Littlewoods Poker EPO Satellites

Poker players spend considerable amounts of time searching for value, either during a game or when reviewing likely tournament field sizes, constantly gauging their chances of emerging victorious. So whenever an established pro declares that poker enthusiasts can enjoy a ‘legitimate advantage’ by playing in a particular event, a positive reaction is guaranteed.

From the end of July 2009, Littlewoods Poker is offering players the opportunity to compete in the first English Poker Open (EPO), scheduled to take place in September at Nottingham’s famed Dusk Till Dawn club. The eagerly anticipated event boasts a guaranteed $1 million prize pool.

Exclusive EPO Seats

In contrast to poker networks promoting the tournament however, Littlewoods Poker has reserved exclusive, non-network, EPO seats, the right to which will be contested solely by their own players.

“It’s a way of rewarding our players’ loyalty,” says Bruce Martin, Littlewoods’ head of poker operations. “We know they have a choice about where they play their poker, so we’ve made four EPO packages, worth $7,000 each, available exclusively for them.”

Established pro Tony Cascarino believes players have an excellent opportunity to take advantage of this offer: “When you consider that at some networks you may have to fight against a field of 10,000 others to win just one EPO seat and Littlewoods Poker has four, plus all the trimmings worth $1,700 apiece, it’s obvious where the value lies,” he says. “Players taking the chance to make the EPO via Littlewoods Poker have an enormous advantage.”

The EPO qualifying process at Littlewoods Poker can be as long (and cheap) or as direct as players want. From daily freerolls to one of four $240 + $24 direct qualifiers, there’s an array of qualifying opportunities.

Seats at qualifiers worth $66 offered free to all players

One of the most popular routes to an EPO berth at Nottingham will almost certainly be the one where Littlewoods players can collect a free seat at a ‘Step 3’ qualifier (there’s a total of four steps) worth $66 simply for upgrading their reward status with the room.

New players too will receive a similar opportunity, also worth $66, in the week that they make their first cash deposit with Littlewoods and earn just one ‘status point’.

Bounties add spice

To spice matters up a little, Littlewoods Poker is also giving players the chance to win money en route to the EPO by hosting a series of bounty tournaments during the qualifiers.

The room’s professionals, including Michael Greco, recently returned from scooping more than $280,000 at the WSOP will play during the EPO qualifiers. Eliminating any one of Littlewoods’ three poker pros (Tony Cascarino and Marc Goodwin are the other two) is worth $66 to the player responsible for knocking them out.

Littlewoods Poker have pulled the stops out with this promotion, specifically designed to give players seeking to qualify for the inaugural EPO the opportunity to enjoy an unfair mathematical advantage without the associated risk.