"I make half my annual income in SCOOP/WCOOP satellites" - George Lind
Big tournament series like SCOOP are not just about the large field MTTs. PokerStars Pro George Lind explains they are also the best time to grind the hyper-turbo satellites.
"SCOOP is the best time to grind hyper-turbo satellites"
PokerStrategy.com: So SCOOP is a big time for a satellite and mixed game specalist like yourself, what is your schedule?
George Lind: I play pretty much every day from the time the satellites start until the series is over.
This is by far my most profitable time of the year so my plan every year is just to grind like crazy for four weeks during SCOOP and WCOOP and then just play two or three days a week the rest of the year.
PokerStrategy.com: Is SCOOP and WCOOP the best time to grind hyper-turbo satellites?
George Lind: Yeah, the stakes are higher and the games go way more than they do the rest of the year. Most years I make well over half my income just during SCOOP and WCOOP.
PokerStrategy.com: Are they notably softer during this time?
George Lind: I would say they are a little softer but not that much. The biggest difference is that the volume of games is a lot higher.
PokerStrategy.com: Is your priority the satellites or the series? Should a player aiming for SuperNova Elite commit to playing satellites at this time instead of taking a shot at the series?
George Lind: My priority in the past has been both, but this year I plan on focusing on the satellites mostly and just playing the tourneys that I feel like playing, instead of going for leaderboards and stuff like that.
The satellites are a great way for someone to make Supernova Elite just because you can get so much volume in and get a lot of VPPs in a short amount of time. But you should make sure you can actually beat the games first, because the swings can be pretty ridiculous at times.
"You can play straightforward in low SCOOP events"
PokerStrategy.com: With a series like a WCOOP you tend to be up against the same calibre of opponent. With SCOOP its low stakes, mid stakes and high stakes. Is it hard to manage the three different opponent types at the same time?
George Lind: Yeah, absolutely. The low buy-in SCOOP events are different than the higher buy-ins.
In the lower buy-ins you can just play your hands a lot more straightforward and get value and not really think about much beyond that, while in the higher stakes you really have to think about what they are thinking about and be conscious of your table image and stuff like that.
PokerStrategy.com: Which is your favourite SCOOP event?
George Lind: My favourite is probably the Stud 8-or-better only because I've done really well in it in the past. I got second in the high buy-in one year and got a first and a third in the low buy-in in other years.
"The average high SCOOP is tougher than the same priced WSOP"
PokerStrategy.com: Are you going for any leaderboard type bets/challenges this year?
George Lind: No, I'll probably only play half of the events at most this year. My plan is to concentrate more on the satellites.
Those are my real money-maker and it can be overwhelming to mix a lot of tourneys and a lot of satellites at the same time.
PokerStrategy.com: Are you playing many mixed game events, and is this a good way to prep for the WSOP?
George Lind: Yeah I like the mixed game events better than playing no-limit all the time. I'm actually not going to the WSOP this year, but yeah, I guess it's a good way to prepare. But it's not like I forget how to play a game even if I haven't played it in a while. It's kind of like riding a bike.
PokerStrategy.com: How tough is the high stakes SCOOP events compared to the EPT/WSOP level events?
George Lind: I think the average high stakes SCOOP event has a much tougher field than a comparably-priced WSOP event. Pretty much anything under $2,500 at the WSOP is really soft, while pretty much every high stakes SCOOP tourney is going to be filled with a lot of good players.
PokerStrategy.com: Thanks George, good luck with SCOOP.
The 
PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker 2014 runs from May 04 - 18 and is once again set to be one of the richest tournament festivals of the year, with $40 million guaranteed across 135 tournaments.
You can view the full schedule in our forum thread.
SCOOP splits each event into Low, Medium and High stakes - for example, the first event (No-Limit Hold'em 6-max) on May 04 has three tournaments; the respective buy-ins are $27, $215 and $2,100.
For more information including the full SCOOP 2014 schedule, or any questions you might have, please see our dedicated forum thread:
Forum: Spring Championship of Online Poker 2014 See more of our recent interviews with the biggest names in poker
 Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. He has been working in the poker industry for nine years and in 2013 won the APAT Award for Best Poker Media Provider. You can learn more about his work here.
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