Huge poker prizepool heading to Christchurch

2014 New Zealand Poker Champion Shane Hicks. Photo / Christchurch casino.

The top poker players in New Zealand will next week converge on Christchurch casino, hoping to take home a share of the $375,000 prize pool generated from one of the country's biggest poker events.

The 2015 New Zealand Poker Champs start tomorrow with a $440 deepstack turbo tournament and culminates next weekend with a $1650 buy-in main event tournament which is expected to drum up a prizepool of $160,000.

In between there are seven different events, which range in buy-in from $250 to $880 and include No Limit Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha, and a women's event.

The New Zealand Poker Champs Main Event has produced two Kiwi winners over the past three years with Australian Shane Hicks ($45,500 in 2014), Steve Smith ($47,000 in 2013) and Paul Hockin ($35,000 in 2012) all taking home small fortunes.

The series attracts some of the best players from Australasia and this year Hockin, who was also the 2014 Cebu Phillipines APT and 2012 ANZPT Melbourne Main Event Champion, headlines the list.

The tournament series has been running since 1999 and is the longest established poker championship series in Australasia and Christchurch Casino poker manager Warren Wyllie expects over 200 card sharks to play either in the cash games or tournaments throughout the week.

"The Poker crew and myself are really looking forward to the New Zealand Championships, it is an event that showcases the best qualities of the Christchurch Casino and all the Casino staff," said Wyllie.

"The schedule starts off with lower buy-in tournaments ($440) that still generate a lot of competition and excitement, as well as satellites for the tournaments later in the week.

"As the week progresses we move into the more popular and higher, though still affordable, buy-in events like the Canterbury, South Island, and Main Event Championships.

"The Main Event buy-in is $1650, and we have tried to keep the buy-in affordable but also enough to match the prestige that should come with being the New Zealand National Champion of Poker."

Click here for full New Zealand Poker Championship schedule.