Mystery Bounties in five minutes

Before you play in the WSOP Mystery Millions event, check out these quick tips for one of the fastest growing formats in poker.

GGPoker are in the middle of hosting the World Series of Poker Online and one of the highlights is the Mystery Bounty event, of which Day 2 starts tomorrow.

$10 million is guaranteed in that event and one player will win a $1 million bounty. 

Yours truly may or may not have just completed a project on Mystery Bounty MTTs, so here is a very quick primer on them if you plan on playing that event:

Late registration strategy

The first piece of advice revolves around the timing of buying into the tournament. In most Mystery Bounty events, the bounties do not come into play until Phase 2. Starting the tournament closer to the bounty phase increases your chances of being around when the bounties become winnable, so max late regging is usually a good idea. 

Cover other players

To win bounties, you must ensure that you cover other players. As the bounty phase approaches, your priority should be to cover as many players at your table as possible. This may require taking risks to accumulate a large stack or passing profitable opportunities to maintain a chip lead.

If you find yourself short-stacked near the end of Phase 1, it might be a good time to take a gamble to cover people in Phase 2. 

Play cautiously when covered

When you are covered, especially when short-stacked, it is wise to avoid bluffing. Your opponents will be eager to push you all-in and less likely to fold. On the positive side, this allows you to make thinner value bets than usual.

Impact of the big bounty

With each small bounty won, the average bounty value increases because the big bounties are still in play. Once the big bounty is claimed, the average bounty value drops significantly. If all the big bounties have been won, you should treat the event more like a regular MTT. However, if the big bounties are still available, your primary goal should be to eliminate players.

That being said, be cautious. With thousands of players remaining, the likelihood of winning the biggest bounty is low. Play wider but prioritize survival. If you reach the final table and a bounty larger than the first prize is still up for grabs, you might consider taking a substantial risk to secure it.

The increased value of suited broadway hands

In Mystery Bounty tournaments, the value of suited broadway hands increases due to the prevalence of multiway pots where everyone is vying for bounties. This dynamic alters the hand rankings. Small pairs diminish in value because, in a multiway pot, you typically face at least four overcards. While hitting a set is an ideal outcome, most of the time you miss and must fold.

On the other hand, suited broadway hands such as KQs, KJs, and QJs gain value. These hands have the potential to make a straight or flush, they tend to be strong if they make a pair, they block strong hands like AK/AQ/KK/QQ/JJ, and occasionally, against extremely loose opponents, they may not even require improvement. Suited broadway hands are much more robust than small pairs.

How to get a potential bounty all-in

If you hold a strong hand and have your opponent covered in a pot, there's a simple trick you can employ to get them all-in by the river. Bet 10% of their stack size on the flop, which may involve overbetting. By doing this, you can follow up with a 2/3 pot bet on the turn, setting yourself up for a less-than-pot-sized shove on the river.

You can't time the bounty

Contrary to popular belief, you cannot influence when to pick the biggest ticket (other than by busting as many players as possible). There is no magic system involved. Whether you wait for a few bust-outs or draw it right away, it does not increase your likelihood of drawing that $100,000 ticket!

Win WSOP Online Tickets

The world's largest online poker room GGPoker is hosting the WSOP Online from August 20 until October 2.

The WSOP Online is a testament to GGPoker's commitment to bringing unparalleled poker experiences to players worldwide, with some of the many highlights the series is going to bring including:

• WSOP Online Main Event: $5,000 buy-in – $25M GTD
• 300 Gladiators of Poker Opener: $300 buy-in – $2.5M GTD
• $210 Mystery Millions: $210 buy-in – $10M GTD and $1M Top Bounty
• 500 Mini Main Event: $500 buy-in – $2.5M GTD
• $1,500 Millionaire Maker in Paradise: $1,500 buy-in - $5M GTD

Five weeks of Continental Raffles

As part of this year's WSOP Online, GGPoker is also running special Continental Freerolls with up to $100,000 in WSOP Paradise packages and cash game dollars up for grabs.

WSOP Online Continental Freerolls

Embracing the spirit of competition, we will join the continental action with our own set of special raffles amongst members of the PokerStrategy.com community, with a total of four remaining weekly raffles lined up from August 21 all the way until September 24—and WSOP Online tickets worth $2,140 given away!

To join these raffles, you will need a GGPoker account tracked through PokerStrategy.com and a deposit of at least $10 since August 1 is required.

That done, you can join four remaining weekly raffle threads we're opening up sequently starting August 21 and leave your prediction for the Continental region the winner of that week's Sunday WSOP Online highlight will be coming from—Americas, Europe, the Mediterranean, or Asia Pacific.

Example: If you think a player from Europe will win the $1,500 MONSTER STACK of the WSOP Online, simply post "Europe" in the prediction thread.

Amongst anyone slotting in a correct prediction until Saturday a day ahead of the target tourney, we will then raffle away tickets for the WSOP Online, including seats in the $400 COLOSSUS, the $525 Superstack Turbo etc.

Make sure to tune in again this Monday, when we're opening up the first predicition thread in our english GGPoker forum.

If you want to join GGPoker, you can claim their welcome bonus today and earn even more rewards with their Honeymoon for Newcomers promotion!