Yes, I’m the Central Florida Ambassador for Ante Up, but what you may not know is I’m also the Where to Play editor. Each month, I keep seeing some great Tampa Bay tournaments out there vying for your bankroll dollar. While it’s easy to know you’ll want to play the World Poker Tour Regional event this month at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg (March 16-25) or the St. Patrick’s Day event at Tampa Bay Downs (March 16-18), it’s harder to choose what events to play on a daily basis, so let me break it down for you.
Monday: To start the week, some of your options are the bounty tournament at Hard Rock Tampa ($125, 12:30 p.m.); the monster stack at Derby Lane ($75, 1 p.m.); the nightly event at Tampa Greyhound Track ($30, 6:30 p.m.); and the Winner-Take-All at the Silks Poker Room at Tampa Bay Downs ($50, 7 p.m.).
Tuesday: A few of your choices include the afternoon event at Hard Rock ($120, 12:30); the deepstack at the Silks ($50, 1); the afternoon event at Lucky’s ($30, 2); and the Player Appreciation event at Derby ($202, 7 p.m.).
Wednesday: Hump day is a great day for tournament poker. Check out some of these tournaments to relieve your work-week stress: the six-handed event at Derby ($75, 1p); the afternoon event at Lucky’s ($20 with $10 add-on, 2); the bounty event at the Silks ($200, 7 p.m.); and the deepstack event at Hard Rock ($240, 7:30 p.m.).
Thursday: The second half of the week starts with an afternoon event at HRT ($120, 12:30); the double megastack at the Silks ($90, 1 p.m.); the nightly event at Lucky’s ($30, 6:30); and the monster stack at Derby ($120, 7 p.m.).
Friday: The end of the week is here and you’re ready to invest your hard-earned money in a few tournaments around the area. Your decision isn’t easy, having to choose from deepstack tournaments all over the bay. The One-Eyed Jacks poker room at Sarasota Kennel Club has a great deepstack at 1 p.m. (25K chips for $110). Tampa Bay Downs ($50, 1 p.m.); Lucky’s ($60, 2 p.m.); HRT (alternating $400-$550, 7:30 p.m.) and Derby ($85, 8 p.m.) are all solid events for your bankroll.
Saturday: Finally, the weekend; time to blow off some steam and build your bankroll. Your options are the morning event at HRT ($100, 10); the monster stack at Derby ($100, 1 p.m.); the $160 deepstack at One-Eyed Jacks (1 p.m., 15K chips, 30-minute blinds); the Super Stack Blitz at TBD ($60, 7 p.m.); and the deepstack at Lucky’s ($60, 7:30).
Sunday: Given you still have your bankroll after this long week of tournaments, Sunday is usually the best day for large turnouts and even bigger prize pools. Some of the events that run this day are the afternoon event at HRT ($120, 12:30); the double-stack event at TBD ($200, 1); the monster stack at Derby ($120, 1); and the monthly Sunday Challenge at Lucky’s ($115, 1).
These are just a few of your options around the Tampa Bay area for daily tournaments. There are many special events that take place throughout the month, so please contact your local cardroom for up-to-date information (see our Where to Play pages for contact information). Remember to choose wisely; your bankroll depends on it.
— Garrett Roth is the Ante Up Ambassador for Central Florida and the Where to Play editor. Email him at roth@anteupmagazine.com and follow him on Twitter @GarrettRoth.
