Winter/Spring League 2026
LEAGUE STARTS THURSDAY January 8 6:30 PM at Win! Derby in St. Petersburg (Derby Lane). Come early to register! To save your spot or ask any questions – text Mark Winchell 727-808-5947, email Mwin66@yahoo.com or you can message the league via the Elite Tampa Bay Poker League Facebook page.
Basic info:
We’ll play 20 weeks. This Fall we awarded 9 WSOP Main Event/WPT Championship seats!!!
Registration is open for a few weeks.
The league plays weekly on Thursdays at 6:30pm.
Pay the $200 weekly entry fee at the tournament window. Registration is open for several weeks as long as we have room – you must play at least 17 of the 20 weeks (or have a sub-see below policy). We are expecting quite a lot of participants in the league after members won 9 seats to the 2026 WSOP/25 WPT already. You’ll want to join asap as you receive one point for attendance each week and those are pretty valuable!
You may have a substitute to cover any issues/conflicts that may occur during the season up to 6 times unless otherwise approved by the committee. The $200 must be paid. The substitute will be paid any cash won (how or if you share that is up to you) but points will go to you. This will be a great way to introduce new players to our league, or get some celebrities to play in it! We also allow Teams of two!
E-mail: mwin66@yahoo.com or talk to him, Andra Zachow, Jason Barnett, Chrissy Holubeck, Steve Trizis, Ondrei Ronhaar or other league members for more info. Follow our website Tampabaypoker.com for updates and subscribe to our blog for weekly updates and pictures. Follow our facebook page “Elite Tampa Bay Poker League” for updates as well. You may also message us there.
The Elite Tampa Bay Poker League is a great way to kick your game up a notch and some of the best players in the Tampa Bay Area or even the United States have played in the League! There are weekly prizes in addition to the points going to the season end prizes so that can help offset your cost to play. Its a great group of people!
With much appreciated help from a legal professional who has participated in the league, we’ve put together a complete set of rules for everyone to sign off on since so many random issues seem to come up. This will make sure everyone has a full understanding of the League rules and how things work and cover “what ifs” that can come up. There’s a link to a pdf of the rules at the bottom of this page and we’ll ask you to sign a copy of this by the time your league fee is paid for the season. Versus us making 40+ additional copies please save the pdf for your own copy. We’ll be updating before the season starts so make sure to look at the copy around Jan 8th.
See the general rules and info below but read the pdf at the bottom of the page for all of the details. **details subject to change as we get this season up and running
FAQ below:
Tournament Info
When & Where
*League Will run every Thursday @ 6:30 pm at Derby Lane starting January 8th.
Is there a fee?
*$300 Fee to join which goes to prize package Funds (pay at the table to Jason Barnett, Treasurer) we do use $500 of the fees to partially cover League expenses the rest is covered by volunteers/contributions.
How much does it cost each week?
*$200 Weekly Entry Fee ($80 Weekly Prize Pool + $10 Tourney Fee + $10 Dealer Add On + $100 Towards Prize Packages).
What are the weekly payouts?
*Top 3 (or 10% whichever is higher) each week get paid cash and final table each week earn points. If more than 35 members, top 4 will be paid each week.
Are their special rules?
*Tournament will follow TDA rules.
How many chips? How long are levels?
*Starting stack: 20,000/20 minute levels
Are their entries/rebuys allowed?
*One reentry allowed per week until 1st break only. No point added for the reentry.
How are the seats awarded?
Points System assuming 9 handed:
1st – 14 points
2nd – 12 points
3rd – 10 points
4th – 8 points
5th – 6 points
6th– 4 points
7th– 3 points
8th – 2 points
9th – 1 point
Plus you will get 1 point for every week you play.
Total points at the season end determine who will rep the league at the $10k WSOP Main Event!
Are there other rules?
Players may chop the weekly payouts, but must play out the tournament since the top 9 receive points. When you get heads up, you may chop the points if you wish but you can’t just stop and choose who is first and who is second.
