With less than a week to go until the start of WPN´s $5 million guaranteed Venom, the odds of the event hitting its guarantee are looking a little better.
The Winning Poker Network´s Venom tournament starts on Sunday; and while its $5 million guaranteed prize pool still looks ambitious, the Network has made a late change to the structure of the event that could enhance the odds of the tournament attracting more than the 1,887 entries it needs to break even. In fact, it could surpass its guarantee by quite a margin if everything goes to plan.
The change is to introduce a “biggest-stack” option that allows players to enter all three Day 1s of the Venom and carry their biggest stack forward. Previously, if a player survived Day 1A, they would have to carry their Day 1A stack through to Day 2 whatever its size. Now players can improve their chances of cashing in the event by entering multiple times and playing with their biggest stack on Day 2.
The Consequences of the Change Already Noticeable
The consequences of the change is that more players are competing in the daily satellites feeding into the Venom and participating in the Steps program in order to win multiple entries. In one Steps Sit & Go game last night, there were so many entries the game paid out three times its guaranteed number of seats into the next Step; and, while there is still sometimes value in the Skip Steps, it is getting increasingly rare to find Steps Sit & Go games failing to meet their guarantees.
The interest in qualifying multiple times for the Venom tournament bodes well for the mega-satellites starting tomorrow night. I expect to see a considerable number of players taking part in the satellites and sub-satellites feeding into the mega-satellites – which each guarantee fifteen seats in the target event (except on Sunday morning, when twenty seats for the Venom will be up for grabs). Further mega-satellites are scheduled ahead of Days 1B and 1C. They too should be busy.
Is There a Second Venom Event being Planned?
The change to the structure of the tournament introduces the question “what if I win multiple entries, but I finish Day 1A with a stack I´m happy with?” Although the option exists to sell surplus entries, it may be difficult to find a buyer at short notice (especially with so many satellites feeding into the tournament) and you are unlikely to get the full face value of the entry in return.
Players with a single entry for the Venom have to use it before the end of late registration on July 21st or the entry will be forfeited. However, a new clause in the terms and conditions for the Venom tournament implies there may be a second Venom event planned in which unused tickets for this month´s tournament can be used. The clause reads:
If the extra entry (or entries) are not used by the end of late registration of the July 21st Venom tournament, you must wait until the next Venom tournament.
Whether or not there will be a subsequent Venom will depend on how this month´s tournament goes. My guess is, if there is to be a second Venom event, it will be incorporated into a big tournament series such as the Winning Poker Network´s OSS Cub3d and played just before Christmas. We´ll likely find out soon enough if the Venom tournament hits its ambitious guarantee next week – the odds of which are now looking a little better.
