The Weekly USA MTT Value | Overlay Report (4/4/14)
Utilizing our own reports, ProfRB.com breaks down and highlights US-facing online poker tournaments that feature overlays from the previous week. Online tournament players looking for an edge to give them the greatest value are bound to find this new weekly MTT Value | Overlay Report full of useful information.
The report below factors all US-facing online poker room | network tournaments featuring guarantees of $5,000 or higher. This is generally the range we track on our MTT Overlay Reports, though we've recently added a few more MTT's on the Winning Poker Network in an effort to better reflect their overall schedule. In addition, we also track several MTT's on the Revolution Network below the $5,000 threshold since only one tournament (the $15,000 GTD Sunday major) on their current schedule eclipses this mark.
In this week's report, the Merge Gaming Network leads the field for the third straight week with slightly increased overlays from last week's action. The Winning Poker Network saw sizeable decreases thanks to the continuing success of their Online Super Series, while Revolution was relatively even from the previous week. The big surprise on the report is Bovada, who saw unsual increases thanks to an ISP issue late last week (explained below). We've also debuted the Equity Poker Network this week, as we begun tracking their MTT offerings on April 1st.
Merge Gaming Network: 22 overlays worth $19,020 from Friday, Mar 28th through Thursday, Apr 3rd
UP: 5 overlays and down $2,855 from last report
Off the heels of their Micro OPS, which underwhelmed with a $44,500 overall prize pool and turned a loss in profit of just over $1,400 (to be further explained in our April MTT Profit | Loss Report due next week), Merge saw slight increases in the amount of overlays for the third week in a row despite the dollar total of those overlays falling off. Their Monday through Friday schedule continues to be ripe with added value opportunities; particularly the $5k GTD for $55+$5 which has overlaid in all but three runnings since it debuted in early March. While their weekend schedule has stabilized somewhat, we expect plenty of opportunities for overlays to continue in the coming weeks, further fueled by former partner Pokerhost bolting for the new Equity Poker Network next week (as first reported by ProfRB.com).
Other MTT's of note: As highlighted in our Merge Network Overlays and Tournament Results page, Merge offers several Sunday offerings for players looking for potential added value. The $12.5k GTD for $33 and $10k GTD for $11 at 4pm EST, along with the $15k GTD $109 at 7pm EST, give players of wide ranging ability ample opportunity for a solid score.
Bovada Poker (part of Bodog Network): 11 overlays worth $6,396 from Friday, Mar 28th through Thursday, Apr 3rd
UP: 10 overlays and $6,076 from last report
Do not adjust your screens - yes, Bovada had the second-highest overlay figures among US-facing online poker rooms this week. But don't take this as a sign of things to come, as an acute issue with ISP's was the main culprit for Bovada's string of overlays between this past Friday and Saturday. The issue appears to have been resolved, as evidenced by continually strong player totals on Sunday and into the following work week schedule. However, there does appear to be one particular tournament emerging among the dozens offered daily - the $12k GTD at 10pm EST for $109 overlaid twice for $1,100 over the work week, giving value seekers a solid opportunity to earn added prize pool dough. On the whole, Bovada's schedule is as good as it gets for US players, with nearly $180,000 guaranteed daily in $5k GTD and higher tournaments during Monday through Friday offerings alone. If you want added value, look no further.
Other MTT's of note: As highlighted in our Bovada Overlays and Tournament Results page, Bovada offers up all kinds of options for every type of tournament player. While not quite at the level of pre-Black Friday offerings for US players, Bovada does offer a $100,000 Sunday MTT that frequently reaches over $150,000 in prize money and is far and away the largest regularly scheduled multi-table tournament available to players from the USA. Pick your poison here, MTT grinders - there's something for everyone.
Winning Poker Network: 9 overlays worth $4,315 from Friday, Mar 28th through Thursday, Apr 3rd
DOWN: 8 overlays and $5,085 from last report
A big improvement for the Winning Poker Network this week as overlays across the board were cut in half thanks to the effects of their Online Super Series. The OSS has been an unbridled success thus far, bringing added player totals to their daily MTT schedule. What's more is that they aren't just meeting guarantees - tournaments just barely meeting their marks are now giving off added prize pool money, which is a great added value staple in of itself. This is exactly what WPN was aiming for when they announced their OSS schedule in February, and one has to believe after the OSS concludes on April 6th, coupled with WPN removing Beast rake from their cash tables on April 5th, that MTT offerings will be expanding in the near future. But for those looking for overlay-induced added value, the $12.5k GTD for $27.50 (which was replaced by higher GTD tournaments for the OSS a couple times this past week) remains a solid spot for those looking for between $800-$1500 in overlays on a nearly daily basis.
Other MTT's of note: As highlighted in our Winning Poker Network Overlays and Tournament Results page, WPN offers a weekly $50,000 GTD on Sunday's (bumped to $100,000 once a month) and a daily $5,000 GTD, which runs at 6pm EST Monday through Friday, and at 2pm EST on Saturday and Sunday.
Revolution Network: 8 overlays worth $478 from Friday, Mar 28th through Thursday, Apr 3rd
UP: 3 overlays and up $17 from last report
The MTT schedule on the Revolution Network (we recommend Intertops and Juicy Stakes for US players looking for safe Revolution poker rooms) still leaves a bit to be desired. With only a small amount of tournaments nearing $1,000 GTD or better (though one more was added to start April - the $27.50 $1k GTD at 2:30pm EST), you are hard pressed to find overlays of substantive value. However, the Sunday $15,000 GTD offering has historically shown to be a destination for added value. With player fields generally in the 115-140 range and a tendency to overlay in streaks (though there was no overlay this past Sunday for the fourth straight week), it's still a solid stop on your Sunday grind. Monday through Saturday, however, the appeal for grinders are the lower player fields in relation to the lower guarantees. There's still money to be made, but there's no comparing the breadth of the current Revolution tournament schedule to rivals on WPN, Bovada, or Merge.
Other MTT's of note: As highlighted in our Revolution Network Overlays and Tournament Results page, bigger guarantees are harder to find. However, several deep-stacked turbo MTT's run daily with guarantees of $700, $850, and $1,000. Rebuy tournaments with $1,000 guaranteed also run, usually at least once daily.
Equity Poker Network: 3 overlays worth $400 from Tuesday, Apr 1st through Thursday, Apr 3rd
Debut; was not included in last report
A new entry on our weekly report is the Equity Poker Network, which has risen in perception among the online poker community after ProfRB.com broke the news that Pokerhost, a former Merge Gaming Network room, would be moving to EPN on April 8th. We have begun tracking EPN tournaments this month and though we've only recorded three days worth of offerings, the weekend looks to be a solid destination for players looking for added value opportunities. EPN runs a Sunday $10k GTD 6-max tournament for $27.50, and also offers the option for rebuys and add-ons in a lot of their MTT's. As Pokerhost settles into their new network, we will continue to monitor EPN's schedule and report on the affect their arrival may have on player fields moving forward.
We hope you've enjoyed and found useful this in-depth analysis of the current US-facing MTT landscape as it relates to overlays. If you'd like to give us some feedback, be sure to check us out on the web (links below) or click here and contact us via Skype or email.