The Canadian Poker Tour is a collection of Canada wide poker tournaments. All of the tournaments are registered with the Canadian Poker Tour, and results are recorded and collected by the CPT. Every year a CPT winner is decided based on Money Won for the season.

The Canadian Poker Tour's mission statement is to strive to be defining participants in uniting the Canadian poker industry with its players, in an effort to promote and encourage its longevity and success.

As Canada is about 1/10th the size of the United States, all things are scaled accordingly. That applies to the numbers of players and casinos, prize pools, and media ratios. Canadian Poker Tour tournaments and other prize pools are about 1/10th the size of what you might see on the WPT simply because of demographic numbers – which should represent that we are fairly close to the US proportionately.

Through enthusiastic support from most of the casinos and cardrooms in Canada, we have made the first steps in unifying this countries players and venues; since there is strength in numbers this enthusiasm will lead to greater exposure, expansion of tournaments and of course, more loot to be won.

Like an arranged marriage, the CPT is trying to pacify several interests and create an environment that is good for players, cardroom operators, and a successful image within the industry. More televised events, more new players entering the scene and more organization is required to promote one of the top-rated entertainment venues in the world. Among the many other projects in our pocket, the CPT and CPP want to direct this to benefit everyone.

WHAT DOES THE CANADIAN POKER TOUR DO?

There has been an inordinate amount of uncertainty and confusion surrounding the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player. There has also been some controversy regarding companies and individuals latching onto the popularity of the success of the CPT and some bewilderment as to what the CPT even does – some days I even ask myself, but let me explain what I can.

Any intelligent business or company with an industrious spirit will profit from trends in the economy and there is no debating that the strength of CPP and the CPT relies heavily on poker’s ascension into the realm of viable entertainment. The CPP has filled a niche no one else inhabited, which is a national Canadian publication that focuses on the Canadian poker player. The CPT is developing its own identity that in turn, is driven by the magazine’s exposure.

I’m quite sure Randy Hewines, the president of Fifth Street Publishers, was not the first to have this vision, nor the only one to pursue the viability of a Poker Tour. While he has not done it alone, his hard work and dedication has created a Canadian Poker Tour that features real players, playing for a real prize pool they paid into, and playing within real Canadian casinos and cardrooms. No other company or individual has satisfied all 3 factors.

There have been disruptive forces in the past, with more created everyday, which either attempt to undermine our efforts or falsely associate with the success and excitement of the Canadian Poker Tour. No need to mention names or point fingers, but suffice to say that I caution players to beware of organizations and people who claim otherwise – there is only one true Canadian Poker Tour.

WHAT DOES THE CANADIAN POKER TOUR DO FOR ME?

I can better illustrate what the CPT doesn’t do:

• We are not a governing body that instructs casinos how to run their tournaments
• We do not charge “administration” or other fees for players to join the CPT, nor do we charge casinos to register
• We work in conjunction with existing tournament schedules and are not consulted when, how many or at what level these events operate
• For the Season I final, CPT freerolled the top 25 players into the CPT Finals at Casino Regina. Season II will duplicate the freerolling of some of our top money-winners. We offer marketing, advertising and exposure to any casino site that wishes to participate in the CPT. Everyone involved in the magazine and Tour has years of poker experience from East to West, including creating a rapport with regulators and provincial governments. Contrary to much of the public opinion, we do not organize tournaments, nor govern how venues run their events, structure the payouts, or set the buy-ins. Some casinos have misinformed players about our involvement; quite plainly, if a casino registers for CPT events, they are a participating member (designated by the CPT symbol in our Canadian Poker listings).
• This registration is free and does not grant us with a say in when, how many or how often tournaments are run at their location. We work in conjunction and take a backseat role (sometimes even the trunk) in their management. We report, support and endorse.

Season I saw some pretty spectacular events across the country, with larger buy-ins and increased player participation on the horizon. Season II has begun airing events and continues to film some of the highest quality poker-viewing on television.

HOW DO I BELONG TO THE CANADIAN POKER TOUR?

Players need only register to belong to the CPT. This can be done online by downloading the printable file from our website and mailing it to our offices or else filling out a registration form that is available at all CPT events. There is no fee or restrictions on who can register, except that they must be of legal casino age for that province. Players must re-register for each new Season, which begins August 1st each year.

Points for Season I and II are accumulated for registered players at the rate of 1 point = $1 for money finishes. Results and standings are posted regularly on our websites. For Season III we are using the International Poker Rankings system that will distribute points in a fair system that compensates for larger entrant pool and higher buy-ins.

Casinos and Cardrooms must register every CPT event with us and normally we are affiliated with their larger annual and regular events. Some Canadian poker rooms have chosen not to affiliate with the CPT or are not large enough to hold tournaments. The main restriction is that CPT events must be held in licensed gaming facilities