Play PlaySCOOP?

The Spring Championship of Online Poker is underway currently at PokerStars, the huge online series that is really positioned perfectly relative to the major tours’ ending and the World Series of Poker still a few weeks away.

That scheduling ensures tourney regulars are able to get on the SCOOP train and populate those “high” buy-in events, which in turn gives the series a lot of publicity and encourages others to play in the “low” and “medium” ones (which the regs play, too). And of course there are a large number of U.S.-based pros who find it worthwhile to relocate elsewhere for the two weeks, just as many do in the fall for the World Championship of Online Poker.

All of which keeps SCOOP and PokerStars fairly central on the poker landscape, generally speaking, even here in the U.S. despite the fact that we’re stuck on the rail.

That said, there are SCOOP events Americans can play this time around -- “PlaySCOOP” ones in which the buy-ins and prizes are play money. No shinola!

Like the regular SCOOPs, there are different levels of buy-ins (with play chips) for these -- in this case just “low” and “high” levels. There are 45 sets of tourneys, just like in the real money SCOOPs, with “low” ones featuring buy-ins of 20,000 or thereabouts and the “high” ones costing 2 million or so, meaning most who play the latter will have bought their play chips. If you’re curious, here is the full PlaySCOOP schedule.

I still play sit-n-gos now and then on Stars with my play money chips, having amassed a few million prior to getting involved in real money games on the site long ago. So I’m actually thinking about playing a few PlaySCOOPs. I’ve even thought about jumping into the “Sunday Billion” one week, too -- the play money version of the Sunday Million -- although part of me can’t really imagine actually sitting through many hours of a tourney for which the prize is just more play chips.

Maybe I’ll try either the “Ante Up” one tomorrow or the “Big Antes” event on Friday. Will have to stick to the “low” buy-in version, though, as entering the “high” would represent a treacherous lack of play bankroll management. Unless of course I can play sell some of my play action.

Wondering... do winners get play watches?