Live poker tournaments in New Zealand: the SkyCity Auckland calendar
New Zealand's tournament calendar is small, concentrated and published a month at a time. SkyCity Auckland carries almost all of it, with a weekly rhythm that feeds one headline event a month.
Upcoming
The weekly rhythm at SkyCity Auckland
As read off the room's own fixture list for October 2026: a 250-dollar No-Limit Hold'em freezeout every Wednesday evening at 6.30pm, and a 125-dollar turbo satellite with re-buys and add-ons every Saturday at 12.30pm. The satellites pay tickets rather than cash — seats into the month's headline event.
The headline event
The 2,200-dollar No-Limit Hold'em double re-entry on Sunday 25 October 2026 at 12.30pm is what the four Saturday satellites exist to feed. A 400-dollar bounty double re-entry follows on 26 October at 12.45pm, and the month closes on 31 October at 12.30pm with a 550-dollar double re-entry.
The format, and two conditions
The house standard is No-Limit Hold'em with a big blind ante and a shot clock. Late registration, re-buys and re-entries vary fixture by fixture rather than following one house rule, so read the individual event before committing.
Tournaments are open only to SHOW by SkyCity and Premier Rewards card holders, so membership has to be sorted before you play, and the casino floor is restricted to people aged 20 and over.
Christchurch and Dunedin
Christchurch Casino's poker room runs Wednesday to Sunday from 6pm, built around cash games rather than a published tournament series. Grand Casino Dunedin runs poker as part of its tournament events programme, limited to Grand Rewards members, and does not publish a schedule online at all — it asks players to e-mail its tournament staff for dates. If you are planning a trip around a Dunedin fixture, that e-mail is the only reliable way to find one.
How to read this page
New Zealand schedules are published monthly, which means any calendar — including this one — goes out of date fast. The fixtures above were read on 2 October 2026. Buy-ins are in New Zealand dollars. Always confirm a date and a start time with the room before travelling.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest regular poker tournament in New Zealand?
SkyCity Auckland's monthly headline event. In October 2026 that was the 2,200-dollar No-Limit Hold'em double re-entry on 25 October, fed by four weekly 125-dollar satellites.
Is there a weekly tournament in Auckland?
Yes — a 250-dollar No-Limit Hold'em freezeout on Wednesday evenings at 6.30pm, plus a 125-dollar turbo satellite every Saturday at 12.30pm.
Can anyone enter a SkyCity Auckland tournament?
Only SHOW by SkyCity and Premier Rewards card holders, and only players aged 20 and over. Sort the membership before you plan to play.
Does Christchurch or Dunedin run tournaments?
Christchurch Casino is primarily a cash-game room, open Wednesday to Sunday from 6pm. Grand Casino Dunedin runs poker as scheduled events for Grand Rewards members but publishes no calendar online — its tournament staff give dates by e-mail.
How far ahead is the New Zealand calendar published?
About a month. SkyCity publishes its fixtures monthly, so a schedule read in one month tells you little about the next.