U.S. Poker Open Starts Play In February On PokerGO
Contents
Setting the USPO stage
Buy-ins range from $10,000 up to $50,000 with no-limit hold’em, pot limit Omaha, and 8-Game mix tournaments on the schedule. The games included in the 8-Game format are no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, seven card stud, razz, 2-7 lowball triple draw, limit hold’em, Omaha hi-lo 8 or Better, and seven card stud hi-lo 8 or better.
The series takes place at ARIA in Las Vegas, Nevada and follows a similar format to last year’s Poker Masters. Whoever wins the most money in the eight tournaments will be declared the U.S. Poker Champion and receive the inaugural USPO trophy.
The added wrinkle to the USPO is the 8-Game event, titled as the Mixed Game Championship. The $25,000 buy-in is the highest for a tournament of this format outside of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship at the World Series of Poker.
Two-time Poker Players Championship winner Brian Rast is in favor of all forms of poker being included in the USPO. In an interview with Poker Central, Rast said, “No Limit Hold’em is still the number one game, but including the other games makes it into a more holistic series. It’s cool that it has that place in the world, but it’s great for this series to have other games included as well.”
Who’s playing this time around?
Steffen Sontheimer rose above an elite crowd in September to claim the Poker Masters trophy and he is expected to be in attendance come February. Joining Rast as players who have confirmed their place in the USPO are Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu. ARIA High Roller regulars who are likely to be in the field, at least for the No Limit events, are PCA Super High Roller winner Cary Katz, Tom Marchese, and Jake Schindler.
Full schedule of events
February 1 – Event No. 1: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em
February 2 – Event No. 2: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha
February 3 – Event No. 3: $25,000 No Limit Hold’em
February 5 – Event No. 4: USPO $25,000 Mixed Game Championship
February 6 – Event No. 5: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em
February 7 – Event No. 6: $25,000 No Limit Hold’em
February 8 – Event No. 7: $25,000 No Limit Hold’em
February 9 – Event No. 8: $50,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event
All final tables for the USPO will stream live on PokerGO and give fans from across the world the chance to watch the game’s best battle for millions in collective prize pools.
Both the $25,000 Mixed Game Championship and the $50,000 Main Event will have Day 2 and Day 3 air live. Day 2 streams down to a final table. Day 3 commences as the remaining players fight down to a winner. The Mixed Game Championship and Main Event are the only three-day events on the schedule.
The six other events on the schedule feature two-days of play with the final table streaming on the second day of action.
When to tune in
From February 2 through February 11, there will be live streaming action every day on PokerGO with the exception of Super Bowl Sunday on February 4. The start times vary from day-to-day. The Main Event final table airs at 4:00 pm ET with mere hours separating the viewer from finding out who the first U.S. Poker Open Champion will be.
Friday, February 2 | Saturday, February 3 | Monday, February 5 |
$10,000 NLHE Final Table | $10,000 PLO Final Table | $25,000 NLHE Final Table |
4:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. |
Tuesday, February 6 | Wednesday, February 7 | Thursday, February 8 |
$25,000 Mixed Game Day 2 | $25,000 Mixed Game Final Table | $25,000 NLHE Final Table |
8:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. |
Friday, February 9 | Saturday, February 10 | Sunday, February 11 |
$25,000 NLHE Final Table | $50,000 Main Event Day 2 | $50,000 Main Event Day 2 |
4:00 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. |
*all start times are in E.T.