WCOOP Boot Camp 2026: Free Coaching, Freerolls, and Giveaways

BBZ Poker is partnering with PokerStars for the 2026 WCOOP Boot Camp, running August 2–17. It’s the official warm-up for the World Championship of Online Poker, and for the second straight year BBZ is supplying the training: three full Boot Camp days on Friday, July 31, August 7, and August 14, with four hours of free live coaching each day, 12 sessions in total, plus a giveaway on each of the three days with WCOOP tickets as prizes. The first training day lands two days before the series opens, so you can get coached before your first event.

WCOOP turns 25 this September. If you plan to play it, the Boot Camp is where you sharpen up first.

A 16-Day Series Built for WCOOP Prep

The Boot Camp runs on PokerStars from August 2 through August 17, ahead of WCOOP itself on September 6–30. The 2026 edition features 65 events with more than $6.5 million in combined guarantees, and every event runs at two buy-in levels, low (-L) and high (-H), so the schedule fits any bankroll.

The format spread mirrors what you’ll face in WCOOP proper: No-Limit Hold’em, PLO, PLO8, H.O.R.S.E., 8-Game, Razz, Badugi, No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw, and Fixed Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, across full ring, six-max, seven-max, and heads-up tables. Regular, turbo, and hyper structures. Progressive knockouts, mystery bounties, and marathon events included.

Marquee events

• August 2: Boot Camp 4-L, $75 NLHE Progressive KO Sunday Special, $300,000 guaranteed
• August 9: Boot Camp 32-H, $75 NLHE Mystery Mission, $300,000 guaranteed
• August 16: Main Events at 1:00 p.m. CEST, a $109 buy-in with $500,000 guaranteed and a $1,050 buy-in with $300,000 guaranteed

$11 satellites run in the PokerStars lobby throughout the series, including seats to the opening-night $300K guaranteed events.

12 Free Coaching Sessions Across Three Fridays

Three Fridays (July 31, August 7, and August 14) are full BBZ training days: four 50-minute seminars each day, 12 in total, running on the hour from 7:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. PT (10:00 a.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. CEST start), all hosted free on the BBZ Discord. The sessions cost nothing and require no subscription.

The coaching comes straight from the BBZ coaching roster: founder Jordan “bigbluffzinc” Drummond plus Jargo Alaväli, Andy “Bowie” Wilson, Brian “bfizz” Fite, Adam Calder, Rodrigo Maseda Erlin, Ryan “newguy89” McEathron, and Giuseppe “JOJEPE” Calio. Sessions are built around the spots that decide tournaments, with live Q&A. Whether you’re firing the $2.20 low-tier events or the $1,050 Main Event, the material applies.

The schedule

All times Pacific. Remaining topics drop in the Discord ahead of each day.

Friday, July 31

• 7:00 a.m. Jordan “bigbluffzinc” Drummond: welcome, daily syllabus, and Preflop (CEV)
• 8:00 a.m. Jargo Alaväli
• 9:00 a.m. Andy “Bowie” Wilson: single-raised pots vs. a short-stack big blind
• 10:00 a.m. Ryan “newguy89” McEathron

Friday, August 7

• 7:00 a.m. Brian “bfizz” Fite
• 8:00 a.m. Adam Calder
• 9:00 a.m. Giuseppe “JOJEPE” Calio: big blind probe betting
• 10:00 a.m. Ryan “newguy89” McEathron

Friday, August 14

• 7:00 a.m. Jargo Alaväli
• 8:00 a.m. Adam Calder
• 9:00 a.m. Andy “Bowie” Wilson
• 10:00 a.m. Rodrigo Maseda Erlin

The giveaways

Each of the three Boot Camp days ends with a giveaway, headlined by a $0.01 buy-in, password-protected tournament on PokerStars with up to $1,500 in WCOOP tickets in the prize pool. The password drops during the sessions, so attending the coaching is how you get in.

How to Take Part

• Join the BBZ Discord. All session schedules, announcements, and giveaway passwords go out there first.
• Mark the Fridays. July 31, August 7, and August 14, with four hours of coaching each.
• Play the schedule. Boot Camp events run August 2–17 in the PokerStars lobby, with $11 satellites to the majors.

Preparing for the Toughest Fields of the Year

As PokerStars ambassador Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg put it: “Every amazing run I’ve had, including winning a WCOOP title, has come from preparation and putting in the work beforehand.”

WCOOP is the biggest online series of the year, and its 25th edition will draw the toughest September fields on the calendar. The Boot Camp gives you 16 days of reps against those same player pools at a fraction of the buy-ins, with free coaching layered on top.

If you want structured preparation beyond the Friday sessions, Daily Seminars runs live coaching all month (free for 7 days), and BBZ Preflop Charts covers the opening ranges for every format on the Boot Camp schedule.