The best online tournaments to play over the holidays

The holidays are almost upon us and you’re no doubt scrambling around to get those last-minute gifts and essentials before spending time with family and friends. (If you need some poker-themed gift ideas, check these ideas out).

That probably means you won’t have a lot of time to check the online poker lobbies to see what big tournaments are running over the festive period. But don’t fret as we’ve got you covered.

Here we’ve cherry-picked some of the best online tournaments you can play over the holidays (when you’re not sipping mulled wine or eggnog!)

Event: PartyPoker Millions Online
Buy-in: $5,300
Date: Running until Dec 30
Guarantee: $5M Gtd

The PartyPoker Millions events are always enormous and this one–with its $5M guarantee–is no exception. The $5,300 buy-in is pretty steep too though, but fortunately, there are at least three Phase satellites running daily and countless other ways to get in for cheap. Day 1s of the tournament have already begun so get in quick. It all ends on Dec 30.

Event: PokerStars Winter Series Sunday Supreme PKO
Buy-in: $55
Date: Dec 26 1:05 ET (18:05 WET)
Guarantee: $1M Gtd

The Winter Series on PokerStars is back with 291 events in total and $50 million guaranteed in prizes. One tournament you won’t want to miss, particularly if you’re playing the low-to-mid-stakes and building a bankroll, is the $55 Sunday Supreme PKO on Boxing Day. It has a million in the prize pool and is sure to provide great value.

Event: PokerStars Winter Series Bounty Builder High Roller SE
Buy-in: $530
Date: Dec 26 1:05 ET (18:05 WET)
Guarantee: $750K Gtd

For those with less modest bankrolls, there’s the $530 edition of the event above. It’s a special edition of the daily $530 Bounty Builder (which both Lex Veldhuis and Fintan Hand picked as their favorite online tournament).

Event: PokerStars Winter Series $1K Super Tuesday SE
Buy-in: $1,050
Date: Dec 28 1:05 ET (18:05 WET)
Guarantee: $500K Gtd

The Super Tuesday is returning to its halcyon days with this special edition $1K. It has half a million in the prize pool and there are plenty of satellites running if you can’t buy straight in. Plus, it’s positioned in those days between Christmas and New Year when there’s not a lot going on!

Event: GGPoker MILLION$ Mini Main Event
Buy-in: $100
Date: Sunday, Jan 2 [Final Day]
Guarantee: $2M GTD

Over on GGPoker, you’ll definitely want to see in the New Year with the MILLION$ Mini Main Event, a $100 buy-in with a massive $2M guarantee. The final day is on Jan 2 and a deep run would kick off your 2022 in style.

Event: PokerStars Winter Series Sunday Two Million
Buy-in: $215
Date: Jan 2 1:05 ET (18:05 WET)
Guarantee: $2M Gtd

The Sunday Million remains one of the most prestigious titles in online poker, so why not go one further and take down the Sunday Two Million? This $215 buy-in has $2M in the prize pool (double the normal guarantee) so make sure you’re in the mix.

Event: GGPoker GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH
Buy-in: $1,050
Date: Sunday, Jan 9
Guarantee: $1.5M GTD

The high rollers will be out in force for the GGMasters on GGPoker in January. This $1K Freezeout event has a whopping $1.5M guaranteed and is well worth trying to satellite into.

Event: PokerStars Winter Series Main Events
Buy-ins: $55, $530, $5,200
Date: Jan 9 1:05 ET (18:05 WET)
Guarantees: $1M, $1.5M, $2M

If you haven’t already pencilled in the Winter Series Main Events on your calendars, do so now. All three events–the $55, $530 and $5,200–kick-off at the exact same time with great structures and massive prize pools.

Event: GGPoker Main Event
Buy-in: $525
Date: Sunday, Jan 9 [Day 2]
Guarantee: $5M GTD

There’s a huge event running on GGPoker in January. The GGPoker Main Event offers $5M in prizes for just a $525 buy-in so start grinding satellites if that’s a bit steep for your roll. It all comes to an end on Sunday, Jan 9.