Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament

Online Poker

Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament

Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament is a series of no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments to determine who is the greatest superstar of poker. The first season is available on NTSC DVD.

Crew

The first series was hosted by Chris Rose, with support from poker author Michael Konik and poker professional Mark Gregorich. Mark Gregorich left the show at the end of the first season.

The first series grand final was hosted by Matt Vasgersian, with support from poker professional Erick Lindgren. Backstage interviews were conducted by poker player Evelyn Ng.

Structure

Season 1

The tournament was split into two series, with each player's finishing position in the series final determining their starting chip count in the grand final.

Similarly, the finishing position in two preliminary rounds per series determined the starting chip positions of each player in both series finals.

The Grand Final winner received $1,000,000. The payouts for the other entrants from the $3,200,000 prize pool were unclear in the broadcast. However, Phil Ivey has said on Full Tilt that he walked away with about $400,000, and as such broke even.

In the first two rounds of each series players start with 100,000 in chips. Their finish in each of these rounds deterimined their starting chips for the final round of the series as follows:

Finish

250,000
150,000
112,000
88,000
72,000
56,000
40,000
32,000

Series 1 - Round 1 finish + Round 2 finish = Starting chips for Series 1 Final

Series 2 uses the same format. Finishes in each series final are then used to determine the Grand Final starting chip count as follows:

Finish - Finals

500,000
300,000
224,000
176,000
144,000
112,000
80,000
64,000

Series 1 - Final finish + Series 2 - Final finish = Starting chips for grand finale.

Season 2

Blind Structure

The blinds increased every 12 minutes.

Qualifying Rounds

The structure was changed to a points-based system.

Six players competed in each tournament, with points being allocated as follows:

Winner: 10 points
Runner-Up: 7 points
3rd place: 5 points
4th place: 3 points
5th place: 1 point
6th place: 0 points

Each player played six preliminary tournaments. At the end of this, the points were tallied and the 16 players with the most points progressed to the next round.

Final 16

The top 16 were then split into 4 pools of players (see above.)

Players in the final 16 started with 25,000 chips for every point earned up to then.

Each pool had two matches, with points being allocated as follows:

Winner: 10 points
Runner-Up: 7 points
3rd place: 4 points
4th place: 0 points

The points were cumulated from those 2 matches, and the players with the highest points then progressed to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-Finals

The quarter-finals saw 2 heats with 4 players in each, again with the top 2 progressing, this time to the semi-finals.

Players in the quarter-finals started with 50,000 chips for every point earned up to then.

Semi-Finals

Both the semi-finals and finals were played in best two out of three heads-up matches.

Time Limit Rule

A time limit was suggested by Barry Greenstein and added to the show. Players had to act on their hand within 30 seconds. If the decision was not made during that period of time, the player at fault was charged one small blind then, and for every 10 seconds thereafter. The collected penalties were added to the next pot. The time limit was criticised by several players, particularly Kathy Liebert, as when facing a raise the clock is already on before players know how much it will cost to call the previous player's raise.

Payouts

The payouts were as follows:

Elimination Match Winners: $10,000
Playoff Match Winners: $15,000
Quarterfinal 2nd, 3rd, 4th: $15,000
Quarterfinal Winners: $30,000
Semi-Final Runner-Ups: $30,000
Semi-Final Winners: $50,000
Final Runner-Up: $140,000
Champion: $400,000

In total, the prize pool was $1,210,000. As the entry was $40,000 per player, this means that an extra $250,000 was added to the prize pool.

Trivia

General

The show has been greatly criticised for the lack of European players invited to attend.

Season 1

Chip Reese suffered an incredible number of bad beats throughout the tournament, that amazed both the players and the commentators.
In the Grand Final, Johnny Chan came back from $20,000 chips out of $3,200,000 in play to take second place.
Gus Hansen eliminated all seven opponents in the Grand Final.
The $400,000 entry fee is the highest in poker history.

Season 2

According to an article by Daniel Negreanu, both he and John Juanda were invited to play in season 2, but backed out as "things got really nutty with the negotiations." Negreanu would later get involved in season 3.

External links