with $40 million USD in guranteed prizes.

The 2008 WCOOP only had 33 events with just under $40 million in prizes. We all thought that was huge – now we have this smacked into our faces. The first event will be the $215 6-max No Limit Holdem event. There is $1.25 million guaranteed for just a couple of hundred bucks. There is also a $215 Razz event on a little after that.

The highlights of this year’s WCOOP would definitely have to include the high roller events and the Main Event. There is a $10,300 NLHE event with $2 million gtd. If the WSOP is anything to go by, the HORSE event will be considered the pinnacle of this poker series. The $10,300 HORSE event is the 2nd last of the series and has $1 million gtd. It will sort the men out from the boys in what will be a highly sought after bracelet.

To accompany the HORSE event on the last day there will be a $215 NLHE event with $1 million gtd. The series will culminate with the 2-day Main Event. This has a buy-in of $5,200 and a massive $10 million guarantee.

When it comes to playing in online poker tournaments they don’t get much bigger than this. The PokerStars WCOOP is run annually so you only have one shot to win the bracelet of your choosing.

For Australian online poker players it means that there will be some very early mornings ahead. Most of the tournaments begin at either 4:30 AM or 6:30 AM. If you get up early it is more than worth it if you run deep. The other side of the world will be starting to tire when it is late but for us it will be early evening.

If you haven’t already created an account at PokerStars then there is no better time to do so. Sign up now and receive a $600 bonus to get you started!