They’ve always been “Big” and now they’re more frequent.
By popular demand, HorseTourneys has added a third Big Bucks event to the featured-tourney schedule each week. The new addition comes on Friday — an up-to-$20,000 Pick & Pray with $7,500 Guaranteed. As with the other Big Bucks games on Saturdays and Sundays, the entry fee is $1,150.
Known for their small fields but big payouts, Big Bucks tourneys are limited to 20 entries (unless a last-minute feeder nudges the entry mark slightly over 20), and payouts only go to the top three finishers on a 70%/20%/10% basis.
Friday and Saturday Big Bucks tourneys are run as Pick & Prays, while the Sunday competition is conducted in Live format. In each case, a sold-out game means an overall prize pool in excess of $20,000.
There are a variety of ways in which to earn a Big Bucks berth. You can always play the old-fashioned way — by buying in directly for $1,150. There are also $135 “Quick, Early Bird” feeders early on the day of each game.
There are three additional ways to qualify for the Saturday Big Bucks tourneys, which carry a higher guarantee of $10,000.
You can play a 1-per-5 round 1 feeder on Wednesday ($62 entry fee) that feeds to a $269 Round 2 qualifier (also 1-per-5) on Friday. Or you could directly enter the $269 Round 2 qualifier. Or…you could choose to play in a direct, 1-per-10, $135 qualifier on Friday.
The cheaper path into the $7,500 Guaranteed Sunday Big Bucks (other than the Sunday Early Bird) is to play a 1-per-10 Saturday qualifier for $135.
However you get yourself in, the rewards are ample if you do well. One very popular aspect to Big Bucks games is that if you like a pricey horse, the small, 20-or-fewer fields means that not a lot of others figure to be on the same horse. The limited fields also mean that you don’t necessarily have to have the day of your life in order to win.
If you’re a high-stakes player with a taste for action, the Big Bucks tourneys might just be for you. And if you’re already a Big Bucks fan, you now have an additional opportunity each week to show what you’ve got.