Canadians Get Excited As Poker Tournaments Struggle to Hit Guarantees

Summary

• Canadian players are enjoying the different tournaments on 888poker and the BetMGM network
• Poker operators are leveraging the overlays to grow their player base
• Overlays are expected to continue as Ontario players are currently ring-fenced

Online poker players in Ontario are enjoying massive value following the launch of 888poker and the BetMGM poker network.

Tournaments currently running on both networks are struggling to hit their guarantees which means huge value for players.

Since 888poker went live in the Canadian province on April 4, its MTTs have always ended up with overlays. During its first week, almost all of its tournaments fell short of their guarantees, with the operator having to make up for shortfalls of up to 70%. But instead of reducing the prize monies on offer, 888poker opted to retain them to attract more players. The operator may have intentionally set ambitious guarantees for that purpose.

The overlays continue up to this day, though some tournaments are starting to meet their targets. 888poker runs a full slate of daily and weekly MTTs, with buy-ins ranging from10 cents all the way up to CAD $525. There’s a variety of formats and structures available, such as Pot-Limit Omaha, progressive knockout, regular knockout, rebuy & add-ons, turbos and hypers, and many more.

BetMGM Network’s Sunday Majors Also Falling Short

Just last week, partypoker and bwin also entered Ontario, running alongside BetMGM which launched earlier, creating Ontario’s first three-skin poker network. Players have already been enjoying great value on BetMGM since it went live on April 4, and the stakes have become higher with the addition of its sister skins. With a shared pool, the network has expanded its MTT schedule, increasing the guarantees on offer.

The BetMGM Ontario network has added multiple daily tournaments and also launched Sunday majors which carry guarantees of nearly CAD $100,000. But just like 888poker, these tournaments are also struggling to meet the required number of players. For example, the CAD $55 buy-in, $5K GTD Sunday Masters was only able to draw 58 entries, resulting in a CAD $2,100 overlay.

Other key tournaments on the BetMGM Poker Ontario network falling short of their guarantees include the CAD $109 buy-in, $15K GTD Super Sunday 100, as well as the CAD $530 buy-in, $25K GTD High Roller. Both tournaments suffered overlays of nearly 50%.

Overall, Ontario players enjoyed CAD $22,590 in total overlays across BetMGM’s Sunday majors on April 17.

The overlays are expected to continue, given that Ontario is currently operating as a segregated market, meaning the tournaments are only open to players based in the province. Overlays are good for players as they provide additional value. Online poker sites can benefit from them as well especially during their early stages of operations as shortfalls attract more players.