What makes a good poker satellite package?

Other than the chance to play for big money, what should you look for in an online satellite to a live event to make it a worthwhile trip?

There are lots of reasons to play online satellites to live events, most notably the chance to play in a tournament outside of your bankroll for a huge prize pool, without the pressure of the buy-in. However, for most players that is most satellites, so beyond the big money element, what should those of you hoping to qualify for some live events be looking for in a satellite package?

Guaranteed seats

This should not be an issue with most online operators but a good value satellite package will guarantee a reasonable number of packages in their direct qualifiers. 

Live event satellites probably have more overlays than most online tournaments and the overlay arguably benefits the most players. In a regular MTT you usually have to still make the top 10-15% of players to benefit from the extra equity in an overlaid tournament, but in a satellite because all the prizes of equal value, rather than getting more money than expected, more players get seats. 

For example if a $215 qualifier for a $2,000 package guarantees 10 seats (so it needs 100 players) but only 50 players turn up, one in five players will win a package rather than one in ten. 

Good location and activities

The other benefit of qualifying for a big live event is that even if you miss the money, you still have a holiday experience. So with that in mind it is probably the best use of your time to pick events in locations you have always wanted to go to. 

This may seem obvious but people do mess up the other way around, which is qualifying for events in the middle of nowhere then being stuck somewhere boring when they bust Day 1. I won't say the place, but I bust a Day 1 of an event in a small town in another country where there was nothing to do and nothing to see, and I was stuck there for two more days. It sucked. 

The best packages tend to have activities put on by the online poker room for those of you who bust early. In fact, generally speaking it is better qualifying for events with the lead sponsor (rather than a small partner) because they tend to invest more in the player experience away from the tables. 

Side event buy-ins

This is a massive and largely overlooked factor by the industry. The reason I wrote this piece was because I saw that the MPN Tour included €110 side event buy-ins as part of their packages. 

I've already written that being bored and stuck in a strange place really sucks when you bust Day 1 but your flight home is not for another two days, and also obviously that most players are not bankrolled for these events (hence playing the satellite). 

Including side event buy-ins is a simple way to remedy that and make it a fun experience even if you bust Day 1. 

Satellite only promotions

A great reason to qualify via a satellite, even if you can afford the buy-in, are the added value promotions for satellite players. 

They have included satellite leaderboards previously but the most common one is a 'last longer' leaderboard between the satellite players, meaning a min cash could still lead to a big payout for the highest ranked qualifier. 

Lots of operators do this but partypoker is probably the King for this type of promotion, for example Alex Foxen won $100,000 extra on top of his final table finish at UK MILLIONS for being the last satellite qualifier standing. 

Generous expenses

Finally, it's important to look at the travel, hotel and spending money expenses and doing some home work to see if they match what you think the trip will cost. Often the hotel is pre picked and paid for, so you can go direct to that hotel's website and compare the prices. 

How much a trip costs is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and if you are in the card room most of the time then you can usually expect your spending money requirements to be lower than a regular holiday. 

Some events put on seat only satellites with no expenses, these are obviously only ideal for locals and/or players who were going to attend the event regardless. The benefit being that they are much easier to win a seat for. 

What do you look for in a satellite package? Let us know in the comments: