Get Ready For SCOOP With the SCOOP Warm-Up Series on PokerStars

Knockout Action at a Low Price – $5.50 Tournaments

Players can compete in a range of buy-ins, starting at $2.20 and topping out at $5,200 with everything in between. The SCOOP Warm-Up has plenty of action at the $5.50 level, and with bumper prize pools of $20,000-$30,000, it is worth getting involved for that price. During the 16 days, the SCOOP Warm-Up PKO Micro Bounty Builder HR will run three times with a $30,000 guarantee prize pool, with $2.50 of each buy-in being put into the bounty prizepool.

This tournament starts at 5.30 p.m. GMT on Sunday, February 1st, and will also run at the same time on February 8th and February 15th; all are Sundays. Levels run for 10 minutes each, and players start with 100BB, equating to 25,000 chips. The starting bounty is worth $1.25, and players are allowed 5 re-entries across the 2-hour and 30-minute late registration period.

Outside of the Sunday editions, the weekday instalments will feature a generous $20,000 guarantee. The tournaments start at the same time and have the same structure. Despite the guarantee being shorter, there is a good chance it will be surpassed. You can get involved in the bounty action daily, except on Friday, when no SCOOP Warm-Up Events will run.

If you like your bounties bigger, consider playing the Big Knockout versions on February 5th and February 12th, as the starting bounty will be $1.84. The same structures and start time apply.

Mystery Bounty Tournaments Top Picks – $11 Tournaments

The Mystery Bounty format is clearly here to stay. Now a staple on schedules on sites across the internet, and at live stops, they come with bumper guarantees and a chance to pull more than first-place money from the Mystery Bounty briefcase.

There are two $11 Mystery Bounty tournaments with a $50,000 guarantee, running on February 4th and 11th at 6.30 p.m. GMT. Half the prize pool will go into the virtual envelopes, and half to the payout prize pool. Levels run for 8 minutes, and registration is available for 2 hours and 10 minutes. Mystery Bounties will become accessible when the field is in the money. Players are allowed 5 re-entries, which applies to all of the tournaments listed, and players will start with a stack worth 166 big blinds if playing from the beginning.

Fancy bigger Mystery Bounties? No problem. On February 7th and 14th at 8.30 p.m., there will be a 7-Max Turbo with a $40,000 guarantee, $30,000 of that total will be heading to the briefcase. Late registration closes after the first 1 hour and 30 minutes of play, and levels run for 5 minutes, other than the first, which runs for 30 minutes. Mystery Bounties can only be won in money.

Vanilla Tournaments

There is a good range of vanilla tournaments with generous structures. The Opener on February 1st comes with a $40,000 guarantee and 12-minute long levels throughout. The late registration period lasts for 3 hours and 5 minutes, giving players plenty of chance to play, whether that’s from the start or regging in the final moments. It kicks off the series at 1.30 p.m. GMT.

For those who like their levels even longer, The Marathon comes with a $25,000 guarantee on February 7th and 14th. The tournament gives players 12-minute-long levels. After registration closes, 2 hours and 40 minutes into play, the levels increase to 15 minutes in duration.

Six-Figure Prize Pools Available – $22 Tournaments

At the $22 level, the prize pools dramatically increase. The biggest of them all is found in the Mystery Bounty streets. The Mystery Sunday Special, which features a whopping guaranteed prize pool of $250,000. This 2-Day Event starts at 6.05 p.m. on February 8th, and will have a late registration period of 4 hours. The tournament kicks off with 15-minute levels up until Level 15. From Level 16, they’re 12 minutes long until Level 37. From then they are 15 minutes until the end of play. Day 1 breaks for play 7 hours and 50 minutes after the start of play, and Day 2 resumes at the same time the following day. Satellites have not been announced yet, but they will be plentiful in terms of volume and seats offered.

The StacKOsaurus has become a popular fixture in the higher stakes scene on PokerStars. Now, in the SCOOP Warm-Up, it will run thrice across the 16-day series at the $22 buy-in level with a tasty $100,000 guarantee. The StacKOsaurus starts at 3.30 p.m. GMT on February 1st, 8th and 15th with 12-minute-long levels and a 50,000 starting stack worth 166bb at the start of play. Bounties will be worth $5 each at the start of play, and registration will remain open for 3 hours and 30 minutes.

What’s Next?

Good luck to those who take part in the upcoming SCOOP Warm-Up. Satellites to the $11’s, $22’s and beyond have not yet been scheduled, but there will be plenty available when the time comes, and the series starts.

That’s all for now, folks. Until next time.