$10,300 Phil's Thrill Tournament Runs Weekly at ACR Poker
ACR Poker has long been the place to go for high-stakes USA-friendly online poker tournament action with its recurring VENOM events, which pay out millions of dollars in prizes. The problem with the VENOM is that it occurs only once every couple of months, but now ACR has introduced “Phil's Thrill”: a solution for those who crave weekly big-ticket tournaments.
Named after ACR CEO Phil Nagy, the new “Phil's Thrill” tournament runs every week and costs a wallet-busting $10,300 to buy in. The first installment ran on Sunday, July 6th, and it takes place every Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Phil's Thrill Structure
Of the $10,300 required for a cash entry to Phil's Thrill, the buyin is $10,000, and the tournament fee is only $300. This is a fee of just over 2.9%: much lower than a typical online poker tournament. It's less than the 7% charged by the World Series of Poker Main Event, which is another tourney in the same price range, and is lower than the rake in ACR's own VENOM tournament, which is 5.7%.
Each competitor starts with 35,000 chips, which sounds high at first, but the starting blinds are 175/350 with an ante of 45, so you're really less than 100 bb deep to start. The first 13 levels are 15-minutes long, and each level from the 14th onward is 12 minutes.
For a tourney this expensive, it would have been nice to have at least a couple of rounds of deep-stacked play or longer blind levels. However, this tournament is meant to be an exciting venture into fast-paced poker action, not an interminable slogfest. Were the MTT structure deeper, then it's unlikely that Phil's Thrill could conclude in the six or seven hours that it generally takes.
There are 13 levels of late registration. You can re-enter as many times as you wish.
More Affordable Entry
If you wish to secure your seat for less, you can try your hand at 1,050-dollar satellites that run Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. If this is still too high an investment, then you can try to ladder your way up the Survivor Flip Steps.
The levels of steps are:
- Step 1: $3.15
- Step 2: $25
- Step 3: $200
- Step 4: $1,400
Phil's Thrill History
Phil's Thrill has been run four times thus far. The number of entrants in each one (in consecutive order) was: 46, 47, 45, and 55. Whenever there are between 45 and 50 players, 6 places pay, and first place gets 30% of the prize pool. If there are 51 – 56 participants, then 7 spots pay, and the winner takes 28%.
Among the prominent players who have been seen in the Phil's Thrill tournament are ACR team pros Chris Moneymaker and Chris Moorman who play under the screennames “Moneymaker” and “Moorman1.” Of course, Phil Nagy is a fixture in the event playing under the “justsomefishwpn” account.
Phil Nagy, CEO of the Winning Poker NetworkAfter a couple of instances of Phil's Thrill were completed, Phil Nagy said:
I love this game so much, and this tournament is all about bringing together the best players and sharpest minds to elevate the game. It's all about growth, competition, and building connections with those who share my passion.
Phil's Thrill is great for railbirds in addition to actual players. Even after the tourney is complete, you can watch the final table with ALL HOLE CARDS REVEALED and thus gain valuable insight into the strategies and tactics used by serious and experienced pros in the latter stages of multi-table tournaments.
Play in Phil's Thrill This Sunday!
If you're eager to test your skills in a high-stakes poker competition, then you can create an ACR Poker account and try your hand at Phil's Thrill. You can use our ACR promo code PRB10FREE to get a free $10 credit. Then when you make a deposit, you'll get a 100% up to $2,000 bonus. Click the button below to begin:
If you want to learn more about ACR, then check out this honest ACR Poker review. Phil's Thrill is also accessible from partner sites on the WPN Network, and so you might wish to peruse reviews of them: BlackChip Poker, True Poker, Ya Poker (non-US).
July 29, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief