PokerWorks

The last Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) ended on May 17, and after a break for the World Series of Poker through the summer, the next one has been scheduled. FTOPS XIII will begin on August 5 with 25 events and more than $16 million in guarantees. That is just enough time for players to prepare and new players to sign up for their Full Tilt Poker accounts and get started with the round-the-clock satellites to gain entries.

The 13th installment of the FTOPS events promises to be one of the biggest yet. Records were set with FTOPS XII in May, as 46,312 players entered the tournaments and more than $18 million was distributed amongst them. Pocketownage420 was the winner of the main event, but players like Gavin Smith, Jason Mercier, Travis Rice, and Dutch Boyd all picked up their own victories alongside relative unknowns who found their way into the events via satellites and only a few dollars of their own money.

As with each FTOPS tournaments, there will be a MiniFTOPS right along with it, which will offer the same exact events at only 1/10th of the buy-in for the lower stakes players. And there will be a leaderboard to track all players’ cashes and wins as well as offer them extra prizes like a custom Full Tilt Poker avatar and prize package to every event in the FTOPS XIV series later in 2009. Each player who makes a final table in FTOPS XIII will receive a limited-edition FTOPS jacket, and each event winner will also be awarded a gold FTOPS jersey and gold jersey avatar for use on Full Tilt Poker.

The selection of tournaments will be as wide-ranging as ever, with knockout events interspersed with shootouts and turbos, and there will be another ever-popular two-day tournament with a $2 million prize pool. And 24 of the events will lead up to the highly anticipated main event with a guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million. Each event will be hosted by a Full Tilt Pro or member of Team Full Tilt; some of the names already attached to tournaments are Vitaly Lunkin, David Oppenheim, Roy Winston, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Lee Watkinson, and Erica Schoenberg.

It is also important to note that there is a charitable aspect to this FTOPS for the first time, as August 15 will be the first Ante Up for Africa benefit. The $100 part of the buy-in goes to the prize pool of the tournament, but the $20 entry fee will be donated directly to Ante Up for Africa. With a $100K guarantee on the tournament and the money going to a very worthy cause, the registration is sure to be high for the special event.

A rundown of the entire schedule, complete with guarantees listed in parentheses, is listed here:

Aug. 5    Event 1 - $200+16 NLHE 6-max ($1 million)
Aug. 6    Event 2 - $300+22 NLHE 4x shootout 6-max ($250K)
Aug. 6    Event 3 - $200+16 Omaha hi-lo ($200K)
Aug. 7    Event 4 - $200+16 NLHE 1-rebuy ($500K)
Aug. 7    Event 5 - $200+16 7-card stud ($100K)
Aug. 8    Event 6 - $500+35 PLO 6-max ($350K)
Aug. 8    Event 7 - $100+9 NLHE w/rebuys ($500K)
Aug. 9    Event 8 - $240+16 NLHE knockout 6-max ($750K)
Aug. 9    Event 9 - $500+35 NLHE heads-up ($500K)
Aug. 9    Event 10 - $300+22 NLHE ($1.5 million)
Aug. 10    Event 11 - $200+16 PLHE/PLO mix ($200K)
Aug. 10    Event 12 - $1000+60 NLHE ($1.5 million)
Aug. 11    Event 13 - $300+22 NLHE 3x shootout ($200K)
Aug. 11    Event 14 - $500+35 HORSE ($300K)
Aug. 11    Event 15 - $200+16 NLHE 6-max turbo ($500K)
Aug. 12    Event 16 - $240+16 PLO hi-lo knockout ($200K)
Aug. 12    Event 17 - $300+22 NLHE w/rebuys 6-max ($1 million)
Aug. 13    Event 18 - $200+16 PLO heads-up ($150K)
Aug. 13    Event 19 - $200+16 LHE 6-max ($150K)
Aug. 14    Event 20 - $200+16 NLHE 6-max ($400K)
Aug. 14    Event 21 - $300+22 Razz ($150K)
Aug. 15    Event 22 - $2500+120 NLHE 6-max 2-day ($2 million)
Aug. 15    Charity event - Ante Up For Africa benefit, $100+20 NLHE 6-max ($100K)
Aug. 15    Event 23 - $100+9 PLO w/rebuys ($350K)
Aug. 16    Event 24 - $120+9 NLHE knockout ($750K)
Aug. 16    Event 25 - $500+35 NLHE main event ($2.5 million)

With that information in hand and the knowledge that there are satellites running around the clock that will award seats into these events at only a small fraction of the cost of the buy-ins, it is time to sign up for that account. Download Full Tilt Poker and use the bonus code “PKRWORKS” to receive a 100% bonus on any deposit up to $600. By downloading here, new players are also qualified to enter weekly $500 PokerWorks freerolls.