A great comeback. From the 29th of January to the 5th of February, the 52nd edition of the Italian Poker Sport will be held at the King's Resort in Rozvadov.
This is one of the longest-running tournaments offered on the national scene and, for the past few years, has crossed national borders, landing in Europe's largest poker room.
That's not all, because the Italian Poker Sport, in its 50th edition held last year at the King's Resort in Rozvadov as well, was the tournament that broke the European record in terms of entries for a live poker event in a single location without the contribution of online flights.
This achievement also allowed CEO Antony Angeloni to step, for the first time, into Global Poker Awards 2024 nominees (the most prestigious accolade in the industry), as one of the most influential figures in the poker industry worldwide and, at IPS Italian Poker Sport, the nomination among the most important events.
The trophy from the 51st edition last August
IPS Festival
The Italian Poker Sport Festival takes place over 8 days, starting on Monday 29 January until the following Monday, 5 February, when the Final Day will be staged, with live streaming and commentary in Italian on the Eurorounders Youtube channel.
The Festival includes 9 qualifying Day1s, 4 satellites, and 6 Side Events for a total of €1,220,800 in guaranteed prize money.
In addition to the canonical events, there are some goodies including the Pot Limit Omaha event, the Ladies Event, the High Roller tournament, and a 15-minute Side Turbo level.
The final table of the 50th edition highlighting the record number of 5,166 entrants
The Main Event
IPS Main Event begins on Monday, the 29th of January, and foresees, as previously mentioned, 9 qualifying flights for a €380 buy-in, 6 of which in "Speed" format (with 30 minutes per level), 2 in "Normal" format (with 40 minutes per level) and 1 in "Turbo" format (with 15 minutes per level).
The "Speed" Day1s will take place from Monday to Saturday with a start time set at 18:00, the "Normal" ones on the other hand will only be available on Friday and Saturday (2 and 3 February) with a start at 11:00. The only "Turbo" flight, on the other hand, will take place on Sunday 4 February starting at 11:00 a.m. and will end just before the start of Day2 scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
The tournament will continue late into the night and the survivors will meet again on Monday 5 February for the final act, which will take place in the most prestigious gaming area of the King's Resort (the one next to the TV table) from 14:00 onwards.
The final table of the 50th edition, the one that has beaten the previous European record with 5166 entries
Recap
Monday 29 January - 6:00 pm - IPS Day1 A "Speed" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 30 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until 10th level
Tuesday 30 January - 6:00 pm - IPS Day1 B "Speed" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 30 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until the 10th level
Wednesday, 31 January - 6:00 pm- IPS Day1 C "Speed" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 30 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until the 10th level
Thursday, February 1 - 6:00 pm - IPS Day1 D "Speed" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 30 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until the 10th level
Friday, February 2 - 11:00 a.m. - IPS Day1 E "Normal" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 40 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until the 10th level
Saturday, February 3 - 11:00 a.m. - IPS Day1 G "Normal" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 40 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until the 10th level
Sunday 4 February - 11:00 a.m. - IPS Day1 I "Turbo" - €380 buy-in - Stack 50,000 - 15 minutes per level - max 2 re-entries available - late reg open until the 10th level
Monday 5 February - 2:00 p.m. - IPS Final Day - 60 minutes per level
Kooresh Shafaatian, IPS 51st Edition winner, celebrating the last showdown won
The Side Events
Starting on Thursday 1 February there will be at least one side event per day of play. It starts early at noon with the €115 Turbo Morning registration and €5,000 guaranteed prize pool with a cap of 117 individual players. Unlimited re-entry for the 6 late registration levels is available, with an initial stack of 10,000 chips, and 15 minutes per level.
On Friday 2 February instead, starting at 2:00 p.m., space will be given to the Pot Limit Omaha €350 entry and €20,000 guaranteed prize pool. Once again the cap is set at 117 physical entries, an initial stack of 40,000 chips, and 25-minute levels with the possibility of a maximum of two re-entries by the eighth level of play.
At 9:00 p.m., three hours after the start of the Day1 F "Speed", the €220 Turbo Bounty will take place (€50 of which will be dedicated to bounties) with a cap of 180 players, €10,000 guaranteed prize pool, 20,000 chip initial stack and 2 re-entries available for the first 10 levels of play. The blinds? 12 minutes per level.
