The Amateur Poker League (APL) http://www.amateurpokerleague.com is an amateur poker league in the United States.

Players may join at any time during the season without fees or buy-ins. The tour consists of a three-tiered "Monthly Venue Championship", "Semi-Annual Regional Championship", and "National Championship" structure. Wagering/gambling is prohibited at

APL events, and taverns pay for the rights to host league events.

The game played at APL events is No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Players are staked 10,000 worth of chips, and the top 16 players receive points.

Blind Structure

100/200

200/400

300/600

BREAK (5 Minutes) Color up all 100 chips

500/1000

1000/2000

2000/4000

3000/6000

BREAK (5 Minutes) Color up all 500 & 1000 chips

5000/10000

10000/20000

20000/40000

50000/100000.....

Blind levels last from 15–30 minutes, depending on the venue. Shorter blind levels are used in venues with more than one event occurring that day.

League structure

The APL provides venues (Taverns, Bars, etc.) a league structure for No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker.

These venues are grouped by the APL into local regions.

Player ranking structure

A player's score for each game is determined by cross-referencing the number of players registered in the game with
the player's finishing position. For example, a player who finishes third in a game that began with 32 or less players would receive 180 points. If the tournament had 33 or more players, the same player would receive 256.8 points. Any player that finishes below the top 16 in an APL regular season tournament receives zero points. 2007 APL Point Award Structure

Member rewards

Members also receive "reward points" for placing in tournaments and for other promotions as offered by Amateur Poker League. These points can be rewarded for prizes such as shirts, hats, hotel vacation packages and NASCAR events.

Venue ranking

The venue ranking is used to qualify for the Monthly Venue Championship.

The Venue Ranking for a month is based on the combined total of points at APL events awarded to the player at that location during that month.

Regional ranking

The regional ranking is used to qualify for the Semi-Annual Regional Championships.

The Regional Ranking for a six month period is based on the combined total of points at APL events awarded to the player within a region during the period.

National ranking

The National Ranking is based on the combined total of points at APL events awarded to the player at any venue during that season.

Monthly venue championships

A player may qualify by placing first at any event held at the venue, or by placing in the top 10% of points earners in the Month among those without a first place finish. Extra players (if needed) will be invited by top point ranking.

Semi-annual regional championships

A player may qualify by placing first or second at any Monthly Venue Championship during the qualifying six month period, with extra players (if needed) invited by top point ranking.

The Regional Championships provide seats at the National Championships to the final table (top 8).

Semi-Annual regional points championships

The top 5% of players

with the highest Regional rankings will be invited to the Regional Points Championships by the APL.

The Regional Point Championships provide seats at the National Championships to the top 5% in the tournament.

The point leader in the region qualifies directly to the National Championships and may elect to skip the Semi-Annual Point Leader Championship.

National championships

A player may qualify for the National Championships by being at the final table of a Semi-Annual Regional Championship, the top 5% of a Semi-Annual Regional Points Championship, or by placing first in a region's point ranking for the six-month period.

The grand prize of the APL National Championship is a buy-in for a top World Poker Tour or World Series of Poker event.

Product sponsorships

The Amateur Poker League has major sponsorship agreements with products related to those who frequent venues, and one sponsorship with a poker magazine.

Bluff Magazine

Bluff Magazine

Bluff Magazine is an American magazine specializing in the game of poker. Separate editions are also published for Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Australasia....

 is listed as a the "official magazine" sponsor of APL events.

Budweiser

Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)

Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...

 (Anheuser-Busch, Inc) is listed as a "sponsor".

ClubWPT is the official online poker room of the APL.

APL in the news

Bluff Magazine, December 2004/January 2005

Top players

Mike Caro

Mike Caro

Mike A. Caro is a professional poker player, pioneer poker theorist, author of poker books, and casino executive.-Author:...

, Chris Moneymaker

Chris Moneymaker

Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker . His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site...

, Cowboy Kenna James, online phenom Nick Brancato and Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson

Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...

have been guests at National APL events. http://www.amateurpokerleague.com/Amateur%20Poker%20League%20Galleries/Top/default.htm