Poker Stars Stepping Out With Steps Qualifiers

Poker Stars is now offering "steps" tournaments, wherein players can win entry and vacation packages for either the European Poker Tour's Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure or Asia Pacific Poker Tour events.

The steps system gives players another path into these large buy-in tournaments for cheap. Here's how it works: Players start at the Step 1 single-table tournaments for either 500 Frequent Player Points or $7.50.

Place first or second in Step 1 and receive a $27 entry into Step 2. Players who finish third in the Step 1 will win reentry into another Step 1 tournament. Those who finish fourth win $1.50.

Place first or second in the Step 2 and receive an $82 entry into Step 3. Players who finish third and fourth in the Step 2 will get to try Step 2 again. The player who finishes fifth wins an entry into Step 1.

The top two players of the Step 3 table win a $215 entry into Step 4. Players finishing third to fifth receive and entry into Step 3 to try it again.

Players who finish first and second in Step 4 win a $700 entry into Step 5. Third place receives another shot at Step 4. Fourth- and fifth-place finishers go back to Step 3; and the sixth-place finisher goes back to Step 2.

Finish first or second in Step 5 and you'll receive a $2,100 ticket into either an 18-player sit-and-go or a single-table sit-and-go where the prize packages are awarded. The two-table satellite will award a prize package to the top three finishers. The single-table satellite will award the winner the package, as well as monetary prizes to second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.

Players can start at any Step-level they wish by buying in directly with cash. The cash value of the PCA prize package is $12,000, and the value varies for the APPT events.