Poker Satellite Strategy: How to qualify for the main events of high stakes live and online poker tournaments

by Dara O'Kearney, Barry Carter

The best way for small stakes poker players to earn life-changing amounts of money is to win a satellite into a bigger tournament. Yet there is surprisingly little poker theory written about how to win satellite tournaments, until now. In Poker Satellite Strategy professional poker player Dara O’Kearney gives you a framework for how to approach every stage of a satellite tournament, from the early levels right up to the bubble. This book takes the stress and uncertainty out of satellites.

You will Dara O’Kearney is a professional poker player from Ireland with a long standing reputation as the best satellite specialist in the game. He has won over $1 million in satellite tournaments alone and twice won the PokerStars UKIPT satellite leaderboard. He is sponsored by Unibet Poker and is the co-host of The Chip Race Podcast.

“In the first 30 minutes of reading, I guarantee you will pick up something that will increase your future expectation to cover the cost of the book tenfold” – Marty “TheLipoFund” Mathis, partypoker PPL Satellite Leaderboard winner

“A highly recommended book for anyone looking to play satellites well or related formats like Double or Nothing where multiple finishers receive identical top prizes” ~ Collin Moshman – author of Sit N’ Go Strategy
This book uses the most up-to-date poker ICM calculators, however it has been written in a way to make the poker math you need to do at the tables very simple. Every chapter starts from a poker GTO framework but then explains how you should deviate when the players or table dynamics change. It covers every aspect of satellite play, from the important bubble stage, but even explaining the poker game theory behind late registering, post flop play, poker mindset issues unique to satellites and how to adjust in live poker tournaments . It has everything a texas hold'em player needs to qualify for big poker tournaments like the World Poker Tour, EPT or World Series of Poker.

215 pages, Paperback

Published February 26, 2019

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A highly recommended book for anyone looking to play satellites well or related formats like Double or Nothing where multiple finishers receive identical top prizes.
Collin Moshman

[Jonathan Coffman]

Reluctant to give a star rating for such a niche poker strategy book, but it’s an excellent look at satellite poker fundamentals. Hope it takes me to Cleveland next month!

[Jon Choivo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a bit of background, i'm primarily a recreational player who finds playing poker or studying poker very interesting.

Having said that, i probably study a lot more about poker than i play. I've studied quite a number of poker courses, RYE Tournament Masterclass, From The Ground Up Cash and MTT, Bluff the Spot etc etc, as well as quite a few poker books, Harrington, etc etc

Make no mistake, the courses above provide a lot of value, as for the poker books, they are just abit outdated.

However, when it came to this book, in terms of time spent, there is nothing better better/more efficient.

The author uses solvers/icmizers to derive first principles, he clearly explains the first principles and its logic, how it is different from other game types, and provide the essential examples.

For most poker players, who do not intend to go professional, or spend more than 12 hours a day playing/studying poker, this is probably the most important thing.

And for professionals, the first principles he provided will cover 80% of all you need to know (which should reduce big leaks and turn you from a big losing player, to a marginally losing / break-even / profitable player depending on stakes, and how well you apply the content), and provide you a clear path to study the remaining 20% needed to crush the games.

And all this for 10 dollars, most poker courses charge easily more than 500-1k dollars.

[Mike Hunsucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

In what can only be described as the holy grail of Poker Satellite Strategy Books, Dara and Barry hold nothing back. Reading and implementing the strategies and concepts in this book should show an immediate return. I guarantee Your CoC(chance of cashing) as described in much detail in the book, will dramatically increase as you gain an edge on the field. Pay close attention to the numbers and the nuances, laid out for you in an easy to understand way. I personally would have paid 5 times what i paid for this book. I went from clueless satty player, to being able to play tournaments far outside my bankroll as a recreational player. If you’re looking to be able to take shots at the higher stakes, or to simply build your bankroll by winning tournament$, this is the book for you. If you’re an advanced player, use this book to become elite.

[Alexandra Chauran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book totally blew my mind. Would you believe that, by the time you're finished reading this book, you will be fully convinced there is a time and a place to fold pocket AA preflop? I really enjoyed the simple but fascinating mathematics involved in this book. Even if you're not a satellite grinder, the special considerations for satellites will help you understand the counterpoints in MTTs more deeply and clearly. Plus, now I'm ready to do something with those freeroll satellite tickets that sometimes find their way into my online hands. A must read.

[Santiago Mansilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best poker books of 2019 without a doubt and one of the few that exist on satellites.

It is a must read if you plan to play satellites, whether online or live. The authors cover the most important topics, starting with the final stage, which is the most important. One of the last chapters is dedicated to the Mental Game and a contribution is made by Jared Tendler, author of the excellent book "The Mental Game of Poker".

[Chihao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read, great in depth book into satelites and GTO lines with hand ranges.
Only 4*, feel the formatting of the book could be slightly better with some of the charts going across multiple pages, and/or big white spaces before charts.
But poker content is top notch!
One to be constantly re-read and refer to.

Thanks for the signed copy as well!

[Helfren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introductory book about poker and the satelite stategy. Play agressively and want to be seen as dangerous but at the same time avoid confrontation as much as possible. Avoid bluffing because the habit of it most of the time is not profitable. Interesting book about the new evolutionary satelite when playing poker.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book super useful and learnt so much from it. It’s one I definitely need to read over and over yo really get to grips with it and to study in depth but I’ve read it once and already made lots of notes and found it useful. Got some satellites coming up so fingers crossed!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been playing professionally for the last couple of years, but still got a tonne of value and new insights into playing satellites. Would recommend this book to players of all levels