ACR Poker Prepares for Venom PKO with $5M GTD

Last updated on January 18th, 2024

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Multiple times each year, ACR Poker (formerly Americas Cardroom) offers its signature tournament called the Venom. The standard version of the Venom offers a $10M guarantee, and the progressive knockout version puts up a $5M guarantee.

As ACR Poker charges into 2024, it is time to kick things off with a Venom PKO. Its four initial flights will take place on Thursdays and Sundays from January 18-28, followed by two playdown days and the final table on January 31.

Players familiar with the Venom know that the direct buy-in is $2,650, but there will be a massive number of satellite options – starting at zero dollars – that will award at least 650 seats to the Venom. Many players have parlayed their satellite efforts into four-figure, five-figure, and even six-figure paydays.

Venom Schedule

The buy-in breakdown for the Venom PKO is $1,250 for the prize pool, $1,250 for the bounty pool, and $150 as the fee. Players begin with 300K chips, and they can play only once each flight. However, once a player bags chips at the end of a flight, they cannot play another flight.

The official schedule for this January 2024 Venom PKO is:

January 18 (Thursday): Day 1A at 1:05pm ET
January 21 (Sunday): Day 1B at 1:05pm ET
January 25 (Thursday): Day 1C at 1:05pm ET
January 28 (Sunday): Day 1D at 1:05pm ET
January 29 (Monday): Day 2 at 1:05pm ET (Day 1 survivors combine)
January 30 (Tuesday): Day 3 at 1:05pm ET (playdown to final table)
January 31 (Wednesday): Final table begins at 4:05pm (live streaming available)

Venom Fever and Steps Begin

The satellite system available for winning $2,650 tickets to the Venom PKO is multi-tiered. It begins on January 7 and runs through January 28. There are several ways to qualify.

There is the On-Demand Step system, which gives players the chance to start at Level 1 with just a $0.11 buy-in. Each step then guarantees a certain number of tickets to the next level. Players can climb the steps or simply buy in at any level and climb from that point on.

Step 1: $0.11 buy-in (10 Step 2 tickets guaranteed, 15 players required to begin)
Step 2: $0.55 buy-in (8 Step 3 tickets guaranteed, 12 players required to begin)
Step 3: $2.50 buy-in (7 Step 4 tickets guaranteed, 10 players required to begin)
Step 4: $11 buy-in (6 Step 5 tickets guaranteed, 10 players required to begin)
Step 5: $33 buy-in (5 Step 6 tickets guaranteed, 8 players required to begin)
Step 6: $109 buy-in (4 Step 7 tickets guaranteed, 8 players required to begin)
Step 7: $290 buy-in (1 Venom seat guaranteed, 4 players required to begin)

Venom Fever is the program that guarantees 650 seats to be awarded. The full three-week schedule, complete with dates, times, and structures, is on the ACR website. The outline of Venom Fever is as follows:

Daily direct satellites with buy-ins starting at $33
Daily paths to mega satellites starting with freerolls
Mega satellites at $55, $109, $290, and $630 buy-in levels on Saturdays and Sundays
Beast satellites with $95 buy-ins on January 7, 14, and 21

There is no limit to the number of Venom seats a player can win. They can sell extra tickets but facilitate the sale through WPN per the terms and conditions of the Venom. They can also hold a Venom seat until the next Venom tournament, which will likely be in the next two or three months.

Jennifer Newell is a freelance writer at LegalUsPokerSites. She has two decades of experience in the iGaming industry. She is a respected poker media member, contributing to publications and websites like USA Today, PokerStars, and PokerScout. Her knowledge spans gambling legislation and the broader online gaming world. She has spent years advocating for diversity, most notably gender equity in the traditionally male-dominated poker sphere.