Last Updated: 15 December 2025
What Are CoinPoker Satellites?
Satellite poker tournaments are low-priced special events in which players compete for entry into higher-buy-in tournaments and cash prizes.
For example, imagine you have a $5 bankroll, and you want to play a tournament:
- Enter a regular tournament: Enter a poker tournament for a $5 buy-in and play for a $1,000 cash prize.
- Enter a satellite tournament: Enter a satellite for $5 and play for a $50 ticket to a $5,000 guaranteed tournament.
With the satellite, the money you spend on entry could get you a seat at a much bigger prize pool tournament. This makes satellites a popular choice, offering a cost-effective way to reach elite tables.
How Satellite Tournaments Work
Players enter a satellite for a small buy-in and compete for a set number of tickets to a larger event. The prize pool is structured to award seats and a small cash prize. Let’s take a look at how it works:
- Enter the Tournament: Join the satellite by paying the required small buy-in.
- Play for the Prize: Compete to win chips and survive against the field of players.
- Get Past the Bubble: Survive the critical point where the number of players left equals the available seats.
- Claim Prize: Receive your coveted seat for the high-stakes main event and potentially a small cash prize.
Our Satellite Schedule
Dreaming of winning big? Our satellite schedule is your golden ticket, giving players a low-cost, high-value path into the biggest tournaments on CoinPoker. These include our massive CoinMasters events and high-roller Sunday Specials!
| Satellite Name | Buy-in ($) | Guaranteed # of Tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Sat to Sunday Thunderbird PKO | 5.00 | 4 |
| Feeder to $5 Sat to $50 Sunday Big Flash | 0.50 | 5 |
| Centroll to $1 8-Max Sunday Prime Mega Sat | 0.01 | 15 |
| Mega Sat to $100 CoinPoker Kickoff | 20.00 | 5 |
| Hyper LR Sat to $200 Sunday Special | 25.00 | 2 |
| Mega Feeder to $30 CoinMasters - BITCOIN Mega Sat | 5.00 | 10 |
| Mega Sat to $50 Sunday Sprint | 5.00 | 5 |
| $8.88 Sat to $88 Sunday Special Asia | 8.88 | 5 |
| Centroll to $0.30 Hyper Session Saver Feeder | 0.01 | 10 |
| Feeder to $3 CoinMasters BITCOIN Feeder | 0.30 | $5 |
| Feeder to $5 Primetime Classic Sat | 0.50 | $5 |
| Mega Sat to $10 6-Max Sunday Prime | 1.00 | 10 |
| Sat to $5,000 Nemesis | 500.00 | 2 |
| Hyper LR Sat to $50 Sunday CoinHunter Main Event PKO | 10.00 | 2 |
| Sat to $150 CoinMasters - BITCOIN | 15.00 | 6 |
| Mega Sat to $150 CoinMasters BITCOIN | 30.00 | 15 |
| Sat to $35 Americas Classic | 5.00 | 3 |
| Feeder to $500 Nemesis Feeder | 50.00 | 3 |
| Sat to $500 Sunday Main Event HR | 75.00 | 3 |
| Sat to $50 Thunderbird PKO | 5.00 | 3 |
| Hyper LR Sat to $500 Sunday Main Event | 75.00 | 2 |
Other Value-Packed Tournaments on CoinPoker
You can access all the tournaments below via our satellite system, turning a small buy-in into a huge score! Qualify for major events and play for massive guaranteed paydays and other unique prizes. You can also win seats to our prestigious CoinMasters events for physical prizes!
CoinMasters
The CoinMasters is our premium tournament series across multiple buy-in tiers. The series offers guaranteed prizes, ending in a massive $100,000 poker career package for the ultimate winner. Every event winner gets a physical precious metals coin and a bonus for the full set.
Sunday PKOs
These are some of the most popular Sunday progressive knockout tournaments that dominate our schedule. You win a cash bounty immediately for every player you eliminate, creating tremendous extra value. Not forgetting there are also prizes for the top finishers.
Coin Series of Poker
The Coin Series of Online Poker (CSOP) is our largest, multi-week tournament festival. With total prize pools in the millions, and a huge $6M available in the Autumn event, these are our biggest events. Featuring multiple tiers, unique events, and satellites to GTD prize pools.
Sunday Specials
Sunday Specials are our flagship weekly tournaments, featuring enormous guaranteed prize pools across multiple buy-in tiers from $1 to $5,000. They are the high-value destination for grinders and casual players looking for our most significant weekly paydays.
Freerolls
Coinpoker’s freerolls are the perfect starting point for building your bankroll since they have a $0 entry fee. You can still win real cash and tournament ticket prizes. These are ideal for beginners practicing skills, looking to win without any risk, and building a bankroll from scratch.
Centrolls
Centrolls are the lowest-cost satellites on the platform, running for $0.01. They offer an ultra-cheap way to win tickets into low-tier tournaments or larger satellites. You can play micro-stakes and then move up to bigger tournaments to win big cash prizes.
Satellite vs. Normal Poker Tournaments
While satellite and standard MTTs share the same structure, their objectives and strategies differ. Here’s how they compare:
| Aspect | Satellite Tournaments | Normal MTTs |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Survive and win a seat | Win chips and finish as high as possible |
| Payout Structure | Fixed ticket prizes only | Tiered cash payouts based on placement |
| Strategy Focus | Tight, conservative play near the bubble | Aggressive chip accumulation throughout |
| Bubble Dynamics | Intense ICM pressure, folding big hands is common | Bubble pressure exists, but less severe |
| Prize Value | Potential entry to big-money events from small buy-ins | Direct monetary return based on position |
| Best For | Players looking to ladder into higher-stakes events cheaply | Players with healthy bankrolls aiming for cash payouts |
Satellites reward survival, not stack dominance. Once you’ve reached the threshold (e.g., top 10 players), you’ll win a ticket to a more lucrative poker tournament.
Satellites offer a major upside: a small investment for a shot at a massive event. The main drawback? You might “win” a ticket but not cash. Nonetheless, for skilled players, these tournaments provide one of the best ROI opportunities in online poker.
Understanding the Benefits of Satellite Tournaments
Satellite poker tournaments are a powerful tool for players, maximizing their bankroll by entering bigger events without paying full price. Whether you’re playing for a single high-value seat or dozens of lower-tier entries, satellites offer flexibility and opportunity.
- Massive Value for Small Buy-Ins: A $5 satellite can win you entry into a high buy-in event, turning minimal risk into significant upside.
- Multiple Prize Paths: Some satellites award one big-ticket prize; others reward many mid-stakes entries, giving players more ways to succeed.
- Survival Over Aggression: These tournaments reward tight, disciplined play, perfect for players who excel in ICM-aware spots.
- Ideal for Bankroll Builders: You don’t need a huge bankroll to climb the ladder toward big-money tournaments.
How to Play Each Satellite Tournament Stage
Welcome to the tactical grind. Unlike standard poker tournaments, satellite events are defined by the survival-over-stacks principle, demanding an entirely different, lower-variance strategy. Since you receive no additional value for finishing with the largest stack, the objective is to preserve chips and exercise patience.
In the early stage, we prioritize disaster avoidance and positional advantage. The middle game shifts focus to ICM-aware stack preservation and pressuring short stacks. Finally, the late stage is pure discipline: avoiding mistakes and resisting the urge to gamble unnecessarily to secure your seat. Master these phase-specific tactics to convert small buy-ins into lucrative tournament tickets consistently.
Early Stages
The early stages of satellite poker tournaments are about avoiding disaster. Many players play aggressive poker too soon. The key is to avoid marginal spots and let looser players knock each other out. Stick to value hands, avoid big flips, and don’t overextend with draws.
Survival is the name of the game; use position to your advantage and leverage it to force other players to make mistakes. When you are in position, play all your hands as 3-bets or folds, as there is little incentive to call raises and chase speculative hands.
Middle Stages
In the middle stages of satellite poker tournaments, the focus shifts from chip accumulation to position and awareness. You’ll begin to notice the field thinning, and this is when ICM (Independent Chip Model) starts to matter more than ever.
Avoid unnecessary confrontations with similarly sized stacks; instead, apply pressure to short stacks. This is also a great time to tighten your range and monitor table dynamics. Stack preservation is key. Losing half your stack here can be far more damaging than folding marginally profitable hands.
Late Stages
When you’re just a few eliminations away from a seat, your only job is to avoid making a mistake. Fold everything except premium hands, especially if your stack is safe relative to the shortest at the table. Let others bust, and pay attention to the clock, prize structure, and remaining players.
If you’re one elimination away from qualifying, and someone else is short-stacked, don’t engage. The best move is often no move at all. The bubble is brutal for those who overplay their edge. Stay focused, fold big hands if needed, and secure your seat without gambling unnecessarily.
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Satellite FAQs
Tournaments where players win seats to larger events instead of direct cash payouts.
You enter for a small buy-in and aim to win entry into a higher-stakes tournament.
Yes! CoinPoker hosts multiple satellite poker tournaments online daily for various buy-in levels.
Absolutely. CoinPoker offers free online satellite poker tournaments with real tournament ticket prizes.
Play tight near the bubble and prioritize survival over chip accumulation whenever possible.