The Winning Poker Network has announced its next Live Cage event on the weekend of 1st/2nd December will be a PL Omaha cash game lasting twelve hours.
At the beginning of the year, the Winning Poker Network announced a series of five $5,000 buy-in Live Cage events that would take place two months apart at the Network´s headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Network also made it possible for players to win packages to the events via its weekly Beast & Sit and Crush tournaments.
The four Live Cage events that have taken place so far this year have been very successful. At the most recent event, forty players took part – nineteen of whom survived the two days of action to leave with cash in their pockets. Indeed, it was a very profitable weekend for former WSOP bracelet winner Thomas Cannuli, who left Costa Rica last Monday with $30,745 added to his bankroll.
However, rather sit back and allow the Live Cage to naturally grow in popularity, the Winning Poker Network has announced a few changes for its fifth event. The most significant of these is that the next event will have a PL Omaha format, while there will also be two additional tournaments added to the weekend´s action – a qualifier to the next Live Cage event and a 6 Plus Hold´em tournament.
The Network Also Increases the Value of the Packages
The weekly Beast & Sit and Crush tournament takes place each Sunday at 6:00 pm (ET) at ACR and BCP. It is free to enter for players who have won a seat via the Network´s Beast or Sit and Crush leaderboard promotions, or players can buy-in directly for $55.00. There is a minimum of three Live Cage packages up for grabs each week, which now include:
- The $5,000 + $250 buy-in for the Live Cage event.
- Three nights´ accommodation at the Taormina Hotel.
- $800 contribution towards travelling expenses.
- $1,000 spending cash on arrival.
- Transportation to and from the airport.
- NEW – A $300 + $40 tournament ticket.
The $300 + $40 tournament ticket can be used to play in either of the two new tournaments added to the weekend´s schedule. The qualifier for the next Live Cage event takes place after a players´ welcome dinner on the Friday evening, while the 6 Plus Hold´em tournament is scheduled for the Saturday evening – if the preceding the six hours of cash game action has not worn everybody out.
The Live Cage Structure Remains the Same
Despite the changes going on around the Live Cage event, its structure will remain as before. The cash-game-cum-tournament will be played over Saturday 1st December and Sunday 2nd of December, with two three-hour levels each day and a thirty minute break between levels. Players will start with 5,000 chips (1 chip = $1.00) and blinds of $10/$20 (ante $5). No late registration or re-entries are allowed.
All tables are played six-handed and using the Button Ante Format. This means the player on the button pays the antes for all the players seated at the table – not likely a problem during the first level of action, but by the time the game reaches level 4 (blinds $50/$100 – ante $10) he or she could be paying out $210 in three hands ($100 BB + $50 SB + $60 Ante) without the sniff of a decent hand.
The Button Ante Format is used in several Las Vegas casinos, in Montreal´s Playground Casino, and at the Dusk till Dawn Poker Club in the UK. The casinos claim it speeds up the action between hands because dealers don´t keep having to remind players to pay up, find change for them, or sort out who has not yet contributed to the pot before dealing the cards.
Network Confident of Continued Live Cage Success
Whether or not the experiment of playing the forthcoming event in PL Omaha format works or not, the Winning Poker Network has already announced the dates for next year´s Live Cage events – indicating it is confident the event will continue to be successful. If you fancy an all-expenses trip to Costa Rica to pit your skills against some of the best players in the world, here are the dates to look forward to in 2019:
- January 26th/27th 2019.
- March 30th/31st 2019.
- June 1st/2nd 2019.
- August 10th/11th 2019.
- October 5th/6th 2019.
- November 30th/December 1st 2019.
Remember, if you win a package to a Live Cage event, you don´t have to use it for the next available trip to Costa Rica. You can select which weekend you want to play. Therefore, if you have no desire to play in a twelve-hour PL Omaha game, but fancy your chances at NL Hold´em, you can still try to win a package in next weekend´s Live Cage qualifier and carry over your prize to next year.
