Grading III: Journey to Oz

For over a decade, the Aussie Millions has been one of the first dates circled on the poker calendar with players travelling from all over the world to play the most celebrated tournament outside of the World Series. Now, thanks to Black Belt Poker, you can join them.

Grading III: Journey to Oz is set to take the poker world by storm by offering three players an all-expenses paid Aussie Millions package worth £10,000. Winners will also be promoted to Brown Belt status on Black Belt Poker and receive $4,000 in live tournament backing every month!

The Grading officially kicks off on Friday, October 08, 2010 with the Pre-Grading Selection, by which players are subjected to our unique screening process. By Sunday, October 17, 2010, you will be required to have completed one of the following three routes at minimum stakes of $0.25/0.50:

(i) 10,000 hands of full-ring
(ii) 8,000 hands of six-max
(iii) 6,250 hands of heads-up

Once you have completed the required number of hands, you will be eligible for selection for the Grading. If you are one of the lucky 40 chosen, you will become a member of the Aussie Four-O, and be just six weeks away from winning an Aussie Millions package!

Even if you aren't selected, then you will still be rewarded with Purple Belt status for successfully completing the Pre-Grading. Purple Belt offers a number of exciting benefits that tie in with our our brand new Enlightenment Training Programme including a DeucesCracked token, Hold'em Manager tracking software, a Database Keihatsu and a monthly invite to one of our acclaimed Dojo Sessions, all absolutely free!

The Grading is a unique concept created by Black Belt Poker co-founders Neil Channing and Nik Persaud to unearth some of the UK's unfound talent. Over the course of six weeks, players will battle it out on the Black Belt Poker skin with Neil and Nik personally selecting the top performing players across several different scoring criteria. If you finish in the top three, then you can look forward to playing at the Aussie Millions in February.

The Grading process is a great learning tool and involves Workshops with contributions from the likes of UKIPT Brighton winner Jamie Burland and Aussie Millions finalist Richard Ashby. Many former Graders have gone on to win major events, such as 2010 Irish Open Champion James Mitchell.

2010 EPT Vilamoura Champion Toby Lewis:

"Just to talk to Neil, Nik and any of those people at the Grading was a good learning experience to do. I didn't know anybody really in the live scene until then. Now I know a lot more people, and that helps a lot to have friends in the game whose opinions you respect."

ECOOP VI Event #1 Winner Eoin Kennedy:

"The whole experience of the Grading was excellent and a very important part in the development of my poker game. It introduced me to some great contacts in the poker world and showed me how beneficial doing sessions online while someone is watching and discussing your plays can be for both people."

UKIPT Nottingham finalist Owen Robinson:

"It [The Grading] hit home the need and importance for working on your game outside of the hours that you are playing. I would recommend it to anyone that is in any way serious about poker because you get a lot out of it, and get to meet some great people."

Black Belt Poker will be releasing all those finer details in due course, but if you would like to contact us directly with any queries, then please feel free to do so by emailing grading@blackbeltpoker.com.

To open an account is easy, simply download the poker client and follow the step-by-step process provided.