Many tournaments in Ignition Poker´s Golden Spade Poker Open are failing to meet their guarantees, providing extra value for players who cash in the events.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Ignition Poker´s Golden Spade Poker Open was not enjoying the most auspicious of starts and that even tournaments scheduled on the opening Sunday of the series had failed to meet their guarantees. I thought the situation would change as the series progressed, but that hasn´t been the case, and many tournaments are still overlaying.
Furthermore, satellites guaranteeing a fixed number of seats in a target event are being cancelled due to failing to attract the minimum number of entries. Often these satellites fall just one entry short of the required minimum, and it may be a good idea to keep an eye on the satellite schedule over the coming weeks to identify opportunities to where one more entry will start a potentially valuable satellite.
Overlays Not Massive, but Still Worth Noting
The volume of overlays is not going to cripple Ignition Poker nor cause the series to be cancelled. However, when tournaments don´t attract sufficient entries to meet their guarantees, it means the site is adding money to the prize pool. Sometimes the difference is covered by the fees charged to enter the tournament, but that´s not always the case as the selection of tournaments below indicates.
| Event | Buy-in | Guarantee | Nº of Entries | Overlay | Overlay minus Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSPO 62 | $150 + $12 | $30,000 | 169 | $4,650 | $2,622 |
| GSPO 63 | $60 + $6 | $7,500 | 113 | $720 | $42 |
| GSPO 64 | $125 + $10 | $15,000 | 124 | ($500) | ($1,740) |
| GSPO 65 | $75 + $7 | $25,000 | 323 | $775 | ($1,486) |
| GSPO 66 | $60+ $6 | $26,000 | 502 | ($4,120) | ($7,132) |
| GSPO 67 | $25 + $2.50 | $15,000 | 547 | $1,325 | ($42.50) |
What is interesting about the distribution of overlays is that they are not occurring at specific buy-ins or at certain times of the day. It appears that tournaments are randomly failing to meet their guarantees whatever time of day they are played at – regardless of structure or format of game. It will be interesting to see how this situation develops in forthcoming events with larger guarantees, especially the $500,000 guaranteed Main Event scheduled for Sunday 14th November.
Why It May Pay to Wait for Main Event Satellites
At present, Ignition Poker is running daily satellites with a $55 buy-in ($50 + $5 fee) which are advertised as GSPO Main Event satellites. However, these events do not have any guarantee, and state that one GSPO Main Event ticket will be awarded for every $450 in the prize pool. Therefore, if only six players enter, there will only be $300 in the prize pool and that´s all the winner of the satellite will get.
Consequently, it may be better to wait for the “guaranteed” GSPO Main Event satellites starting on November 16th. There are eight guaranteed satellites scheduled for the final weekend of the GSPO series with buy-ins of $75 + $7, plus a mega-satellite on the afternoon of the Main Event guaranteeing ten seats for the target tournament (buy-in also $75 + $7). Further last-minute satellites will be run during the four hours of late registration with buy-ins starting at $40 + $4.
Don´t Miss Out on the Value in Ignition Poker´s GSPO Series
Although the Main Event and guaranteed Main Event qualifiers may be almost two weeks away, there´s no sense in missing out on the value in Ignition Poker´s GSPO series by waiting until the guaranteed satellites start running. Visit Ignition Poker today and check out the GSPO tournament lobby to identify events in which there may be overlays and any opportunities for value.
If you are not yet playing at the site, be sure to first check out my Ignition Poker review. The review gives you all the information you will need to enjoy a potentially lucrative experience at the site and provides full details on how to claim the 100% first deposit bonus up to $1,000. If you like playing casino games, you might also wish to check out my Ignition Casino review which provides details of a further first deposit bonus up to $1,000 plus information about the site´s VIP loyalty scheme.
[prbutton room=”ignitioncasinopoker”][/prbutton]
