One of the most popular promotions at PokerStars, Milestone Hands, has returned this week. It started Monday and will run across 300 Milestone Hands with cash prizes awarded every millionth hand. PokerStars promises that $700,000 will be doled out over the course of the promotion.
Players eligible to win money in a Milestone Hand is anyone who is playing in a real money cash game on PokerStars. The lucky winners will be whomever is dealt cards in a hand when the hand counter hits a million-hand mark right on the nose. The prizes are based on a player’s activity in the 49 hands leading up to the Milestone as well as the number of VIP Player Points (VPPs) earned in the milestone hand.
For the first 299 Milestone Hands, the winner of the hand will receive $60 times the number of VPPs earned in the last 50 hands (counting the Milestone Hand) plus $100. The other players at the table will win $30 times the number of VPPs plus $50. In the example used on PokerStars’ website, if the winner earned 5 VPPs in the 49 hands prior to the Milestone and 1 VPP in the Milestone Hand, he would win $60 times 6 ($360) plus $100 for a total of $460.
PokerStars has guaranteed a minimum of $600,000 to be awarded during the first 300 Milestone Hands with any money in the prizepool that hasn’t been awarded going into the Milestone Hand 300 Stake Share.
Milestone Hand 300 will work similarly to the others, except the prizes will be increased. The winner of the hand wins his last 50 hands worth of VPPs times $1,000 plus $4,000, while the other players dealt into the hand will win their VPPs times $500 plus $2,000.
And now for the Stake Share. After all the Milestone prizes have been tallied, the difference between that total and $700,000 will be split amongst all the players who were playing at tables with the same game, betting structure, and stakes as the Milestone Hand 300 when that hand was dealt. Each qualifying player will win a cash prize proportional to how many VPPs he earned in the previous 49 hands. At least $100,000 will be in the Stake Share pool.
The last time PokerStars held a Milestone Hand promotion was during the run-up to the site’s 100 Billionth hand. That promotion was gigantic: everyone dealt in to the 100 Billionth hand shared a $1 million prize.
Players can see the progress towards the next Milestone Hand by checking out the counter at the top of the PokerStars lobby. Over $145,000 has been paid out so far in the promotion with Milestone Hand
116,503,000,000 just dealt.
