Pro Poker League to feature $20k Main Event

The driving forces behind the professional poker players league that was announced last month, Annie Duke, Jeffrey Pollack, and Gavin Maloof, have released more details on the upcoming season of the poker tour slated to begin in August 2011.

Not surprisingly the tournaments for the still unnamed poker league will be played at the Maloof-owned Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, but there were a number of details that emerged regarding the tour including the full Season 1 schedule.

In the press release it was announced that each of the four tournament stops would have three separate tournaments: The $20k Main Event, a Charity Event, and a $1,500 Pro-Am event where the top nine finishers would receive entry into the Main Event. The Main Event will be rake-free, and in a statement Annie Duke implied there would be outside money added to the prize-pool.

The Pro-Am tournament will act basically as a satellite to the Main Event by allowing professional poker players, and amateurs, outside of the top 200 according to the league’s ranking system a chance to play in the tournaments. Regardless of the number of entrants the nine $20,000 seats will be deducted from the overall prize-pool.

The Main Events will be played over four days -so expect a very slow structure– and will also feature different formats including 6-Max and Heads-Up. They will be limited to around 200 players -plus the nine qualifiers from the Pro-Am. Regarding the tournaments Duke stated: “Because the Main Events have four or more days to play down to a winner from a start of approximately 200 players, we believe it will offer the best, most friendly structures for the skilled player out there. Great structures, no rake, and generous overlays are integral to our celebration of the best live tournament players in the world.”

Event #1: August 12^th - August 19^th

• Pro-Am Event: August 12^th to 15^th
• Charity Event: August 14^th
• League Main Event: August 16^th to 19^th

Event #2: September 30^th - October 7^th

• Pro-Am Event: September 30^th to October 3^rd
• Charity Event: October 2^nd
• League Main Event: October 4^th to 7^th

Event #3: December 1^st - December 10^th

• Pro-Am Event: December 1^st to 5^th
• Charity Event: December 4^th
• League Main Event: December 6^th to 10^th

Event #4: January 20^th - January 27^th

• Pro-Am Event: January 20^th to 23^rd
• Charity Event: January 22^nd
• League Main Event: January 24^th to 27^th

$1 million Freeroll Championship Event: January 29th to 30^th

• Invite only tournament for the top 27 players on the tour