In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting online poker industry news from across the world and all platforms.
Unibet launches €65K leaderboard race
Kicking 2023 off with a blast is Unibet Poker with an exciting round of promotions through the first week of February. The XP Races is a series of five weekly leaderboards showcasing a €13,000 prize pool each period, amounting to €65,000 in prizes in total. 100 lucky winners each week will claim a share of the prize pool with the top player in the ranks cashing in on a bonus prize of $1,100. Points are earned for every 1c of rake paid regardless of game type or variant. That means, whether you are a cash game regular, a tournament master or a HexaPro enthusiast, it all boils down to how many points you earn by Sunday’s end.
| Rank | Prize |
| 1st | €1,100 |
| 2nd | €850 |
| 3rd | €650 |
| 4th | €525 |
| 5th | €400 |
| 6th | €350 |
Coinpoker’s Winter Beater Series
The blockchain technology-based platform Coinpoker is not one to miss with its Winter Beater Series welcoming the new year through the 15th. Two events run daily with buy-ins ranging from ₮5 to its highest ₮200 for both the PKO Saturday Special and Sunday Special on its last weekend. The Sunday Special serves as the main highlight of the festival with a listed guarantee of ₮30,000. Aside from the ₮60,000 in prize pools alone, an additional ₮2,500 worth of CSOP entries spread out across the 20 events, will be randomly given in each tournament. Those who decide to grind out the entire schedule will also automatically qualify for a bonus ₮20 CSOP ticket.
2022 Winter Beater Series Schedule
| Event | Date (Asia/Manila) | Game | Format | Buy-in ₮ | Stack Size | Prize GTD ₮ | Random Ticket Giveaway |
| 7 | January 10, 1:00 AM | NLHE | Hyper Turbo, Rebuy + Addon | 5 | 5000 | 500 | 1 x CSOP Event 19 (₮30) |
| 8 | January 10, 3:00 AM | NLHE | Hyper Turbo, Rebuy + Addon | 10 | 5000 | 1000 | 1 x CSOP Event 3 (₮75) |
| 9 | January 11, 1:00 AM | NLHE | Rebuy+Addon | 30 | 10000 | 1500 | 1 x CSOP Event 7 (₮100) |
| 10 | January 11, 3:00 AM | NLHE | Turbo, Rebuy | 50 | 10000 | 1500 | 1 x CSOP Event 15 (₮100) |
| 11 | January 12, 1:00 AM | NLHE | PKO | 20 | 10000 | 800 | 1 x CSOP Event 5 (₮50) |
| 12 | January 12, 3:00 AM | NLHE | Freezeout Special | 50 | 10000 | 1000 | 1 x CSOP Event 13 (₮75) |
| 13 | January 13, 1:00 AM | 5PLO | Turbo, Rebuy + Addon | 10 | 10000 | 350 | 1 x CSOP Event 10 (₮25) |
| 14 | January 13, 3:00 AM | PLO | Rebuy + Addon | 20 | 10000 | 750 | 1 x CSOP Event 11 (₮50) |
| 15 | January 14, 1:00 AM | NLHE | Ante Special, Rebuy + Addon | 30 | 5000 | 1000 | 1 x CSOP Event 3 (₮75) |
| 16 | January 14, 3:00 AM | NLHE | Big Bang Special | 150 | 20000 | 4500 | 1 x CSOP Event 23 (₮200) |
| 17 | January 15, 1:00 AM | NLHE | PKO, Hyper Turbo | 20 | 10000 | 1000 | 1 x CSOP Event 3 (₮75) |
| 18 | January 15, 3:00 AM | NLHE | PKO Saturday Special | 200 | 20000 | 5000 | 1 x CSOP Event 9 (₮200) |
| 19 | January 16, 1:00 AM | NLHE | Rebuy+Addon | 30 | 5000 | 4000 | 1 x CSOP Event 9 (₮200) |
| 20 | January 16, 3:00 AM | NLHE | Sunday Special | 200 | 20000 | 30000 | 1 x CSOP Event 9 (₮200)
1 x CSOP Event 26 (₮500) |
Claim your buy-in back at 888poker
With competition across major online poker operators getting stiff, global brand 888poker is upping their game with a unique promotion that lets players receive their buy-in back via social media. The Tweet4Seat promotion is set to run through February 1st with top 3 winners of 888poker tournaments eligible to receive their buy-ins (valued at $1 – $33) back after following the three simple steps listed below.
- Follow 888poker on Twitter
- Finish in the top 3 of an 888poker tournament
- Post a screenshot of your top-3 finish on Twitter – must tag @888poker, and use #tweet4seat
Tickets received from the promotion expire after 40 days which shouldn’t be a problem given the site’s wide array of games available daily. More than that, winners need to keep in mind that only players who have made at least one deposit are eligible to claiming their bonus.
PokerStars’ New Year Series surpasses $13.5M guarantee
Online poker giant PokerStars is starting the year exceedingly well as its ongoing New Year Series blew already past its $13,500,000 festival guarantee after recording over 500k in entries over the past two weeks. Huge numbers have been reported for its completed tournaments with nearly a hundred games exceeding its prize pool guarantee. Its $3.30 New Year Series #36-L held last December 30th alone, tripled its $10K guarantee to a whopping $33,928 after close to 7,000 runners joined the festivities. Additionally, its largest field size stood at an impressive 21,062 entries, seen right on New Year’s Day for Event #41-L: $20.23 NLHE [New Year Special], $400K Gtd.
To date, the New Year Series is still ongoing with its three-level Main Events coming up on the 15th for $3.75 million in prizes to come.
- Main Events
- $109 Main Event Low — $1 million guaranteed
- $1050 Main Event Mid — $1.25 million guaranteed
- $5200 Main Event High — $1.5 million guaranteed
- Other Highlights
- $10,300 Super Tuesday High Roller – $650,000 guaranteed
- $5,200 Thursday Thrill – $500,000 guaranteed
- $55 buy-in Women’s event — $10,000 guaranteed
- $215 buy-in PLO Main Event — $200,000 guaranteed
