- »
- Bratislava »
- How to Qualify for The Festival Bratislava with iPoker – Written by a Poker Pro!
How to Qualify for The Festival Bratislava with iPoker – Written by a Poker Pro!


Sometimes you question yourself while being at a live poker series on how to reduce variance in events as such. Because let's be fair, live poker is not a cheap hobby to have. One of the main topics that would go through my mind is online qualifiers, one of the easiest ways to lower costs. It gives just that bit of 'lay back' vibe during an event, by thinking you only qualified for €3 or €15!
Operators: Bet365 | Betfair | Betfred | Betsafe | Betsson | BoyleSports Poker | Champion Poker | Coolbet | Guts | Holland Casino Online | iPoker | Inbet | Klondaika | Meridianbet | NetBet | NordicBet | Novibet | Paf | RedStar | Svenska Spel | Fortuna |
Online poker is hotter than ever before, with operators literally popping out of the ground like mushrooms. Thousands, and thousands of players, are playing daily tournaments and cash games on various platforms, chasing that ideal situation to make a profit compared to what has been invested in the first place. In the world of poker, we all know that most of the players who have a strong preference for live poker, do not always necessarily play online poker as well.


There are some exceptions as online qualifiers attract a large amount of such players, besides the online player pool, to play these online satellites. This happens with only one goal, and one goal only: To reduce costs for live events. The Festival Series already has very affordable buy-ins in general, but due to the large number of tournaments being offered to be able to offer a play the best possible experience in terms of game selection, it might get a little tricky sometimes. (Find here more information about BeGambleAware)
The iPoker Network is one of these online poker networks which offers a great way of attending any of The Festival Series events, and this time it's the Bratislava Campaign which guarantees a staggering amount of full packages and Main Event seats. The idea of this article is to give you an idea of what potentially might be one of the best possible ways to get your hands on one of these prizes.
Let's dive into the Online Qualifier Guide for the iPoker Campaign
Step 1: Grind your way Up!
The campaign for The Festival Series has been set up in a way that you can grind your way completely for free. The Freeroll tournaments are running daily and appear several times a day in the lobby of your preferred iPoker operator client. Yes, of course, it's a great way of getting into tournaments for free, but is it worthwhile when thinking of time-consuming and the reward which comes out of it? I believe it does. If you are already playing online in various tournaments, it is a no-brainer to add such tournaments to your schedule.
Step 2: Hunt for Glory
The lowest buy-in tournaments go from €0,25 and €3,00 for the package qualifiers. These are two different steps which eventually will let you advance to one of the main qualifiers of the day, going by a buy-in of €15. The fields in these tournaments are not as big compared to freerolls and are easy to navigate through if you ask me. They are available throughout the entire day, which is a big plus, and they do not take much time to complete.
Such campaigns are made in a way to offer the most important satellites during the prime times for online poker. As we all know, most of the tournaments and cash game action in online poker happens during the evening hours. Therefore, the very first €15 qualifier starts at 17:40 CET and has got a massive 3x €100 tickets guaranteed in the prize pool.

The tournaments have a nice structure with enough time to build yourself a decent stack for the final stages of the tournament. If it doesn't work out in the first attempt, there is always an option to either rebuy or re-enter. The truth about this topic is that it's not always super beneficial to make use of this, but what I always consider is the potential on overlay in the event, how many big blinds will give the re-buy or re-entry, and how much time it takes until the add-ons will be available.
In many cases during this campaign, you can see that the overlay is significant, making it an easy choice to start making a return on your investment.
Date | Buy-in | Prize |
---|---|---|
Daily | Freeroll | Ticket to € 0,25 |
Daily | € 0,25 | Ticket to € 3,00 |
Daily | € 3,00 | Ticket to € 15,00 |
Daily | € 15,00 | Ticket to € 100,00 |
Daily | € 100,00 | Weekly Final! |
Sunday | x | 6x €1,850 The Festival Packages GTD |
Step 3: The lead-up to the Final!
Yes folks, we made it! The €100 Day-1 flight of the iPoker Campaign. Starting with 10,000 chips, realistic blind levels, and plenty of time to enter the tournament as the late registration period goes on for 90 minutes, it is the time to start shining!
The €100 flights are available throughout the week at 18:05 and 20:05 CET (During the weekend more flights!). It's important to note that you can also register directly for this flight, but of course, we focus here on how to grind your way up to the Final from the bottom, all the way to the top. With the earlier mentioned pre-qualifier of €15 running throughout the entire day, the vast majority of the players who are playing the flighted tournaments are coming from these satellites.

Show discipline, and your skills, and don't forget to simply enjoy the tournament as well. Qualifying for the final stage of the online qualifiers at iPoker, is something which can only be cherished. Let's be honest, does anyone who plays online poker want to miss out on the action on a Sunday? Having yourself qualified for the absolute final, makes this happen so that you don't miss out on it. And above all, your chances of getting a package in the final are to be called out of proportion! Take for example the previous Sunday when a total of 5x €1,850 packages were guaranteed. A total of 14 players qualified for the final, and thus was one-third of the field being awarded with a full package for The Festival Bratislava!
Upcoming two Sundays, respectively 6 and 7 full packages will be guaranteed during the absolute Final of the iPoker Campaign!
>> More information about The Festival Series
Step Bratislava: Conclusion of your Online Poker Experience
Once you have grabbed your full package for The Festival Series Bratislava, it's time to start packing! And not to forget, travel is just that bit more relaxed than usual! Because not only are you able to participate in the hospitality activities outside all the poker action; but your hotel accommodation and Main Event ticket are already prepared for you upon arrival, so you just need to show your ID/Passport and you have nothing to worry about!
Note: This article has been written by one of the most feared players in the world. Do not hesitate to contact this person for any advice on how to make sure you won't miss your flight to Bratislava, or ideally, for any advice about the iPoker campaign itself.
Each full package includes:
- Main Event Buy-In (€550)
- Hotel Accommodation: 6 nights at a premium 4-star hotel, including breakfast, in the heart of Bratislava. Hotels include the Crowne Plaza Bratislava or the AC Hotel by Marriott, or equal.
- Hospitality Package: Enjoy group activities during your stay, The Festival Series is not just about poker!
- €250 in spending money: Ensuring you can focus on your poker game while enjoying the city.








