The PartyPoker Challenge on PokerTableRatings started registering players on Wednesday, with actual competition beginning on January 18th. Players can get in on the action by completing two different steps. A player must have a PartyPoker account and an account at PokerTableRatings.
Through playing at the minimum levels of $0.05/$0.10 No Limit or Pot Limit Hold’em, or at $0.25/$0.50 Limit Hold’em, users have to earn 12 different badges before February 15th. These badges are of varying difficulty and completion of four of them moves a player into another prize zone. Some of these badges are for skillful play, while others are for more unconventional moves.
On the easy end of the spectrum, players can earn their first badge for playing 1,000 hands in a 24-hour period. The other two badges at the easy level are for achievements in No Limit Hold’em only. If a player starts with 50 big blinds, limps into a pot with pocket aces, and wins at showdown, another badge is earned. The final easy badge is called “The Maniac” because it requires a player holding 50 big blinds to move all in pre-flop with a baby pair (pocket sixes to pocket deuces) and win the hand at showdown.
The medium badges present a chance for players to demonstrate a wide range of poker expertise. Players can earn one of two “Hero” badges for making a call with only king-high and winning the hand or making the right fold with less than ten big blinds in their stack. Two other badges are for winning with the historic “Dead Man’s Hand” and winning while holding 7-2 at showdown when not in the big blind. The final medium badge is for playing 300 hands a day for five consecutive days.
The hard badges naturally are the most difficult to achieve. A badge is offered for winning a “family pot” where five players or more see the flop. Another badge is offered for making a seven-card straight, such as holding 9-8 on a 3-4-5-6-7 board. The final two badges are for truly excellent play: winning a “Huge Pot” (designated as 25 big bets for Limit or 400+ big blinds for No Limit) and building a stack of 500 big blinds in No Limit in one sitting.
For every four badges earned, players will be rewarded with prizes from PokerTableRatings and PartyPoker. At the “Rookie” level (earn four badges), the first 50 qualifiers will earn a $10 Amazon gift card. Players will also receive one month of PokerTableRatings’ Silver package and entry into the Rookie Freeroll, with $500 on the line for competitors.
Players who earn eight badges will be granted “Pro” status in the PartyPoker Challenge. The first ten players who qualify for this level will get their choice of an Xbox Kinect or PlayStation 3. Players who earn this status will be gifted with one month of PokerTableRatings’ Gold package and earn entry into the Pro Freeroll. In the Pro Freeroll, the top five finishers earn seats to the PartyPoker Monthly Million and the next five finishers earn a ticket to the $30,000 Guaranteed.
If a player is able to get all 12 badges, then the level of “Baller” is given to them. The first five qualifiers at this level have a choice of an iPad or a custom Paulson chipset. Players who achieve “Baller” status will also receive three months of PokerTableRatings’ Gold status and be eligible for the Baller Freeroll. In this tournament, first place walks off with a seat to the World Poker Tour stop in Vienna, Austria and second through fifth get a ticket to the Monthly Million.
