March Madness Poker Series at SwCPoker: March 20 – April 5
SwcPoker, the most popular bitcoin-only online poker room, is hosting a 2026 March Madness Bitcoin Poker Series. This consists of 94 events running from March 20 to April 5 with guaranteed prize pools amounting to 1.6 BTC in total.
SwcPoker General Information
As a poker site that handles all its cashier functions and gameplay in bitcoins, SwCPoker displays buyin and prize information a bit differently than at mainstream poker sites. The basic unit of value at SwC is the μBTC, which is equal to one-millionth of a bitcoin. This is what each chip is worth.
Thus, a buyin listed as “1k” or 1,000 chips represents a value of 1,000 millionths of a bitcoin or one-thousandth of a bitcoin (approximately $75 at current market prices). A guarantee of 200,000 chips similarly is equal to (200,000/1,000,000 BTC) or one-fifth of a bitcoin (about $15,000).
All deposits must be performed over the Bitcoin network. SwCPoker employs a service called SideShift to convert a handful of other crypto coins into Bitcoin, so this might be a solution for those wanting to use altcoins.
It's very helpful to set yourself up with Bitcoin before beginning to play at SwCPoker. If you're unfamiliar with how to get started in the world of Bitcoin, then check out this informative guide to using Bitcoin for online poker and gaming.
March Madness Series Info
Over the 17 days of the series, there are between four and eight events every day with the weekends tending to be busier than weekdays. All tourneys begin between noon and midnight ET.
Buyins range from 50 chips (about $3.75) to 5,000 (approximately $375) while guarantees start at 3,000 (around $22) and climb up to 125,000 (close to $930). SwCPoker is well-known for the variety of poker formats that it spreads, and this is reflected in the March Madness Series. Though about 60% of the MTTs feature NL Hold'em gameplay, there are also options for those who prefer PLO, HORSE, Stud, Mixed Games, and other variants.
Main Event
The series culminates in a 2,000-chip ($150) Main Event, which comes with a respectable guarantee of 125,000 chips (about $9,300). It begins at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 5. You can re-enter up to four times.
It's only fitting that SwC provides mechanisms for winning Main Event seats for less as it's the most noteworthy event on the schedule and probably the one that users most wish to play. To this end, there are a couple of super satellite qualifiers for this tournament.
The first runs on Saturday, March 28 at 9 p.m. ET while the second is on Saturday, April 4 at 9 p.m. They each cost 250 to join (about $19) and award four seats to the Main guaranteed.
Additionally, there are SNG satellites that award 2k tournament tickets, which you can use to buy into the Main Event. 9-max satellites require a 250 chip (around $19) buyin and pay the winner a ticket while second place gets their buyin back. There are also 6-max SNG satellites that have buyins of 500 chips (approximately $37). They pay the winner a ticket, and 2nd place gets 1,000 chips (nearly $75). Other type of SNG qualifiers include Double-or-Nothing, four-max hypers, and four-max FLIPs.
Other Intriguing Tournaments
Besides the Main Event, the roster of tourneys in the March Madness series contains numerous other items that are interesting for one reason or another. If you don't necessarily have enough free time to play every tournament in the series, then you might want to keep your eyes peeled for the following notable events:
#11, Saturday, March 21, 9 p.m. ET; 100 chip ($7.50) buyin NL Hold'em ANTE UP 6 RE; 5,000 GTD ($375)
This is not your standard NLHE tournament. The blinds remain the same throughout the tournament, but the antes increase at regular intervals, making the pots bigger and bigger as time goes on.
#19, Sunday, March 22, 9 p.m. ET; 100 chip ($7.50) buyin The Whale PLO PKO Unlimited RE; 5,000 GTD ($375)
The is one for the action junkies out there. The combination of four hole cards, progressive knockouts, low buyin, and unlimited re-entries should lead to frequent all-ins and dramatic confrontations.
#79, Friday, April 3, 9 p.m. ET; 3,000 chip ($225) buyin NLHE High Roller 2 RE; 45,000 GTD ($3,350)
NL Hold'em is the most popular poker variant, and SwC has not ignored it while delivering events in other formats. This is the highest-buyin NLHE event on the schedule, so it's a good contest of skill in the Cadillac of Poker.
