Poker Tournaments in California in 2024 – CA Poker Tournaments Schedule & Results

Los Angeles Poker Classic

January 15- March 4 at the Commerce Casino 

The LA Poker Classic has a long tradition among the LA poker community. This first-class event features 50 straight days of poker action, lasting from Jan 4-March 4, with over 67 tournaments and hundreds of games throughout, including events such as Triple Stud, Pot Limit Omaha, and NL Survivor.

In 2018, LAPC celebrated its 25th anniversary. This year’s edition also featured four different Player of the Series promotions, with the host adding over $50,000 to the awarded players.

The LAPC series wrapped up with the $10K WPT Main Event Championship, where the winner takes home a hefty prize of over $1 million. The Final Table of the remaining top six players went underway in HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas on April 2, 2020. The culmination of the LAPC event was broadcasted and live-streamed via PokerGO.

The applicants could register for the LAPC until the start of level 11 when around 100 contenders are still in the game.

The event is traditionally held at the Commerce Casino, located in the LA suburb of commerce. This elite poker establishment boasts over 240 tables, making it the largest cardroom in the world. Commerce casino is home to several top-tier poker events, including Cal State Poker Championship, LA Poker Open, Hold’em Series and LA Poker Classic.

Some of the most notable events to look out for at the LA Poker Classic are:

• LAPC Kickoff Event — $175,000 guaranteed
• No Limit LAPC — $202,020 guaranteed
• The Great Wall of Chips — $288,888 guaranteed
• LAPC Million — $1M guaranteed

The buy-ins in this tournament range from $150 (No-Limit Hold’em — $50k guaranteed) to $1,100 (LAPC Million — $1M guaranteed).

WSOP Circuit: Thunder Valley (Sacramento)

January 9-20 at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort 

Every year, the World Series of Poker circuit makes its stop at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA. The 2020 event wrapped with the conclusion of the $1,700 Main Event  — a tournament that attracted 487 players and boasted a prize pool of over $737,000. This was an increase since the 2019 event had a total of 464 participants.

The 42-year-old mathematician Jaime Haletky came out on top of the $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, thus securing his maiden WSOPC gold ring and the grand prize of $147,706. He also won a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship by raking in 720 POY points.

The WSOP Thunder Valley kicked off with the No-Limit Hold’em (The Opener) event and lasted between 9-12 Jan. The buy-in was $400, and the 1319 participants battled out for a prize pool of $300,000.

In total, WSOP Thunder Valley features 14 different events. During the two-week-long poker action, rollers can try out their skill in three poker varieties — No-Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and H.O.R.S.E. The buy-ins start at $250 (No Limit Hold-em — Seniors, event 11), and go all the way up to $3,250 (No-Limit Hold’em — High Roller, event 10).

The 2020 winner Haletky came into the final day of action as the chip leader ($4,030,000), while the five-time WSOPC winner Scott Stewart was next in the line with a $3,105,000 stack. Bryan Piccolli was the first to get eliminated from the event, after only a half an hour of play.

Steward got railed by Haletky, after a three-handed action, and finished the event in 4th place. In the grand finals, Haletky beat the runner-up Adedapo Ajayi with a pair of threes. The win at WSOP Thunder Valley was the largest score of Haletky’s career, with the next biggest two paydays also having taken place at the same event.

WPT: Legends of Poker Main Event

Aug 31 – Sep 04 at the Bicycle Casino, Bell Gardens, CA 

The World Poker Tour is an esteemed gaming and entertainment brand that hosts a series of international tournaments, boasting massive prize pools, and gathering poker aficionados from across the globe. In 2020, the tournament is going to celebrate its 19th anniversary.

One of the most sought-after competitions organized by the WPT is the Legends of Poker Main The event takes place annually at the prestigious Bicycle Hotel & Casino in Bell Gardens, CA. This massive establishment hosts a number of American and Asian poker variants and world-renowned tournaments.

The Legends of Poker event attracts poker enthusiasts of all skill levels — from recreational to pro players. The participants compete for a jaw-dropping prize pool of over $2,400,000. Every year, the field of entry gets bigger with last year’s edition having featured 520 entrants.

The buy-ins for the LoP range from $160 to $5,000 for the No-Limit Hold’em $2 million, which is the main event. The registration period lasts for the two starting days (Aug 31 and Sep 1), and registration after day two is not allowed. The registration events take place at noon on both starting days.

The buy-in is set at $5,000, and the applicants are allowed a single re-entry during the day. The players start with 40,000 chips with the initial blinds hovering between 100-100 for the first level. Day 1 and 2 feature an hour-long blind level, which increases to a 90-min level on day 3.

Overall, the Legends of Poker event has brought in some of the most respected champions with the likes of Dan Harrington (2007), John Phan (2008), Prahlad Friedman (2009) and Andy Frankenberger (2010).

The Commerce Hold’em Series

Sep 4 – Sep 20

The lavish Commerce Hotel & Casino is home to numerous world-class poker events, one of which is the Commerce Hold’em Series. In 2020, the tournament is scheduled to run from 4th to 20th September. There are over 13 different events in the series, with most of them being daily. The buy-ins and prize pools vary between different events.

The Commerce Hold’em series kicks off with the Abyss tournament. This a $360 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event with a $250,000 guarantee. This competition features an 8-hour level of 100 big blinds on day one, and 2 hour-level of 100 big blinds on day two. Applicants can usually register at any point around noon in the opening two days.

The $1,100 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em steals the spotlight with $1 million prize cash guaranteed. It’s played across 7 days and boasts a field of over 1100 entrants. The blinds start at 100-200 at level 1 and go all the way up to 6,000-12,000 at level 19. Players from any position are eligible to win the entire ante, regardless of the chip stack.

The winner of the Commerce Hold’em series 2019 was David Tuthill, who claimed his victory in a four-way chop, taking home $150,000 as well as $10,000 seat into the 2020 La Poker Classic Main Event.