On PokerStars' global platform, a summertime favorite has returned. It's the "50/50" festival, meaning that it's a 50-tourney series, with each event costing $50 to enter. This week-long battle of the Grants -- that's a US $50 bill, for our international readers -- gets underway on Sunday, June 11, with the series running for eight days and concluding next Sunday, June 18.
The 50/50 schedule includes specially-priced editions of many of PokerStars' most prominent events, and overall, there's at least $3.5 million in prize money to be paid out. The series is dominated by hold'em tourneys, but a smattering of Omaha and eight-game mix has been added to the schedule as well.
Then there's the 50/50 main event. Given that every tourney has the same $50 price point, it seems that just about any of the 50 events could've been so honored. But no, online-poker tradition deems that a series' main event should be contested on the final weekend, and that remains true here. The June 18 50/50 main does carry the largest guarantee, however, with $350,000 in prize payouts already locked in place.
It's the latest in a strong run of early-summer series that major online-poker operators have put forth as an alternative to the 2023 WSOP and other live festivals in Las Vegas. While those live series are more internationally flavored than ever, the truth is that only a small percentage of poker players ever get to compete on the Vegas stage. That's where PokerStars' 50/50 and other sites' offerings come into play, helping offer players the world over a chance to get their poker fix this summer.
