ACRPoker's New Weekly Tourney Schedule: Guarantees up 15%

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ACR Poker, one of the leading online poker sites for American players, has launched a new tournament schedule. The news was announced on Thursday, Feb. 20, and the new schedule went live the following day, Friday, Feb. 21. ACR house pro and 2003 World Series of Poker victor Chris Moneymaker commented, “With more events, faster tournaments and bigger guarantees, players can enjoy greater value and more big poker action. We can't wait for you to try it.”

Overview

ACRPoker had already been known for a while among pros as the place for U.S.-friendly online poker tournaments. While many competitors also offer tourneys in the U.S. market, ACR had the largest events with the biggest guarantees. The new schedule preserves ACR's status as the king of large tournaments but significantly expands its footprint at the medium and low ends with many more events that cater to regular players rather than sophisticated professionals.

More About the Changes

The alterations to the weekly tournament schedule encompass several distinct elements, designed to create a better experience for tourney players. They include:

• More than twice as many tournaments – a 129% increase in fact. The bulk of this increase is at low and medium stakes, which is what the majority of the user base actually plays.
• Increased guarantees – prize pool guarantees now stand at slightly more than $9.2 million weekly, an increase of 15%.
• Faster tournaments – ACR has indicated that its MTTs now complete much faster and sometimes finish in less than an hour. It's difficult to independently verify this information, but if true, it should make it easier for players to enter more tournaments without committing to all-day marathon sessions.
• Shorter late registration – as little as 20 minutes in some cases. This is a welcome change for those annoyed by the lengthy late registration periods that previously prevailed. We couldn't help but notice, though, that many of the flagship tournaments still have extended late reg durations, like four and a half hours in the $109 Sunday Moneymaker and four hours in the $215 Sunday Special
• Final table rollback – the lobbies of some tournaments now indicate that the big blinds at the final table will be rolled back so that the average stack is worth, e.g., 25 or 30 blinds. This is an attempt to ensure interesting play for the final few contenders despite faster overall tournament structures. Time will tell if this innovation proves successful and popular.

Two New Jackpots Beckon

Among the many new tournaments are two new jackpot opportunities on Sundays. Each of them pays out bonuses prizes to those who perform well in two separate tournaments held on the same day.

The Jackpot Warmup – Major consists of two $109-buyin tournaments. The first has a $50,000 guarantee at 8:05 a.m., and the second is a Progressive Knockout tourney at 9:15 a.m. with a $40,000 guarantee. Anyone who makes the final table at both events will receive an extra $2,000 payment while someone who wins them both will get an additional $20,000.

The minor versions of the Jackpot Warmup take place at the same times but have a lower buyin of $55. The 8:05 a.m. event has $25,000 guaranteed while the PKO at 9:15 a.m. comes with a $20,000 guarantee. Players who make the final table in both will get $1,000 while anyone who wins them both outright will get $10,000.

Our Thoughts

We're cautiously optimistic about the new ACR tournament schedule. With its recurring big-money series, like the OSS, and $2,650-buyin VENOM events, it already owned the high end of U.S. internet poker tourneys. By expanding its roster of low- and medium-stakes events, it's pushing hard to exert its dominance at smaller buyins too.

We applaud the new tournament structures, including shorter late registration, that have the potential to reduce tourney running times. One of the frequent complaints against ACR is the amount of time it takes to play out a tourney. We do note, however, that some of the most popular events still feature long late registration periods. Nevertheless, ACR has made a step in the right direction, and we can hope that this policy is expanded in the future.

Check Out the New ACR Poker Tournament Schedule

Of course, the best way to get an idea of whether or not the ACR tourney schedule is any good is to play a few tournaments yourself. If you don't already have an account, you can use our exclusive ACRPoker bonus code PRB10FREE to get a free $10 bankroll. Then make a deposit for a 100% up to $2,000 bonus. Click below to get started:

To learn more about the room first, you can read this detailed ACR Poker review. ACR has several sister sites on the Winning Poker Network that have the same tournaments, and you can read about them here: BlackChip Poker, True Poker, Ya Poker (non-US).