CoinPoker has announced The One, a $5 million guaranteed tournament with a $250 buy-in, running this October. First place is worth at least $1 million, and there are ways in from as little as $0.10.
It is a two-day tournament. Day 1 flights run three times a day from October 4 to 11, with two more on the 12th, and Day 2 plays out later that evening. Qualifying opens on September 28.
CoinPoker is also giving the buy-in back. Get through a Day 1 flight and your $250 is refunded in cash, so a seat in a $5 million tournament ends up costing nothing.
What The One Pays
| Guaranteed prize pool | $5,000,000 |
| First prize | At least $1,000,000 |
| Buy-in | $250 |
| Day 1 flights | 26, October 4 to 12 |
| Starting stack | 125,000 chips, 125 big blinds |
| Qualifying opens | September 28 |
Flights from October 4 to 11 run at 13:30, 16:30 and 19:30 UTC, with ten-minute levels and two and a half hours of late registration. The two on October 12 are turbos with five-minute levels. This is the first edition, and CoinPoker plans to run it every year.
Your $250 Comes Back
Every Day 1 flight that gets you to Day 2 has its buy-in refunded in cash. CoinPoker calls it Flight Buy-In-Back.
You can enter as many flights as you like, and only your biggest stack carries over. If you get through more than once, the extra one pays the Day 2 minimum cash prize in full instead of a second seat. CoinPoker's own example puts that at $700.
Against a field that needs 20,000 entries to cover the guarantee, getting through twice means you have collected a minimum cash before Day 2 has dealt a card.
Getting In From $0.10
| Route | Entry price |
|---|---|
| Freerolls | Free |
| Step satellites | From $0.10 |
| Direct satellites | From $5.50 |
| Direct buy-in | $250 |
A satellite wins you a seat in a Day 1 flight. Steps start at $0.10 and direct satellites at $5.50, and freerolls cost nothing. That puts a $5 million tournament in reach of a bankroll that could never put up $250.
Two more routes are free. From October 4 to 11, the three players who re-enter the most that day each win a $250 ticket, and the standings reset at midnight UTC so the same player can win on several days. CoinPoker's Discord also votes for a Discord Hero every month, and September's winner gets a ticket plus a coaching session.
New accounts get a 150% welcome bonus up to $2,000 on a $10 deposit, and 3-Bet Club membership adds tournament discounts, rewards boosts and action multipliers. Qualifying is open at CoinPoker from September 28.
Should You Enter More Than Once?
Once you are through to Day 2, another entry costs $250 and pays the minimum cash prize if it gets through as well. Whether that is worth doing depends on how often you get through.
| Day 2 minimum cash | How often you need to get through |
|---|---|
| $400 | 62.5% |
| $450 | 55.6% |
| $500 | 50.0% |
| $600 | 41.7% |
| $700 | 35.7% |
| $800 | 31.3% |
| $1,000 | 25.0% |
CoinPoker has not said what the minimum cash prize will be. The $700 in its example asks you to get through better than one flight in three, and Day 1 flights do not send anywhere near that share of their field to Day 2. For most players, one entry is the right number.
A bigger second stack replaces your first, so a second run through is worth a little more than the cash alone.
Satellites or the Direct Buy-In?
A satellite wins you an entry to a Day 1 flight rather than $250 in cash. Get through on a satellite ticket and there is no buy-in sitting there to refund, so the refund goes to players who paid the $250 themselves.
A $5.50 satellite has to award one seat for every 45.5 players to be worth its face value, and face value here is the same $250 the direct buy-in costs. Both routes buy the same seat, and only one of them gives the money back.
| How often you get through | Direct buy-in | Via satellite |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $2,250 | $2,500 |
| 12% | $1,833 | $2,083 |
| 15% | $1,417 | $1,667 |
| 20% | $1,000 | $1,250 |
| 25% | $750 | $1,000 |
The direct buy-in comes out $250 cheaper per seat whatever your strike rate, because $250 is exactly what the refund is worth. The satellite ladder gives you a cheaper way to take a shot. Ten cents is a loss you can absorb, and $250 might not be.
Will It Overlay?
Covering $5 million takes 20,000 entries at a clean $250, or 22,223 if a 10% fee comes off first. Across 26 flights that is 769 to 855 players a flight.
The biggest guarantee CoinPoker has run before this was the $3 million GOPC Main Event, which needed 5,661 entries at $530. Unlimited re-entry across 26 flights makes 20,000 more reachable than it sounds, since it counts entries rather than players. If the field does fall short, CoinPoker makes up the difference, and that money goes to everyone who entered.
How to Play It
Pick a Day 1 flight you can sit through the late registration window and enter it once. Get through and the $250 comes back, so the seat is free. Use satellites and freerolls to take extra shots without spending more, and treat a second qualification as a bonus if it lands rather than something worth chasing at $250 a go.
Gambling involves risk. Play with money you can afford to lose, set a deposit limit before you start, and stop when you hit it. 18+.
