Series features affordable buy-ins and a $500,000 guaranteed Main Event
In less than a year, the Houston poker club scene has gone from an up-and-coming market to a legitimate hotspot for major live tournament series.
The next chapter in the evolution of the Houston market hits Prime Social poker club this August. The Houston Poker Classic takes place from August 18-29, with eight feature events across the 12-day series.
Prime Social Tournament Director Justin Hammer revealed the schedule for the Houston Poker Classic in a Thursday Twitter post:
“Nice little series for the lower buy in players @PrimeSocialTX at the end of August,” Hammer tweeted. “Going to release the next major series schedule during this event, and I think y’all are really going to like what we got cooking.”
Players in Houston and the surrounding areas are likely eager to hear the details about the “next major series” Hammer alludes to in the tweet. For now, the Houston Poker Classic takes center stage as the next big live tournament festival to emanate from poker’s newest go-to destination.
Houston Poker Classic notable events
| Start Dates | Event | Notes |
| Aug. 18-21 | $250 HRC Opener | Eight different Day 1 flights, $100,000 guaranteed |
| Aug. 24 | $3,000 NLH High Roller | Highest buy-in of any HPC event |
| Aug. 25-28 | $580 Main Event | Four different Day 1 flights, $500,000 guaranteed |
| Aug. 29 | $5 Million Qualifying Freeroll |
Low buy-ins could draw high numbers for the Houston Poker Classic
Save for a $3,000 High Roller event, all tournaments on the Houston Poker Classic schedule fall into the low-to-mid buy-in range.
The series Main Event runs as a $580 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool tournament. The Main Event features four starting flights, one per day from Aug. 25-28.
The Houston Poker Classic kicks off with the $250 HRC Opener, which promises $100,000 in guaranteed prize money. That tournament could draw some of the biggest attendance numbers of the series.
The $250 HRC Opener offers eight Day 1 flights, two per day (12 pm and 5 pm local time) from Aug. 18-21.
Other tournaments on the Houston Poker Classic schedule include a $250 NLH Bounty event (Aug. 22), a $250 Double Board Bomb Pot event (Aug. 22), a $350 NLH Triple Stack tournament (Aug. 23), and an NLH All Bounty Turbo (Aug. 28).
$5 Million Qualifying Freeroll
One of the most intriguing events on the schedule unveiled by Hammer sits at the bottom of the listings. A $5 Million Qualifying Freeroll begins at 4 pm on August 29, which could give a glimpse at what Prime Social has in store for its next series.
Could a $5 million guaranteed Main Event be on its way to Houston? A pair of $1 million guaranteed tournaments played out from Texas’ biggest poker hub this spring, hosted at Champions Social in May and Prime Social in June.
The Prime Social Summer Series centered around an $1,100 Main Event, which drew 1,459 entries and pushed the capacity limits of the poker club to the brink. That tournament finished with a $1,459,000 prize pool, the second time a Main Event at Prime Social has cleared the $1 million mark.
The Prime Social Summer Series Main Event featured four Day 1 flights and guaranteed $1 million. A potential $5 million guaranteed tournament would likely involve a higher buy-in, more starting flights, or a combination of both.
In any case, the schedule released by Hammer points to big things for the Houston live tournament scene, and we could be seeing just the beginning of what’s possible in the namesake state for Texas Hold’em.
Featured image source: Twitter