#81, Friday, April 3, midnight ET; 100 chip ($7.50) buyin PL 2-3-4-5-6 Card Mix 7 RE; 3,000 GTD ($225)
A non-standard mix of Hold'em, Pineapple Hold'em, Omaha, 5 Card Omaha, and 6 Card Omaha, you'll seldom be confused because every game features a different number of starting cards. The buyin amount is reasonable enough that you don't need to invest too much to try out this entertaining-sounding format.
#90, Sunday, April 5, 3 p.m. ET; 5,000 chip ($375) buyin 9-Game High Roller 2 RE; 50,000 GTD ($3,725)
If you're not exactly an NL Hold'em specialist and feel that competence in multiple forms of poker is a better gauge of poker excellence, then this mixed-game tournament with a hefty buyin may prove more to your liking.
Leaderboards
SwCPoker is adding additional prizes to the series in the form of three separate leaderboards: first half, second half, and overall. Points toward the leaderboards will be distributed based on the formula below:
10 x (√Field Size/√Finish) x (1 + log (buyin))
Anyone who registers for a tournament before it begins will see their leaderboard points for that tourney multiplied by 1.25.
First Half
The leaderboard for the first half of the series counts results from events #1 through #47. The top 16 finishers will be entered into a FLIP freerolls with one Main Event ticket awarded to the winner. The top five will additionally receive March Madness tournament tickets worth:
- 1st: 6,000 chips ($450)
- 2nd: 3,000 chips ($225)
- 3rd: 1,500 chips ($112)
- 4th: 1,000 chips ($75)
- 10th: 500 chips ( $37)
Second Half
The second half leaderboard covers events #48 through #94. The top 16 point earners will be entered into a FLIP tournament that will pay out in the form of a single Big BTC ticket worth 2,000 chips ($150). Moreover, the top five individuals will get to choose tournament tickets corresponding to a value of:
- 1stt: 6,000 in tickets($450)
- 2ndd: 3,000 in tickets($225)
- 3rdd: 1,500 in tickets($112)
- 4th: 1,000 in tickets($75)
- 5th: 500 in tickets ($37)
Overall
The overall leaderboard counts results from every numbered event.
Furthermore, the top 64 individuals on the leaderboard will receive entry into The Big Dance: a freeroll that takes place over the two days following the series. The overall leaderboard winner will get a bye to the second day of this event. The next 19 will instead earn re-entries for this freeroll:
- 2nd: 3 re-entry tickets
- 3rd – 10th: 2 re-entry tickets
- 11th – 20th: 1 re-entry ticket
In addition, the top 10 on the overall leaderboard will receive the following prizes:
- 1st: 7,500 chips ($558) + 15,000 in tickets ($1,117)
- 2nd: 4,000 chips ($392) + 7,500 in tickets ($558)
- 3rd: 2,000 chips ($186) + 5,000 in tickets ($372)
- 4th: 2,500 in tickets ($186)
- 5th: 2,000 in tickets ($150)
- 6th – 7th: 1,000 in tickets ($75)
- 8th – 10th: 500 in tickets ($37)
The Big Dance Freeroll
The Big Dance freeroll is a two-day affair that begins the day after the March Madness series ends. The top 64 individuals on the series leaderboard (excluding the #1 finisher) will gather on Monday, April 6 at 8 p.m. ET and play down to 15 in a normal tournament format. It is on this first day of the freeroll that individuals who have earned re-entry tickets will be able to use them.
Then the following day at 8 p.m., these 15 survivors along with the leaderboard victor will gather for heads-up brackets and will play until there's a single person left standing.
Leaderboard Pools
Before the series begins, you'll see leaderboard pools in the tournament lobby. These pools will be priced at various levels to cater to those of different bankroll levels. A single player can enter as many of these pools as he or she wishes.
All the chips in each pool will be paid out to the competitor in that pool who accumulates the most leaderboard points. There's no rake or house fee taken.
Join SwCPoker and Compete in the March Madness Series
In order to participate in the March Madness Bitcoin Poker Series, you must have an account at SwCPoker. If you currently lack one, then it's easy to get started. Simply press the button below:
For more information about SwC prior to creating an account, you can take a look at this SwCPoker review.
Last Updated March 18, 2026 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief