It has been almost a month since Americas Cardroom announced its $250,000 Freebuy Series, so I thought it would be a good idea to remind readers about it.
Back in September, Americas Cardroom announced a site-exclusive series of 114 freebuy tournaments with guaranteed prize pools totaling $250,000. It´s not the first time the site has run a big series of free-to-enter tournaments, but it is the first time it has run a series without including players from other sites on the Network such as Black Chip Poker.
What this means for players at Americas Cardroom is that there will likely be fewer players in each freebuy tournament. This won´t affect the prize money for each tournament (because that´s guaranteed), but it will result in fewer places being paid (because of the smaller fields), and each place “in the money” will be worth more – so the tournaments are definitely worth playing in.
To improve your chances of cashing in any of the freebuy tournaments, it is worth funding an Americas Cardroom account before the series gets underway. That will enable you to take advantage of the re-buy and add-on opportunities; which – although some re-buys and add-ons will be free – you will likely need to get into the prize places because of the way in which the tournaments are structured.
How Freebuy Tournaments are Structured
In each freebuy tournament, players begin with a thousand chips. Although this is the equivalent of twenty big blinds, players taking advantage of a 2,500 chip re-buy straight away have an immediate advantage over the rest of the field. For example, Player A (3,500 chips) can shove against Player B (1,000 chips) knowing his or her tournament won´t be over if they lose the hand.
An unlimited number of re-buys are allowed until the end of Level 18, when players have the option of a 10,000 chip add-on. Although this may equate to just a few big blinds extra at the time, it can make the difference between finishing in a top position and playing 2-3 hours for no reward. Certainly the add-on will help players already in the money ladder up to a better finishing position.
The cost of a re-buy or add-on varies according to the guaranteed prize money. In some events, it costs just $0.01 to add to your stack, whereas in others the cost of re-buying and adding-on can be as much as $100. The cost doesn´t necessarily equate to the value of the tournament, as those that are played in the early evening can have much higher prize money guaranteed than those played at midday.
How to Get a Free Re-Buy or Add-On
In certain tournaments, it will be possible to get a free re-buy or add-on by liking Americas Cardroom´s Facebook page, following the site on Twitter, or watching a video on the ACR YouTube channel. The tournaments for which the freebies are available will be announced shortly before the start of each one via Twitter.
It is likely free re-buys and add-ons will also be available in other freebuy series tournaments being live-streamed by sponsored players. To take advantage of these opportunities, you should have a look at the tournament schedule to identify events such as the “Knut Super Flex Poker Showdown Freebuy” and follow these sponsored pros on Twitch.
Even though there will be some free re-buys and add-ons available, it may still be to your advantage to reload your account prior to tomorrow´s opening event. I´ve explained the funding options in my Americas Cardroom review; and, if you are not yet playing at the site yet, remember to use the Americas Cardroom bonus code “USAFRIENDLY” during the registration process to get a 100% bonus on your first deposit (200% if funding your account with cryptocurrency) plus take advantage of the twenty days of free poker promotion.
