Online Poker Press

The World Series of Poker is right around the corner and thousands of people will flock to Las Vegas for their chance to compete for event titles. For those that are coming to Vegas with a small bankroll it is essential to be smart about investments. Chris Furgason advises players not to spend more than 3% of their bankroll on any tournament. Using this model, if your bankroll is $10,000 then you should be maxing out at $300 tournaments. To buy straight into a WSOP $1,500 event you should have a bankroll that exceeds $50,000. Even with a $100,000 bankroll you could only afford to play in one $3,000 event or two $1,500 events before swaying away from this model. However, there are ways to compensate for a meager bankroll and still get a shot at playing during the series.
Satellites
The WSOP runs single table satellites around the clock. The buy-ins range depending on the event you are trying to get into and how many winners are paid. Typically there are one or two winners per satellite. These single table satellites are a great value for the money, as you only have to beat out a few people in order to get a seat into the event you want to play. With the tournament chips you win from these satellites you can buy into tournaments, other satellites, or you can sell them to other players.
There are also mega satellites which range from $330 to $1060 which are multi table satellites into the bigger events. Nightly $300 tournaments at 7 p.m. and $200 tournaments at 11 p.m. give players a chance to play tournaments more affordably as well.

Other Options
The WSOP provides a lot of hype, and poker players around the world are excited to take part in the experience. However, poker explodes everywhere in Las Vegas during the World Series. The Venetian holds a DeepStack tournament which offers low buy-ins, large fields, and great structure. Caesar’s Palace also has their Mega Stack series which is similar to the Venetian DeepStack. Binion’s and the Orleans also have affordable tournaments which get substantial turnouts for minimal buy-ins. These should be tournaments on every poker players agenda who is on a bankroll budget and is planning on being in Vegas during the series.

The Basics
Saving money on the basics like food and hotels can allow you to invest your money where it counts. Most hotels with poker rooms offer poker room rates which allow their guests to stay for a discount if they log in hours in their poker room. Each hotel has different criteria for their poker room rates, so call the hotel individually to find out their offers.
Unless you are a superhuman poker grinder, while you are in Las Vegas you will probably want to take a night to relax, drink, and see the sites. Drinks can be expensive if you aren’t gambling, but downtown Las Vegas is a great place to drink for cheap and still be entertained. Fremont Street has outside entertainment of bands, artists, and other street acts. It is located right next to Binion’s and the Golden Nugget which have their own poker rooms. It also has some of the cheapest drinks and food on the strip (no guarantee on the taste).