Last week´s Beast rake race saw the total prize pool exceed $100,000 once again, with 210 players winning cash prizes and 351 winning Cage satellite tickets.
For four and a half years, the Beast has been one of the primary attractions for cash players at Americas Cardroom. Since the Beast was first unleashed in August 2012, the non-contributory rake race has paid out nearly $10 million in cash prizes and tournament entry tickets, and last week the promotion yet again paid out more than $100,000.
The Beast is one of the major contributory factors for cash game traffic at Americas Cardroom increasing by almost 50% over the past twelve months. Not only does it pay big – it pays deep. Last week 210 players shared in the cash race pool of $77,373, and 351 players received satellite tickets to the $1,050 buy-in Cage event.
How the Beast Works
Whenever you play a hand of cash game of poker at Americas Cardroom, the site deducts a percentage from the pot (“rake”) provided the hand sees the flop or goes to fourth street in stud poker games. Whenever the amount of rake exceeds $0.25, $0.02 of every $0.06 deducted in rake is added to the Beast prize pool, up to a maximum of $0.24 per hand.
For every $0.02 added to the Beast prize pool, Americas Cardroom awards 1 Beast Point. The point is divided between players active in the hand based on their individual contribution to the rake. Beast Points add up on the weekly leaderboard, and prizes are distributed at the end of each week depending on the total value of the prize pool.
The prize distribution is tiered in such a way that everybody who cashes in the promotion gets a decent boost to their bankroll. The top prize is capped at $2,500, and any excess filters down to the next prize places. So, last week, seven players each received $2,500, while eighth placed “Pandaisevil” collected $1,731. At the bottom of the cash prize list, “HappyNihilist” won $65.81 for their 210th placed finish.
What about the Satellite Tickets?
The satellite tickets awarded as prizes in the Beast rake race are for weekly special qualifiers that feed into an Americas Cardroom online promotions or live sponsored events. In the past, players have been able to win seats in the site´s $1 million guaranteed Million Dollar Sunday tournaments or packages to live events such as the Punta Cana Poker Classic.
Currently, the weekly qualifiers award a minimum of ten seats for Americas Cardroom´s “Cage” – a five hour cash game with increasing blinds every hour and a buy-in of $1,050. The Cage gives players the opportunity to win more cash than they could ever win in the Beast. Last week´s top-placed player – “Juxtaposition” – emerged from the Cage with $9,853.
The Beast qualifiers take place each Sunday at 6:00pm (ET) and can be bought into directly for $55.00. Such is the demand for places in the Cage that more than one hundred players took the direct buy-in option, pushing the number of seats awarded in the satellite to twenty-one. A further six seats were awarded in the Sit & Crush qualifier, meaning that there will be a minimum of twenty-seven qualifiers in next Wednesday´s Cage.
Warm Up for the Cage in the Playpen
Players looking to gain a little experience of the Cage before playing in their first nosebleed stakes game have the opportunity to get familiar with the concept in the Playpen. Each Friday at 3:00pm, 5:00pm, 7:00pm, 9:00pm and 11:00pm (all times ET), Americas Cardroom hosts a mini-version of the event with four thirteen-minute levels, and a buy-in of just $10.50.
In both the Cage and the Playpen, players start with 1,000 chips and blinds starting at 5/10 with a 1 chip ante. Both games have a 6-Max format, and only those players who survive the full length of the game will emerge with cash in their virtual pockets. Naturally, there are no re-buys allowed or late registration in either of these events.
The Beast, the Cage and the Playpen are just a handful of the exciting promotions currently being offered by the site. At present, players can also spin and win their way to a [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/americas-cardroom-launches-million-dollar-jackpot-poker/”]million dollar Jackpot[/geolink] and participate in the site´s Elite Benefits rewards program, which has recently undergone some significant changes to reward the most [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/wpn-changes-vip-reward-points-allocation-method/”]active players at the table[/geolink].
To find out more about the benefits of playing at the site, and how to claim a first deposit bonus of up to $1,000, have a read through our [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/americas-cardroom/”]Americas Cardroom review[/geolink]. In addition to the first deposit bonus, new players will receive an invitation to play in up to four $250 Depositor Freeroll tournaments, plus qualify for up to twenty days free Jackpot Poker and the opportunity to win thousands of dollars for free.
