PokerStars welcomes the inaugural Blowout Series this month, which promises the most action on the site this side of WCOOP and SCOOP. In all, there is more than $65 million guaranteed across 268 tournaments, squeezed into a little over three weeks. Most events come at three price points, so players of all levels can join in.

You can read all about the tournament series in our announcement post, and check the full schedule on the schedule page. But if you’re pushed for time (that Christmas shopping won’t buy itself) here are the highlights.

THE BIG BLOWOUTS!

No fewer than four tournaments during the Blowout Series have guarantees of $5 million. It’s not for nothing they’re known as “The Big Blowout!”, with the exclamation point mandatory. These events take place on the four Sundays of the series (December 27 and January 3, 10 & 17) and have escalating buy-ins, starting at $109, moving through $215 and $530, before hitting $1,050. There will, of course, be tons of satellites to get you in to all of them on the cheap. The final tables will be streamed live on PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels.

Dec 27, 1.05pm ET: The Big Blowout! – $109 NLHE 8-Max, $5 million Gtd
Jan 3, 1.05pm ET: The Big Blowout! – $215 NLHE 8-Max, $5 million Gtd
Jan 10, 1.05pm ET: The Big Blowout! – $530 NLHE 8-Max, $5 million Gtd
Jan 17, 1.05pm ET: The Big Blowout! – $1,050 NLHE 8-Max, $5 million Gtd

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MORE ABOUT THE BLOWOUT SERIES:
ANNOUNCEMENT | SCHEDULE & RESULTS | ALL BLOG REPORTS

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THE HYPER-TURBOS

Christmas and New Year are busy, even in this strange year, which means you may be on the lookout for tournaments that get done quickly. Of Blowout Series’ 268 tournaments, 201 of them wrap within one day, and 30 of them are hyper-turbos. That means you’ll only need a couple of hours to get things done. As ever, these tournaments at all price points so pick your level and get playing.

Event 15: NLHE 6-Max Hyper-Turbo PKO (Buy-ins: $2.20, $22, $215)
Event 19: NLHE 8-Max Hyper-Turbo (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 23: NLHE 6-Max Hyper-Turbo PKO (Buy-ins: $2.20, $22, $215)
Event 35: NLHE 6-Max Hyper-Turbo PKO (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 42: NLHE 6-Max Hyper-Turbo PKO (Buy-ins: $2.20, $22, $215)
Event 47: NLHE 8-Max Hyper-Turbo (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 71: NLHE 8-Max Hyper-Turbo (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 76: NLHE 7-Max Hyper-Turbo PKO (Buy-ins: $2.20, $22, $215)
Event 85: NLHE 8-Max Hyper-Turbo (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 88: NLHE 6-Max Hyper-Turbo Series Wrap-Up (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)

THE BIGGEST GUARANTEES

It’s all about the value in Blowout Series, and though none of the “regular” events can come close to the Big Blowout!s for guaranteed prize-pools, there are four other events with seven figures guaranteed, including the spectacular New Year’s Bash. What’s so spectacular? Well, there’s $2 million on the table already — for a tournament whose buy-in is only $11. That’s a guarantee of nearly 182,000 times the buy-in.

Top guarantees (gross)

$2 million – Event 17-L: $11 NLHE 8-Max, New Year’s Bash
$1 million – Event 02-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max, High Roller
$1 million – Event 54-H: $10,300 NLHE 8-Max, High Roller
$1 million – Event 86-H: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max, PKO, Series Saver
$750,000 – Event 26-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max, PKO, High Roller

Top guarantees (in comparison with buy-in)

$11 buy-in, $2m Gtd – Event 17-L NLHE 8-Max, New Year’s Bash
$109 buy-in, $5m Gtd – Dec 27 Big Blowout!
$215 buy-in, $5m Gtd – Jan 3 Big Blowout!
$2.20 buy-in, $50K Gtd – Event 84-L: NLHE 8-Max Turbo PKO
$11 buy-in, $200K Gtd – Event 49-L: NLHE 8-Max PKO, Mini Saturday KO SE
$5.50 buy-in, $100K Gtd – Event 29-L: NLHE PKO
$2.20 buy-in $40K Gtd – Event 03-L: NLHE 8-Max, Turbo, PKO

THE MIXED GAMES

In truth, the Blowout Series is a hold’em heavy affair. The PokerStars authorities know what the customers like. However it’s not exclusively two-card chicken, with a decent number of other games getting a look in. Here’s a glance at the all the non hold’em events, which also cater to players of all levels.

Omaha
Event 1: PLO 6-Max (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 9: NLO8 8-Max (Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050)
Event 12: PLO 6-Max (Buy-ins: $2.20, $22, $215)
Event 34: 5-Card PLO 6-Max (Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050)
Event 43: PLO 6-Max PKO (Buy-ins: $2.20, $22, $215)
Event 50: PLO 6-Max High Roller (Buy-ins: $55, $530, $5,200)
Event 65: PLO8 8-Max (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 72: PLO 6-Max (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 83: PLO 6-Max (Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050)

Others
Event 22: 8-Game (Buy-ins: $5.50, $55, $530)
Event 62: 8-Game (Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050)
Event 69: HORSE (Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050)
Event 79: 6+ Hold’em (Buy-ins: $11, $109, $1,050)

THE HIGH ROLLERS

They will attract the smallest fields but demand the most column inches. It’s always the way for High Roller events, to which flock the biggest names in the game. The Blowout Series has 44 events with a buy-in of $1K or above, including five that will cost more than $5K — around the entry point of an average EPT Main. Here are the five events with the biggest price tag:

Event 54-H: $10,300 NLHE 8-Max, High Roller, $1M Gtd
Event 02-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max, High Roller, $1M Gtd
Event 26-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max, PKO, High Roller, $750K Gtd
Event 36-H: $5,200 NLHE 6-Max, High Roller, $500K Gtd
Event 50-H: $5,200 PLO 6-Max, High Roller, $400K Gtd

Again, check the full schedule on the schedule page, and look in the client for details of satellites. They will be running almost continually. Good luck at the tables.

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