$1.1M Guaranteed During PokerStars' Midstakes Madness

High-stakes poker tournaments often grab the headlines because of the massive prizes they offer their champions. The problem is there are many of us who cannot afford to buy into these events; they are inaccessible to us. PokerStars realizes this, which is why it is hosting the Midstakes Madness festival from June 24-25.

Midstakes Madness runs at PokerStars from June 24-25 and features 11 value-packed tournaments for you to get your teeth into. Buy-ins range from $11 up to $109, with guaranteed prize pools starting at $30,000 and increasing to a whopping $300,000. Tally up all 11 guarantees and you arrive at an impressive $1.1 million.

Midstakes Madness Schedule

The first of the 11 scheduled events shuffles up and deals at 4:30 p.m. BST on June 24. It is a $22 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max tournament where PokerStars guarantees to pay out not a cent less than $40,000.

Despite the tournament's affordable buy-in, there are a plethora of satellites feeding into the Thursday Starter, satellites that come with buy-ins as low as $1.10.

Event #2 is the biggest of the opening night, in terms of guaranteed prize pool. The $55 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Max Progressive KO Mini Bounty Builder comes with at least $200,000 in the prize pool. Bust any opponent from the tournament to receive a bounty payment of at least $12.50. Sending five opponents to the showers results in you freerolling towards one of the main prize pool prizes.

A Massive $300,000 Gtd Main Event

The highlight of the Midstakes Madness schedule is, without doubt, the eighth event. This is the $109 NLHE Main Event, which sees the first cards pitched at precisely 7:00 p.m. BST on June 25. You receive a generous helping of 50,000 chips, play to blinds starting at 125/250/30a, and a 12-minute clock. At least $300,000 is waiting to be won in the Midstakes Madness Main Event.

It is worthwhile entering some of the many Main Event satellites, which come with buy-ins of $2.20 to $22 because it is the cheapest way to arm yourself with additional entries. You can fire up to four bullets while the 3.75 hours late registration period is open.

There is a Mini Main Event starting at the same time as its big brother. It commands an $11 buy-in, and comes with a guaranteed prize pool topping the scales at no less than $50,000.

Join PokerStars and Claim a $600 Welcome Bonus

You need a PokerStars account in order to play in any of the Midstakes Madness tournaments. Head to the PokerStars client and register for an even if you already play at the site. Those of you without an account can easily download PokerStars via PokerNews.

Doing so entitles you to a welcome bonus worth up to $600. Make a deposit using the bonus code "STARS600" to see your deposit amount matched in the form of a releasable bonus up to a maximum of $600. In fact, you can make up to three deposits within 60-days and each comes with a 100% match bonus, up to a combined maximum of $600.

The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments every time you generate 180 redemption points. You receive these points at the following rates as you play real money poker:

You have four months to release as much of the bonus as possible. Any uncleared bonus is forfeited.