Yes, It's Free

The North American Poker Tour is one of several regional poker tours started and sponsored by PokerStars. 2010 marks the first year for the NAPT and the North American Poker Tour is expected to command the attention of avid poker tournament players residing in the US, and Canada, as well as the rest of the world. Players can choose to buy in directly to NAPT events or they can qualify online. The online qualifiers for the North American Poker Tour are held exclusively at PokerStars. Additionally, poker players may qualify live to gain entry to the PCA Main Event.

The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure kicked off the 2010 NAPT in Atlantis and consisted of fifty poker tournaments, which includes the $10K PCA Main Event. The main event for PCA presented yet another record breaking field, as 1528 poker players came together to play in the first ever North American Poker Tour event. First place for the 2010 PCA Main Event went to Harrison Gimbel, who took down the $2.2 Million first prize. Gimbel had won his seat in the PCA via a live satellite that was held in Atlantis, which cost him $1K.

In addition to the luxurious Atlantis Stop, the North American Poker Tour has booked two other tour stops throughout North America for 2010. The NAPT plans stops in Vegas at the beautiful Venetian in February, as well as the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. The Main Events for both the North American Poker Tour Venetian and the NAPT Mohegan Sun are priced under $5000 for entry. Online satellite qualifiers at PokerStars and live satellite tournaments will be available for each NAPT event. Tournament players may also buy in directly.

The North American Poker Tour Main Event tournaments are deep stacked, as each player begins with either 20K or 30K in tournament chips. The blinds begin at 50-100 and Day 1 features sixty-minute rounds, while the amount of time per round is increased to seventy-five minutes beyond Day 1. The deeper stacked structure of the North American Poker Tour allows for significant poker play. Antes for the NAPT Main event are introduced during the fifth round of play.

While the WSOP has historically been the most prestigious event in the poker world, it is widely believed that the North American Poker Tour will quickly gain steam, especially if it follows suit with other highly successful tours that PokerStars has brought to market, like the European Poker Tour or the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. More events are expected to be added to the NAPT in the very near future.