PokerStars Now Allowing Multiple Satellite Wins to Regional Events
3 minutes
Last Updated: January 28, 2024
For all fans of live tournaments, there is some good news coming from PokerStars. The operator has decided to change its online satellite policy to allow players to win multiple seats to regional main events.
What this means in practice is that you can now claim several entries to the same target event and use them to re-enter the tournament if you’re eliminated. This wasn’t possible before, as the operator wanted to give as many individual players as possible a shot at winning a seat.
However, with the poker landscape changing and most tournaments these days offering reentries, PokerStars has decided to revisit this policy. When all factors were considered, the powers to be decided that allowing players to win multiple seats was in everyone’s best interest.
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Aiming to Provide the Best Experience
Recently, PokerStars has made a lot of effort to make it easier for players to get involved with live tournaments that would normally be outside of their buy-in range. The introduction of the Power Path was the biggest novelty with this particular goal in mind.
With Power Path, players from all over the world have a way to secure tickets for local events powered by PokerStars. They can pick events based on the location, time slot, etc. Furthermore, it’s possible to start the journey for as little as $0.50, or even for free, thanks to the recent changes to the loyalty program.
However, until now, players could qualify for any particular event only once. So, if they were eliminated early, they could only enter again using their own money, which, for many, is simply not an option. And, of course, this doesn’t make for the best experience.
So, PokerStars has changed its satellite policy, and players can now win multiple tickets to the same event. You can win two or three tickets for, say, a UKIPT event in London. If you bust out and the registration is still available, you can use the second ticket to enter again.
The new policy is set up in a way where the first ticket must be used to enter the tournament, but any additional tickets are “player’s choice.”
You can use them for reentries, if needed, use them for a different regional event or to enter online tournaments. You can even combine several tickets together to enter high-roller tournaments.
A Welcome Change
It’s good to see PokerStars is keeping up with the times and adjusting its policies for the best player experience. If someone is really keen on playing a particular event, it makes sense to allow them to win a few entries.
After all, there are many recreational players who can only go for a big live tournament once or twice a year. If they bust early and their experience is cut short, it’s bound to leave them disappointed as they simply might not have the time or the ability to play another one in a while.
With this change, these players can now put their efforts towards winning one or two reentries and have them at the ready, just in case.
Of course, the reason for the old policy was to give recreational players more of a chance to win a seat. The change could result in more grinders hitting up the satellite streets to secure some extra bullets. As a result, qualifiers could become more competitive.
This is a legitimate concern but likely worth the tradeoff. The new policy will help ensure a better overall experience for recreational and semi-recreational players interested in affordable live events like Eureka and UKIPT, and that alone is a reason enough to justify the change.
Plenty of Live Action Ahead
In 2023, PokerStars hosted numerous live events, many of which had very reasonable and affordable buy-ins. In the months to come, we can expect more of the same as the operator seems determined to put more emphasis on its live offering.
The decision is hardly a surprise, given the live poker boom we’ve seen over the recent couple of years. Tournaments both in Europe and in the US have been breaking attendance records left and right, so it’s clear what it is that players want.
It will be another big year for poker, and thanks to affordable satellites and the Power Path promo, you can be a part of it. As long as you have some poker skills and a big enough desire, you can win a seat or two to big live events even if you don’t have a big bankroll to work with.
