There are many different ways to play online poker for real money, but if you want to bag the biggest score possible, there’s only one way to do it: Play the main event at one of Ignition Poker’s big annual festivals. With over 150 tournaments on this year’s schedule, over $10 million in guaranteed prizes is up for grabs. That’s more tournaments and more prize money than last year’s record-breaking GSPO – twice as much money, in fact.
Our latest guide will show you how to deposit and play now at Ignition Poker, with some added tips for how to get the most value from of your GSPO experience.
What is the GSPO?
The Golden Spade Poker Open is the biggest of the annual poker festivals at Ignition. First launched in 2013, the GSPO has grown bigger every year, drawing more and more players from all walks of life. Whether you’re just learning how to play online poker, or you’re an experienced pro (like Ali Imsirovic, former winner of the $200K Guaranteed Sunday Event), there’s a tournament waiting for you on this year’s GSPO schedule.
GSPO 8 kicked off on October 17 with the first of 166 tournaments, up from 140 at last year’s festival. No-Limit Texas Hold’em (NLHE) is still the bread-and-butter of online poker, but you’ll find Omaha events on the GSPO calendar too. You’ll also find thousands of players from across the world joining the fun on the PaiWangLuo network. And of course, it all leads up to the big one, the $500K Guaranteed Main Event.
How to Get into the GSPO Main Event
To play in the Golden Spade Poker Open, you’ll need to open your free account at Ignition Poker if you haven’t already. Once you’re approved, either download our industry-leading poker client to your desktop, or log in directly to our mobile site to play on your tablet or smartphone. Get your feet wet by trying some of our Play Money games, then make your first deposit at Ignition – our FAQ and Help guides will show you how to deposit with Crypto, the fastest and most secure way to move money online. Pro tip: Don’t forget to collect your Welcome Bonus when you sign up.
There are two different ways to lock down your seat at the GSPO Main Event. You can buy in directly for $450 (including the $25 entry fee), or you can win your seat through one of our satellite tournaments. Satellites offer great value for your poker dollar; just remember to tweak your tournament strategy, and be willing to fold once you’ve collected more than enough chips to earn your seat.
Remaining Prizes to Be Won
There’s a lot more to the Golden Spade Poker Open than just the Main Event. Some very big prizes have already been awarded; the $325 NLHE Anniversary tournament on October 18 had a massive $208,000 in guaranteed prize money to be won, and we’ve already had four $150K Guaranteed tourneys, with five more yet to come as we go to press. Don’t forget, these are guaranteed minimums we’re talking about here. With so many players joining in, these GSPO tournaments regularly break through the guarantees and generate even bigger prize pools.
Generally speaking, the larger the buy-in for any one event, the larger the prize pool will be. The Main Event is the largest tournament of them all, but you’ll also find great value in playing smaller events like the $55 PLO Niner on November 4, which has a $9,999 guarantee. Smaller events, especially the non-NLHE tournaments, tend to have fewer players in the field, giving you a better chance of finishing in the money. Try mixing in a variety of GSPO tournaments across a range of buy-ins to maximize your returns and your enjoyment at the tables.
How to Join Other GSPO Tournaments
The procedure for entering the other tournaments on the GSPO 8 calendar is the same as it is for buying in directly to the Main Event. Simply log in to the Ignition Poker lobby, open the Tournament schedule, and choose your desired event from the list. Among the more popular tournaments on the calendar are the $109 NLHE Mini Main Event ($200K guaranteed), which will be played on November 15 alongside the Main Event, and the $11 Super Low Roller ($15K Gtd), anchoring the last day of the festival on November 18.
In addition to buying in directly, some of these tournaments (like the Mini Main Event) also have satellites running, allowing you to qualify for as little as $1. You’re allowed to play up to 15 tournament tables at the same time when you play at Ignition Poker, so if you’re used to multi-tabling, you can enter all the remaining GSPO tournaments if you like. If you haven’t tried multi-tabling yet, tournament poker is the easiest way to do it; start with two tables, make sure you’re comfortable, then add a third table, then a fourth if you can handle it, and so on.
For even more strategy tips for tackling this year’s Golden Spade Poker Open, consult our treasure trove of useful articles here at Ignition Poker – no matter what level of player you are, you should find something that can help you improve your performance. Then it’s time to hit the felt. Best of luck to all our GSPO players.