Click to download RDS guide PDF
The Irish Open – sponsored by PokerStars and Paddy Power – is taking place April 3-10 at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), a spectacular venue in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin. The €1 million guaranteed Main Event starts on Wednesday, April 5.
On April 3 and 4 – the first two days of the Irish Open festival – all the action will be in HALL 3 (aka the Serpentine Hall). This is where you’ll go to REGISTER, pick up your winnings, have a drink at the adjacent CHANCERS ARMS bar and – if you’ve got time – PLAY POKER. We’ll have 48 tables in Hall 3 for all the tournaments on April 3 and 4 as well as cash games.
THE MAIN HALL
From April 5 (Day 1a of the Main Event) nearly everything will be located in the Main Hall (aka Hall 1) including the Irish Open REGISTRATION DESK, the CASH DESK and more than 120 poker tables. The RDS Main Hall is a spectacular room measuring more than 3,500m² with floor-to-ceiling stone walls and a wrought iron balcony overlooking the ground floor.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
The main Centurion Bar – which is being renamed the CHANCERS ARMS for the event – is located just outside the Main Hall near Hall 3. From April 5-10, the Main Hall will also have a coffee station and sandwich bar inside.
HOW TO REGISTER
The easiest way to register for all the Irish Open tournaments is ONLINE. If you reg online then all you need to do when you arrive at the RDS is pick up your seat assignment from the REGISTRATION desk.
Luxon Pay
The Official Payment Provider is LUXON PAY. You can register for ALL of next week’s tournaments online in advance using your Luxon Pay account. Luxon Pay is a multi-currency e-wallet that makes it easy to carry out instant, global payments and transfers – ideal for globe-trotting poker players. Registering for Irish Open tournaments couldn’t be easier: log into your account, click “Shop” and scroll down to “Irish Open tournaments”. Make sure you have enough dosh in your account for the chosen event, then click “Buy Now”. Boom – you’re in! Please note that you can also send money to the cage for cash games – just click the link on Luxon Pay saying “Irish Open chip transfers”. Winnings can be paid out as a combination of funds to your Luxon account and cash.
Win your buy-in back
All players who register for the Main Event in advance on Luxon Pay (up to one hour before the start) and wear a patch during the tournament will be entered into a draw to receive their €1,150 buy-in back.
Re-entries
Luxon Pay makes it easy to re-enter a tournament on the same day. Open your previous transaction and choose “send again” or go back to the tournament list and click on “re-enter”. You will then need to return to the registration desk for your new seat.
MainEventTravel.com
You can also register online on MainEventTravel.com for the Main Event, €5k and €3k High Rollers and the two €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty tournaments.
PokerStars/Paddy PowerYou can register for all Irish Open tournaments via your PokerStars or Paddy Power account.
NB the €350 Heads-Up tournament is capped at 64 players – if you want to play this event, register online as it will almost certainly sell out.
Other ways to register
You can also register on-site. If you have cash (including foreign currency), debit or credit cards, head first to the CASH DESK to swap funds for chips which you can then use at the Registration Desk.
REGISTRATION DESK OPENING TIMES
The Registration Desk will be open from 3pm on Monday, April 3rd You can register for ANY tournament from 3pm, April 3, onwards. YOU MUST BRING PHOTO ID.
For all one-day tournaments, late registration will be open for the first eight levels. For multi-day tournaments, including the Main Event, registration will be open until the start of Day 2. There is no late registration for the Heads-Up tournament which will start at 2pm on April 4 (but is likely to sell out online long before then). All tournament details and structure sheets are here.
PARKING
There is 24-hour secure parking at the RDS for just €7/day. From April 3-4, use the Anglesea Road entrance and from April 5-10, you can also park at the Merrion Road entrance.
ACCOMMODATION
MainEventTravel.com is our Official Travel Partner. There are still a few rooms available at the 4* Clayton Ballsbridge which is just three minutes walk from the RDS. MET’s rates are generally less than most major online travel providers and they also still have a few exclusive, discounted Hotel-and-Buy-in packages available. In addition to the Clayton, MainEventTravel can help with accommodation at tons of other Dublin hotels.
LIVE UDPATES
There will be Irish Open live updates throughout the festival plus live reporting on PokerNews, covering Day 2 of the €5k High Roller and the Main Event from start to finish. The event host is Laura Cornelius. The official photographers are Mickey May and Danny Maxwell.
LIVE STREAM
Award-winning poker commentators James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton will be making their Irish Open live stream debut next week, joined by 2017 Irish Open champion Griffin Benger and Team PokerStars Pro Nick Walsh.
The live stream will be covering the Main Event from Day 1c (on Friday, April 7) right through to the final on Monday, April 10. The live stream will be broadcast on a 30-minute delay – so from 12:30 BST (13.30 CEST) on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 13:30 BST (14:30 CEST) on the final day. The broadcasts will be available on the PokerStars YouTube channel, the PokerStars Twitch channel and the PokerStars LIVE Facebook page and the Irish Poker Open YouTube channel. For full details, please click here.
SATELLITES
You can still win your way into the Irish Open Main Event on PokerStars and Paddy Power. There is a €109 qualifier on PokerStars tonight at 8pm BST (Friday, March 31) with five seats guaranteed. The final €109 qualifier is on Sunday, April 2 at 8pm BST with eight packages guaranteed. There are eight Main Event super satellites taking place at the RDS from April 3-6. See the schedule for more details. Paddy Power also has a number of qualifiers still on the go – click here for more info.
CASH GAMES
As always, there’ll be plenty of cash game action at this year’s Irish Open. Cash games will run round the clock in Hall 3 on April 3 and 4, and in the Main Hall from April 5 onwards. Any variant will be available, subject to demand, starting from €1/€2 NLH. You can transfer funds to the cage using LUXON PAY – just click “Irish Open chip transfers” under Shop in your Luxon Pay account. There is an ATM at the venue.
PLAYERS’ LOUNGE / CHANCERS ARMS / FUN, GAMES AND ENTERTAINMENT
The Players’ Lounge will be located in Hall 3. There will be a full raft of games and contests there including Beer Pong, Shuffleboard, foosball, FIFA and Corn Hole. There will be live music every night in the Chancers Arms. For a full low-down on all the entertainment and outings on offer during the festival, please click here.
TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS
The 2023 Irish Open features nearly 40 different events including 11 Championship trophy tournaments. Click here for the schedule. Highlights include:
– €1,150 Main Event (April 5-10 2023)
– €350 Championship Heads-Up (April 4-5, 2023 – please reg online, this will almost certainly sell out)
– €5k Championship High Roller (April 4-5 2023)
– €250 Championship Ladies event (April 6, 2023)
– €3k Championship High Roller (April 8-9 2023)
– €350 Championship Liam Flood Memorial Turbo (April 9, 2023)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
For more info and FAQs, please click here.
