ACR Poker’s Online Super Series XL is up and running, with the site lauding it as the biggest series it’s ever held.
The tournament schedule, which runs through to the end of September, boasts $50 million in guaranteed prizepools, including three Main Events from September 21 which will together award at least $4.25 million. There are also a number of mystery bounty tourneys, Survivor Flips, multi-phase tournaments and plenty more.
With such a huge choice of tournaments, formats and variants to play, it can be tough to know exactly where to start. That’s why we reached out to two men who know the ACR Poker schedule like the back of their hands: Site ambassadors Chris Moneymaker and Chris Moorman.
Chris Moneymaker: The weekend is always going to be softer
Think of the OSS XL as the online version of the Main Event. It’s a marathon. Personally, I love the multi-flights that you can bag a massive stack over the course of the series and come in day 2 with a great shot.
You need to pick events on the schedule that fit your bankroll and skill level. And when planning your schedule, make sure to have downtime. The weekend is always going to be softer, both online and live. Also the game selection on the weekend is more comprehensive.
Turbo tournaments are great for newer players. The quicker you get shallow, the easier it is to play. The more experienced player wants to play deep stacked and exploit their advantage. In turbos you get to the ‘flipping’ stage a lot faster, increasing a new player's edge. Also it is easier to study sub-20bb poker.
Survivor Flips are also amazing for newer players because there is such a very, very small edge anyone can have. You are playing pineapple and discarding a card preflop. The only skill really is taking a suited card over off-suit. For example, if I am dealt 
, I would toss the to give myself the suited cards. However if you get 
I would take the higher cards because you don’t have to win the hand, you just can’t finish last.
When it comes to mystery bounty tournaments my advice is to be aggressive early and build big stacks. Have a bankroll big enough to fire multiple bullets so that you can go after that stack. You need this big stack later so that you can call off small stack shoves with -EV hands, which is standard in a mystery bounty format. You call off -EV because the value is so high to bust a player.
The mystery bounties are the events I love. They cause me a lot of pain but the thrill of opening that chest is tough to beat.
Chris Moorman: Your best shot at a final table
If you’re playing your first ever OSS XL event, just have fun with it and play your normal game. It’s best not to put added pressure on yourself because in poker tournaments a lot of things are out of your control. As long as you can walk away afterwards happy with how you played and approached it, that’s all you can do.
I think the Sunday tournaments are obviously the biggest, softest and best value. I’d advocate playing one of those if you are picking and choosing.
I’ve seen a few $215 events with $25K guarantees, which is a nice manageable field size of around 150 players, while still offering a decent payday. Registering this type of tournament, there is a lot more chance of getting a final table experience out of it.
I think mystery bounties are a good format for beginners. There is a lot more luck involved and you can’t be outplayed as much in general. Also, just eliminating one player during the mystery bounty phase can result in a nice score, so there is a lot more potential for having a successful tournament rather than having to make it all the way to the final table to make a decent profit.
My advice for Survivor Flips is to remember that you don’t have to win the whole hand each time, so discarding the low card is generally the best play rather than chasing for straight and flushes.
I’ve won quite a few OSS tournaments over the years. You really can’t beat that winning feeling, especially in a special series tournament. But my favorite tournament in the schedule would have to be the $2,650 Mystery Bounty. Winning a few bounties in that could save your whole series!
The OSS XL Series is running now until September 30. Check the ACR Poker client for the latest schedule.
