The WCOOP Boot Camp is coming back to PokerStars this summer, giving online grinders a two week runway to sharpen their game before the main World Championship of Online Poker gets underway in September. According to PokerNews, the warm up series runs from Sunday, August 2 through Monday, August 17, 2026, and it packs 65 events with more than $6.5 million in combined guaranteed prize pools across both low and high buy in tiers.
For players who treat WCOOP as their yearly centerpiece, the Boot Camp has become an essential tune up. It offers a compressed schedule of full ring, six max, and heads up events across nearly every format the site runs, plus a coaching partnership designed to help less experienced players close the gap before the bigger series begins.
WCOOP Boot Camp Schedule and Guarantees
The series kicks off on Sunday, August 2, with a launch time of 8:30 a.m. ET for the opening event. From there, the schedule fills out daily through Monday, August 17, giving grinders more than two weeks of near constant action. Sixty five events is a substantial slate for a preparatory series, and it mirrors the density PokerStars typically reserves for its flagship series later in the year.
The combined guarantees across the Boot Camp exceed $6.5 million, split between accessible buy in levels and pricier tiers aimed at more seasoned regulars. That spread matters because it means recreational players and grinders chasing volume can both find events that fit their bankroll, without either group feeling like an afterthought on the schedule.
Buy-Ins and Formats on Offer
Buy ins across the WCOOP Boot Camp range from $2.20 all the way up to $1,050, covering a wide spectrum of bankrolls. That range is one of the clearer signals that PokerStars built this series to be inclusive rather than just a proving ground for high stakes regulars.
Format variety is arguably the bigger story. The schedule includes No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha alongside mixed game staples like H.O.R.S.E., 8 Game, Razz, and Badugi, plus the rarer No Limit 2-7 Single Draw. On the structure side, players will find progressive knockouts, mystery bounty events, full ring and six max tables, heads up matches, and the usual mix of regular, turbo, and hyper turbo speeds.
That breadth gives players a real opportunity to test formats they rarely touch outside of series like this one. Anyone newer to the mixed game side of things may want to brush up on hand values and rules before jumping into a Razz or Badugi flight. Our guide to how to play poker is a useful refresher on the fundamentals before venturing into less familiar formats.
The Biggest Guarantees to Watch
A handful of events stand out on the Boot Camp schedule. The largest opening night guarantee belongs to Event 4-L, a $75 buy in No Limit Hold’em Progressive Knockout that carries a $300,000 guarantee, giving the series an eye catching centerpiece right out of the gate on August 2.
The Boot Camp also closes with a pair of marquee Main Events on August 16. The low buy in Main Event asks just $109 to enter and guarantees $500,000, while the high buy in Main Event carries a $1,050 price tag with a $300,000 guarantee. Running both the day before the series wraps up on August 17 gives players a clear finish line to build toward across the two weeks of grinding.
Free Coaching Through the BBZ Poker Partnership
What sets this Boot Camp apart from a typical online series is its training component. PokerStars has partnered with BBZ Poker to offer free coaching sessions every Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST throughout the series. These sessions are open to players looking to tighten up their strategy before diving into the higher volume weekend schedule.
Each coaching session is followed by a $0.01 tournament that awards up to $1,500 in WCOOP tickets. That structure effectively turns a free strategy class into a low cost, low variance shot at real tournament equity, which is a rare combination in online poker promotions. It also reinforces the Boot Camp’s identity as a preparation event rather than simply a smaller copy of WCOOP itself.
How the Boot Camp Sets Up the Main WCOOP
The timing here is deliberate. The Boot Camp wraps on August 17, leaving a gap of a few weeks before the main 2026 WCOOP runs from September 6 through September 30. That gap gives players time to digest what they learned, review hands from the coaching sessions, and adjust their schedules before the far larger series begins.
WCOOP has long stood as one of the biggest series in online poker history, drawing massive fields and headline guarantees every September. Series like the Boot Camp exist precisely because that stage is so competitive. Getting reps in across mixed games, knockout formats, and different table sizes in August gives players a practical way to walk into September with sharper instincts rather than rusty ones.
For players building a broader tournament study plan, it also helps to review foundational strategy resources alongside live play. Our WSOP guide covers many of the same tournament concepts, structures, and terminology that carry over directly into online series like WCOOP.
Getting Ready for August
With 65 events, a broad buy in range, and a genuine coaching component, the WCOOP Boot Camp gives players multiple ways to prepare for the bigger stage ahead. Whether the goal is testing an unfamiliar mixed game, chasing one of the marquee guarantees on August 16, or simply logging structured practice hands before September, the series offers a low pressure entry point into the WCOOP ecosystem.
As always, online tournament play should be approached responsibly. Guarantees and prize pools describe what is on offer, not what any individual player should expect to win, and bankroll management remains essential regardless of buy in level. Players must be 18 or older, or the legal age in their jurisdiction, to participate.
