Over a year after it was first announced, the National Poker Series (NPS) looks finally ready to make its inaugural run – albeit not in a live setting as initially conceptualized. The series was slated to debut at the PokerBaazi LIVE poker room in Goa (April 30 – May 5) last year. But the global crisis arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organizers to postpone the series. The global health emergency still persists, and ending the wait, the NPS will be making its digital debut on one of India`s foremost online poker sites, PokerBaazi, from June 13 to 27.

Last year’s NPS announcement had built up a lot of anticipation in the poker community, and the brand has made the wait worth it for players by fine-tuning the NPS palate that guarantees a jaw-dropping ₹15 Crores. There will be 64 tourneys across the series and a massive ₹1 Crore in leaderboard prizes!

Headlining the action will be the ₹3 Crores GTD NPS Main Event that features a buy-in of ₹5,500 and gives you seven starting days to enter the field. Another three NPS events are sporting an eight-figure prize pool guarantee, but the one that`s bound to get the most coverage is the NPS Golden Rush. For the first time in India, a tourney with a ₹550 entry buy-in sports a ₹1 Crore prize pool guarantee. In plain speak, that is 20,000 times the buy-in value!

The NPS also comes with a strongly sportified feel since the series is being branded as a national-level competition, the “Olympics of Indian Poker,” where the top three finishers of each tourney win Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, respectively. This way, a total of 192 medals will be awarded across 64 events through the 15-day-long extravaganza. Furthermore, the top three players who collect the maximum Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will go down in history as the NPS’s first-ever podium medalists. They will also walk away with Las Vegas packages worth a total of ₹20 Lakhs, getting the chance to represent the nation on the world stage!

PokerBaazi has been running a fierce social media campaign to promote the NPS. Several videos have been doing the rounds featuring top poker regs like poker coach Abhishek Goindi, Young Gun Kanchan Sharma & PokerGuru Staking`s Vikram ‘Lungi’ Kumar.

There are perks for everyone, right from the big winners to the participants. Every participant at any NPS tournament automatically wins a ticket to a ₹1 Lakh Freeroll happening the next day at 12:30 PM. This means that starting Day 2 of the NPS (June 14), there will be a Freeroll running daily until a day after the completion of the series (June 28).

The hunt for glory doesn’t end with the NPS. Winners of seven featured events and the Series Leaderboard topper will converge at the PokerBaazi Live poker room onboard the Casino Pride in Goa for a live SNG, the “Night of Champions.” The player who wins the SNG will walk away as the first-ever NPS “Champion of Champions,” collecting a paycheque worth ₹10 Lakhs!

NPS Schedule

NPS Main Event ₹3 Crores GTD

Grabbing eyeballs from the get-go will undoubtedly be the ₹3 Crores GTD NPS Main Event. The ₹5,500 entry buy-in event features seven starting flights. Day 2 will begin at 9:30 PM on June 27.

Here’s how the flight lineup looks like:

> Flight 1A (June 21, 9 PM)

> Flight 1B (June 22, 9 PM)

> Flight 1C (June 23, 9 PM)

> Flight 1D (June 24, 9 PM)

> Flight 1E (June 25, 9 PM)

> Flight 1F (June 26, 9 PM)

> Flight 1G – Turbo (June 27, 5 PM)

Other Headline Events

While the ₹3 Crores GTD NPS Main Event will be hands-down the showstopper at the series, there are another three ₹1 Crore GTD tourneys at the online stop, namely – the NPS Golden Rush, NPS Super HighRoller, and NPS HighRoller.

The schedule also features four tourneys guaranteeing ₹50 Lakhs each.

The headline tourneys include:

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS Kick-Off (June 13 – 16) (4 Flights) (Day 2 on June 16 at 6 PM)

> ₹1 Crore GTD NPS Golden Rush (June 13 – 27) (15 Flights) (Day 2 on June 27 at 8:30 PM)

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS DeepStack Championship (June 17 at 8 PM)

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS Knockout (June 18 at 7 PM)

> ₹1 Crore GTD NPS Super HighRoller (June 18 at 8 PM)

> ₹30 Lakhs GTD NPS PLO HighRoller (June 19 at 8 PM)

> ₹50 Lakhs GTD NPS Mini Main Event Warm-Up (June 20 at 7:30 PM)

> ₹1 Crore GTD NPS HighRoller (June 22 – 24) (2 Flights) (Day 2 on June 24 at 7:30 PM)

NPS Golden Rush

The NPS Golden Rush promises to go down in the history books as the first ₹550 entry buy-in event in India to offer a ₹1 Crore GTD prize pool. The action for the NPS Golden Rush begins on June 13, when the first of the event’s 15 starting flights commence proceedings. All qualifying stacks converge for Day 2 on June 27.

The Leaderboards

There are extra incentives for players to play more at the NPS with consistent winner’s earnings TLB points to become eligible for prizes – Real Cash Bonus (RCB) or Las Vegas Packages – offered on the NPS Leaderboards.

There are three unique leaderboards with different prize pools to chase as you propel yourself towards eternal glory and the hunt for gold.

The NPS Podium

The stage is set. And never mind if you are a novice player or a recreational one if you have it in you what it takes: mental strength and consistency; you could just take home the title of India’s first Poker Gold Medalist!

Every tournament at the National Poker Series awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals to the podium finishers, and the medal tally determines the player’s rank on the NPS Podium. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will be worth 10, 5, and 2 points, respectively.

The top three players on the NPS Podium Leaderboard at the end of the series (clinching the most Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals) get a chance to represent India on the world stage by winning Las Vegas packages worth ₹20 Lakhs!

Daily Leaderboard

There is ₹3 Lakhs worth of prizes to be won every day as part of the Daily Leaderboards, adding up to ₹45 Lakhs in giveaways over the 15-day series.

With a total of 20 prizes, the daily leaderboard topper will pocket a cool ₹75,000.

Series Leaderboard

In addition to the NPS Podium and the Daily Leaderboards, the Series Leaderboard at the NPS promises ₹35 Lakhs in cash prizes. The player topping the charts will receive a ₹7 Lakhs paycheque and the prestige of becoming the NPS “Player of the Series.”

Daily Freeroll

There are perks for all players. All the NPS tournament participants get an automatic ticket to a ₹1 Lakh Freeroll happening the next day at 12:30 PM. The freerolls start from Day 2 of the series and continue until one day after the NPS concludes.

NPS Night of Champions

Winnings don’t stop at NPS!

To find the ultimate champion, the winners of seven marquee NPS tourneys – Kick-Off, Golden Rush, HighRoller, Super HighRoller, Mini Main Event, Main Event and PLO HighRoller – along with the NPS leaderboard winner will get the chance to travel to Goa to participate in the Night of Champions Sit’N’Go.

The SNG will take place at the PokerBaazi LIVE poker room in Majestic Pride Casino, Goa, a week after the NPS concludes. The winner of the SNG will win the ₹10 Lakhs up-top, along with the bragging rights of becoming the first NPS “Champion of Champions.”

Choose to take a Satellite!

Online satellites are running around the clock on the official satellite partner of the NPS, PokerBaazi, since April 21. With buy-ins starting as little as ₹1 (step satellites), everyone has a shot at playing at the NPS.

Deposit Codes

The NPS is yet to announce its deposit offers for the NPS, but rest assured, there will be numerous options to choose from.

Get ready for the NPS, as, in just about two months, you’ll get the chance to look at India’s first Poker Gold Medallist or be featured as the “One.”

Keep following PokerGuru for all the latest updates from the National Poker Series!