On Saturday 3 February at 2:00 p.m., the Ladies Event with a cap of 117 players, €5,000 guaranteed prize pool, and €200 entry fee will be staged. Late registration is open for the first 8 levels of play and 20-minute blinds.
One of the most eagerly awaited sides of the Festival, the €1,100 buy-in High Roller tournament, will take place on Sunday 4 February. Cap set at 250 players, €50,000 guaranteed prize pool, an initial stack of 100,000 chips, unlimited re-entry until the eighth level, and 25-minute blinds, all in one day.
Finally, on Monday 5 February at 5:00 p.m., there is the IPS Closer, the €10,000 guaranteed turbo side with a cap of 180 players, 20,000 initial stack chips, €150 buy-in, unlimited re-entry until the end of the eighth level and 20-minute blinds.
Recap
Thursday, February 1 - 2:00 p.m. - IPS Turbo Morning (cap 117) - €5,000 GTD - buy-in €115 -
Friday, February 2 - 2:00 p.m. - IPS Pot Limit Omaha (cap 117) - €20,000 GTD - buy-in €350 -
- 9:00 p.m. - IPS Turbo Bounty (cap 180) - €10,000 GTD - buy-in €220 -
20,000 stack - max 2 re-entries - late reg until level 8 - 12-minute blinds
Saturday, February 3 - 14:00 - IPS Ladies Event (cap 117) - €5,000 GTD - buy-in €200 -
Sunday 4 February - 6:00 p.m. - IPS High Roller (cap 250) - €50,000 GTD - buy-in €1,100 -
Monday, February 5 - 5:00 p.m. - IPS Closer (cap 180) - €10,000 GTD - buy-in €150 -
Jakub Oliva, vincitore di IPS 50th Edition
The Satellites
As mentioned at the beginning, four qualifying satellites with a buy-in of 80 euros each will be available from Monday to Thursday starting at 3:00 p.m. It will be possible to register (or re-enter without limit) up to the eighth level of play.
Blinds are set at 15 minutes, a starting stack of 10,000 chips, and a registration cap of 117 physical players.
Practical bits of advice
Playing (and doing well) in a tournament such as the Italian Poker Sport, which at each edition scores thousands and thousands of entrants, cannot happen by merit alone: it takes (as in any poker tournament) a good dose of luck.
Apart from the will of Lady Luck, however, there are certainly some tips to follow to perform at your best, particularly in the most important game situations.
Try to qualify from the start, even with smaller fields - It may sound like a platitude but tournaments like the IPS are not won on Day 1. That's why, no matter how many chips you manage to cram into the bag, it's crucial to carry a stack into Day 2 rather than risk too much in an attempt to finish the day at the top of the count. That's why the early flights, notoriously smaller in field size than the weekend, can be a great way to secure a seat for the next Day. If you then want to try to dare a bit more, thanks to the stack choice formula, you can always try again with the knowledge that you already have a pass for the next step in your pocket.
Stress management - In such long tournaments, being able to maintain concentration at high levels during the crucial stages is almost more important than the technical aspect of the game, because it is precisely because of fatigue that even the most experienced players make the biggest mistakes. It is of capital importance, therefore, to be well rested because once you get to Day 2 there is no respite, even more so for those who manage to qualify through the last flight, the Sunday morning Turbo. As much as it is a game, it is not easy to give your best after dozens of consecutive hours spent at the tables, not to mention the possible extra pressure for those who happen to be at the feature table. Eating well and sleeping well is essential, in poker as in life.
Never give up - Measuring yourself against such a large field and seeing that the difference between your stack and that of the provisional chip leader is abysmal may discourage those unaccustomed to events of this magnitude. So much to underestimate in certain game situations, after perhaps hours and hours spent folding and putting the chips in the middle too lightly. Fortunately, history teaches us that, even with a handful of chips at your disposal (let's remember, for example, Dario Sammartino's 2nd place at the 2019 WSOP Main Event, where at the start of Day 7 he was with 8BB in position 104/105, or Giuliano Bendinelli's exploit at EPT Barcelona, where he won after being left with half a big blind), it is still possible to achieve a feat. A matter of heads mindset first, and then luck.
And now, in wishing you good luck, enjoy what promises to be another mind-boggling poker event, to all intents and purposes the most important tournament on the Made In Italy schedule! GL 🍀
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