Any side deals or collusion in regard to points, will not be tolerated and will result in immediate disqualification.
To avoid players from not showing up if behind in the point standings, and to guarantee the most prize packages will be awarded, all players will be required to play 17 weeks, and 4 of the last 5 weeks. Of the $300 entry fee, a min $150 is needed on each of the 2nd & 3rd weeks (1st week you can try it out if you’d like before committing). This fee is non-refundable under any circumstances and should be paid in full by January 29. Feel free to pay in full at any time before that.
The end of season prize packages will include:
*Top Prizes $10,000 entry (not cash). This prize MUST BE USED TO PLAY IN THE 2026 WSOP MAIN EVENT, or the WPT Wynn $10k in December or other agreed upon tournament if approved by the executive committee. We will have as many of these as possible depending on number of participants.
Minor Event Packages may be awarded as well depending on number of participants/funds left after maximizing $10K seats.
Big change:
Year End 2nd chance Tournament: To encourage players not to quit, players that did not win a Prize package, and have played in at least 17 of the weekly league tournaments, AND have played in at least 4 of the final 5 weeks are eligible to participate. This tournament will take place after week 20 with the qualified players who have not won a seat playing FOR ONE MORE $10k seat that will be held back!!! You still must pay the Derby fee to get into the tournament. Reentry rules tbd. Starting stack = your season end points x 1000!
Any leftover season monies after Main prizes will also go into this tournament event.
These prizes are based on reasonable participation and are in no way guaranteed. Actual numbers will vary based on how many players enter and how many weeks each player attends. We would like to structure the season end prizes to allow at least 20% of league members to win a $10k WSOP/WPT seat.
Tournament results, current standings, and updated prize pool info will be posted weekly on this website along with our blog posts with pictures and weekly information.
If at the end there is a tie in Weekly Points for the Top Seat(s), the tie breaker will be determined in this order:
- Most 1st place finishes (including chops) , then if tied Most final tables or players may chop prizes, but one must play the $10K event.
All Members agree to give 10% of their proceeds from any tournament they cash in, that was a result of buying in with $ won through the league prizes. This $ will be disbursed evenly to all league members from the season of their win that are “in good standing” at the time of the cash. If a player wins a tournament package and cannot fulfill their obligation to play in Vegas, they may choose to take half of the prize in cash* The money returned to the league will be used to buy 10% of other players in the WSOP.
Also, there is an executive committee to make any decisions that haven’t been addressed in the rules, settle any disputes, and address unusual circumstances. By Joining the league, you agree to follow any decisions they make.
Anyone is welcome to join our league, but we’d like to stress that our league is about fun, learning to play better, and camaraderie. That is not to say we’re not competitive, we are, but bad beats, and bad play are both major components of poker, and if you have a hard time dealing with those, then perhaps we aren’t for you. We have some beginners, as well as some “gamblers” in the league, consequently play can be wide open at times. Accept that graciously, or don’t join.
To read about each night’s play or get more familiar with our league and the players read the ongoing blog including past posts and feel free to contribute pictures/hands that you would like included – submit or text or our site admin/blogger Andra Zachow at 727-433-3989. Please submit by Friday morning after the prior night’s league play to be included.
Keep watching this site, the blog & facebook page for more information before, during and after the season.
Feel free to e-mail or text us with any questions.
The Executive Committee:
Mark, Andra, Jason, Chrissy, Ondrei & The Godfather Steve Trizis helps too!
E-mail : Mwin66@yahoo.com
Andra Zachow 727-433-3989 (text preferred)
Mark Winchell 727-808-5947
Jason Barnett (727) 250-8449
Chrissy Holubeck (727) 418-7535
LEAGUE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT – THE RULES – BELOW PLEASE READ AND SIGN THE LAST PAGE AND RETURN THAT PAGE TO THE TREASURER WITH YOUR LEAGUE FEE.
Awseome