Your WSOP and WPT Seats Await:  Winning the WSOP and WPT Satellites

The fact that a complete unknown can rise to the very top of the world’s poker pecking order is one of the main reasons why poker is so popular.  A relative unknown couldn’t hope to achieve phenomenal fame in ultra-exclusive games like golf, but he could certainly aspire to be part of – and even win – the WSOP or WPT Main Event.

WSOP and WPT Satellites

WSOP and WPT satellites are qualifying tournaments operated by poker sites.  For a relatively small buy-in (much, much smaller than the big event buy-in), a player can battle it out with other hopefuls to win the satellite prize package:  a seat in the WSOP or the WPT.

If you want a spot in the next WSOP or WPT Main Event, then you should start planning your satellite game strategy.  Making the final table in the satellite tournament should be your focus.

Your WSOP and WPT Satellite Winning Strategy

There’s no set strategy for winning satellites.  However, there are some general considerations when laying out a game plan.  First off, you should determine how many seats to the WSOP or WPT will be awarded.

If there’s only one seat allotted for the winner, then your goal is obviously to beat all other players; that is, you should win all the other satellite players’ chips.  If there is more than one seat, then you don’t have to be first in the tournament; you only need to land one of the places.

To make the final table in the satellite tournament where only one seat will be awarded, you have to make sure that you win as many chips as you possibly can, as early as possible, so you can later bring pressure to bear on weaker players.

At the beginning of the tournament, play it cool and tight.  This is to rid the ‘ocean’ of the ‘fish’.  However, don’t let obvious chances to win chips pass you by; if you can help other players’ ‘demise’ along then do so.  Take more risks as the game progresses.  Bump the short-stacked players out of the game and appropriate their chips for your own.  Become more and more aggressive as you near the final table and final hands.

If there is more than one seat to be awarded, then as before, you should play it cool and tight to weed out the weak players.  Win as many chips as you can without risking your stack.  However, as the game deepens, you should become more aggressive and steal as many blinds as you can before you reach the final table.  In satellites where there is more than one seat to be awarded, your main goal is to avoid being the short-stacked player at the table – this player is always being challenged and he is most certain to fall.  Therefore, in WSOP and WPT satellites where you don’t have to win over everybody, just avoid being the small fry in a table full of sharks.