The Asia Pacific Poker Tour

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) is run by PokerStars.com -- if you ask me, these guys are geniuses. Their website is a competition killer, and now they've opened up a huge new market. Look at the explosion in China's economy alone, and you'll get an idea of how much there is to be mined from Asia and the Pacific islands. In just its second season, the Asia Pacific Poker tour has expanded its number of tournaments and amounts of prize winnings. Any poker event still gaining momentum is a succesful one. Remember the Professional Poker Tour? I didn't think so.

APPT Event Venues

The APPT has held events in the Phillipines, Australia, South Korea, and on some of the most beautiful Pacific Ocean islands there are. Quality poker tours, as a rule, visit venues featuring great natural beauty. Imagine a poker tour stopping in POst, Texas or your local Hooters. Asia and the Pacific islands claim many of the world's most visited spots featuring the simply beauty of the Eart: from Kashmir in the tour's extreme northwest to the Great Barrier Reef, close enough to this year's event in Auckland, New Zealand to warrant its own trip. Clearly, PokerStars.com knows how to cash in on undiscovered country.

APPT 2007 Winner

Aussie Grant Levy took the top APPT prize in the 2007 final table in Sydney -- the equivalent of 850,000 US dollars. Currently ranked number one on the tour, Levy is probably the safe pick for this year's final event. After all, he has home field advantage. Other major winners on the tour have included Dinh Le of Vietnam and none other than Joe Hachem.

Asia Pacific Poker Tour Champions

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour holds an annual Tournament of Champions, presumably to raise the buzz level a notch or two. In last season's event, Hachem won over names like Moneymaker, Nguyen, and Raymer, not to mention all other of the APPT's champions. Had one of the APPT's obscure champions taken out a virtual Who's Who lineup of great poker players, you can imagine the excitement level going through the roof. Perhaps this year a previously unknown player from Singapore or New Zealand will wipe the floor with the American superstars, and the APPT will blow through the roof. Surely, this is what PokerStars.com is hoping for. At least to some degree.

How to Qualify for the APPT

The tour itself is simple -- a set number of events (this year five) followed by a final event. This final event is then bolstered by the aforementioned Tournament of Champions. Now you want to know -- a lucrative poker tour in some of the world's most beautiful cities? How do I qualify for the APPT

As it turns out, the easiest way to win a seat at an APPT event is to qualify online through PokerStars.com. Surprise, surprise, the sponsor website wants you to play in by their rules. It is easy enough to become a member -- check out PokerStars.com if you aren't already playing online. You could pick worse online poker venues to play.

PokerStars APPT Satellites

PokerStars will run satellite tournaments for each APPT event, giving players the chance to win prize packages that include tournament buy-ins, hotel accommodations and they'll throw you a bit of money for your expenses. Almost like your dad sending you off to college.

Players who are members of PokerStars and who would like to register in advance for an APPT event (and thus be guaranteed a seat) should e-mail registrations@pokerstars.net to receive instructions on sending their payment by wire transfer or bank draft. This is good info, as I had to dig a bit to find it out myself. Players may purchase a main event entry, or an accommodation package, depending on these packages availability.

The deadline for advance payment by wire transfer or bank draft is generally two weeks before any APPT event. Please note that for the events in Macau, Auckland and Sydney, players can also buy in directly on-site at the casino. This may be your last resort, though . . . I personally don't feel safe carrying that much American money around the world with me.

Also depending on the buy-in's availability, PokerStars.com players may buy in to APPT events using their "W$". Requests for said W$ direct buy-ins must be submitted to the aforementioned registrations@pokerstars.net and must be received before the final online qualifying tournament on PokerStars, while PokerStars still has seats to sell. To avoid disappointment, please notify PokerStars as soon as possible if you want to buy-in directly. Seriously, the worst feeling in the world is KNOWING you're going to blow a tour event out of the water and missing out on a deadline. Reading member comments at the website, PokerStars takes care of their buy-in customers, supplying lots of good gear to take with them -- player gear bags, hats, etc.

The Asia Pacific Poker tour has just taken off -- barely midway through their second season. The competition is strong, including superstar players from the West as well as relatively unknown players from Asia. Follow this tour if you're a fan of offbeat poker tours -- or a fan of underdogs. To date, no major name has won an Asia Pacific Poker tour event, not including the Tournament of Champions event.

See also: