Updated on 22 Feb 26 by
Barry carter
Poker Expert

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event to include a shot clock

Shot clocks, Big Blind Antes and re-entries in the Main, plus six Platinum Passes to be won next month in Monte Carlo.





ept table

The European Poker Tour returned last week in Sochi but the Monte Carlo event between April 24-May 4 may be one to watch, as PokerStars have announced a number of enhancements to the experience. 

Most notably the €5,300 Main Event will feature a shot clock from Day 2 onwards. Players will receive six 30-second time bank cards that they can use throughout the tournament to extend the regular 30-second shot clock. This is the first time ever that an EPT Main Event has featured a shot clock, so this is quite the change for the recently relaunched tour.  

27 of the 39 events (Including the Main Event and High Rollers) during the festival will also feature the Big Blind Ante format which is fast becoming the norm in 2018. The Main Event is also, once again, a re-entry after EPT Sochi was the first EPT Main Event that wasn't a freezeout. 

Six Platinum Passes to be won

pspc pass

Food and beverage options are also said to be improving as well as a seven day streaming schedule for the festival, but maybe the other big news is that six Platinum Passes will be up for grabs at this festival via the following routes:

  • EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Winner
  • EPT Monte Carlo Main Event – Day 2 drawing
  • EPT National Winner
  • EPT National – Day 2 drawing
  • Event 28 – PSPC live satellite with one Platinum Pass added
  • PokerStars TV Live Stream Giveaway

Do you like the idea of shot clocks and re-entries in the EPT Main Event? Let us know in the comments:


Poker Expert

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO. In 2025, he won the Global Poker Awards for Best Book and Twitter Personality of the Year.