It appears the tournament scene in Iowa is beginning to ramp up for the year.
The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs will host a World Series of Poker Circuit event April 10-21.
This WSOPC is the big event of the year in Iowa. There will be more than 30 events leading up to the $1,675 main event. Most of these are hold’em, but there are a few Omaha events and even a rare HORSE event if you like mixed games. (See the adjacent ad for more info.) The Horseshoe is one of my favorite rooms in Iowa.
Poker room manager Andrew Brock and his crew will make you feel welcome. If you haven’t played at the Horseshoe, please drop by to see what I mean. If cash games are more to your liking, the Horseshoe offers some of the biggest in the state with its unique max buy-in rule. You can buy in for up to 75 percent of the big stack at the table. In the evening, this can be significant. My biggest pots won in NLHE and PLO have all come at the Horseshoe.
RIVERSIDE: There will be seven events at the eight annual Riverside Poker Challenge Series (April 9-13). These are all $125 entry, except the main event, which is $375.
In addition to the regular hold’em events, there will be an Omaha/8, a pot-limit HO game, and an ante-only NLHE game.
Main-event satellites will run with buy-ins as affordable as $40. With events like these, it’s easy to see why Riverside is considered the best tournament location in eastern Iowa.
PRAIRIE MEADOWS: Once a month, the poker room is running satellites for the $10K WSOP main event. There are four satellites remaining (March 23, April 20, May 18 and June 8). These sport a $200 buy-in and the winner receives the $10K WSOP main-event seat this summer and $2K for expenses.
ISLE: Recently, I had a couple of opportunities to drop by the Isle Casino in Waterloo. In addition to the normal NLHE action, it has a strong PLO-PLO/8 group.
There’s a regular $1-$3 game on Friday nights that alternates orbits of PLO and PLO/8.
Late in the evening, this game often changes to Big O if all players agree. It’s an exciting action game so if you become bored with hold’em, drop by to give it a try.
If you’re looking for something bigger on Tuesday nights, there is a $5-$5 PLO-PLO/8 game and sometimes NLHE is thrown in the mix.
MESKWAKI: The Mid-States Poker Tour kicks off March 29-April 6.
The MSPT will have a $300K guarantee with plenty of satellites (buy-ins from $45 to $250), so anyone should be able to find a seat in the $1,100 main event.
— Email Ken at anteupken@gmail.com.
