A player at Americas Cardroom cashed for $15,000 in the Winning Poker Network´s million dollar Venom after starting their qualifying route at freeroll level.
Last month, the Winning Poker Network launched a Steps qualification route for its weekly million dollar guaranteed Venom tournament (formerly the Million Dollar Sunday). What was newsworthy about the Steps route is that it starts at freeroll level, that freeroll tournaments run every two hours, and that each freeroll tournament awards 113 seats into the first “paid-for” Step.
With 1,356 players qualifying for the first “paid-for” Step every day, it was inevitable that somebody would eventually go on a hot run and qualify through the remaining five Steps into the $2,650 buy-in target tournament. It was less likely they would make an impact in the target tournament, but that is exactly what “Antiblef” did on Sunday November 4th.
The November 4th tournament was a typical Venom event inasmuch as it overlaid by $105,000. The bulk of the overlay was shared by the three top players – “ShuaiLai” ($193,500), “CrushTheBeasT” ($145,000) and “Imar54” ($110,000) – but finishing just outside the final table was “Antiblef”, who was knocked out in tenth place for $15,000. Not a bad effort for a player who had won their seat for free.
How To Do an Antiblef and Win Your Venom Seat for Free
If you feel you could emulate Antiblef´s achievement and score a big cash for free, you first need to download Americas Cardroom or Black Chip Poker and create a free account. You don´t have to fund your account before playing in the freeroll qualifier; but, if you do, you will be eligible for a first deposit bonus up to $1,000, twenty days of free cash, and entry into up to four depositors´ freeroll events.
Then, in the poker client, click on the “Tourney” tab and then the “Freeroll” tab. Near the top of the list of tournaments, you should see one entitled “The Venom 113 Seats GTD Step 1/5 Freeroll”. Double-click on the title to open the tournament lobby and then click on the red “Register” button to enter the event. You can also late register for running events up to one hour after they have started.
Depending on the time of day, there is usually between 400 and 600 players competing for the 113 seats into the first “paid-for” Step, and there is no need to panic if you don´t make a very good start. The freeroll tournaments start with each player having 2,500 chips and blinds of 15/30. Blinds increase slowly over ten-minute levels, with antes being introduced in level 4.
The Paid-For Steps and Final Qualifying Tournament
If you win one of the 113 seats into the “paid-for” Steps, these can be found under the “Steps” tab in the Tourney lobby. The first four Steps are “On Demand” tournaments inasmuch as they start when the required number of players has registered, and each Step guarantees a fixed number of seats into the subsequent Step:
- Step 1 starts when 100 players have registered. Considering that 113 players will have won their seats for free, these games are populated very quickly. Each Step 1 tournament awards 60 seats into Step 2.
- Step 2 tournaments get underway when 80 players have registered. This Step also fills quickly because it has a direct buy-in ($16.51) that is still attractive to players wishing to skip the earlier stages.
- Each Step 2 tournament awards 30 seats into Step 3, which requires 50 players to register before it starts. Step 3 tournaments may take a little longer to fill as they need two Step 2 tournaments to finish.
- Only 18 players from each Step 3 tournament qualify for Step 4 – which needs 35 players to register before the cards are in the air. Twelve players in each Step 4 tournament will qualify for the final qualifying tournament.
The final qualifying tournament is a scheduled event each Saturday evening at 6:30pm ET. Anybody who has got this far after starting at the freeroll level certainly deserves their seat in Sunday´s Venom tournament, but there are only fifteen seats up for grabs. Furthermore, as players with healthy bankrolls might see this stage as an easy satellite into the target event (because the competition mostly consists of freeroll players), you are likely to find some buying in directly before the end of late registration.
So, will you do an Antiblef? Or could you do better? Nobody yet has gone from zero to hero and won the Venom after starting their qualifying route at freeroll level, and the opportunities to score a big cash for free could be limited if the Steps program is cancelled in the New Year. Therefore, visit Americas Cardroom or Black Chip Poker today to see if you are up to the challenge because, although $15,000 is a great achievement, there´s best part of $200,000 waiting for the winner of the Venom each week.
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