RunGood Council Bluffs 2026: Full Schedule, $800 Main Event and Everything You Need to Know

Council Bluffs has turned into one of the most reliable stops on the RunGood Poker Series map. The Horseshoe draws players from Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City and well beyond, and the Main Event here has beaten its guarantee by a comfortable margin every time in recent years. The November edition, RunGood Council Bluffs 2026, part of RGPS’s “Golden Expedition” season, runs Tuesday, November 17 to Sunday, November 22.

This guide covers the full schedule, how the $800 Main Event flights work, where the money is, and a few practical tips that are easy to miss if this is your first RunGood stop.

RunGood Council Bluffs 2026 at a glance

• Dates: November 17–22, 2026
• Venue: Horseshoe Council Bluffs, 2701 23rd Ave, Council Bluffs, Iowa
• Main Event: $800 buy-in, $111,000 guaranteed, four starting flights
• Main Event flights: Friday, Nov 20 (11 a.m. and 5 p.m.) and Saturday, Nov 21 (11 a.m. and 5 p.m.)
• Main Event Day 2: Sunday, Nov 22 at 12 p.m.
• Total guarantees: $216,000+
• Ring (trophy) events: 8
• Buy-in range: $190 satellites to the $800 Main Event

Tournament overview: what makes this stop different

The RunGood Poker Series built its name on mid-stakes events that feel welcoming to recreational players. The headline tournaments cost a few hundred dollars, there are lots of satellites, and every winner gets a ring. Council Bluffs is a good example. Most events on this schedule cost $300 or less, and you could play almost the whole week for about what one WSOP Circuit Main Event costs.

According to PokerNews’ November 6 announcement, the stop carries more than $216,000 in guarantees across eight trophy events. PokerNews will also report live from the Main Event.

Two changes from April stand out. First, the Main Event moves from three starting flights to four. Second, the $400 Tag Team Championship now carries a $40,000 guarantee and two flights of its own, which makes it the second-biggest event of the week.

RunGood Council Bluffs 2026 full schedule

Tuesday, November 17

Time	Event	Buy-in	Guarantee
9 a.m.	Seniors Ring Event (50+)	$250	$20,000
1 p.m.	Series Opener Ring Event	$250	$10,000
7 p.m.	Tag Team Championship – Flight A	400/team(200/player)	$40,000

Wednesday, November 18

Time	Event	Buy-in	Guarantee
10 a.m.	PokerNews PowerStack NLH Ring Event	$300	$20,000
2 p.m.	Limit Omaha Hi-Lo (O/8) Ring Event	$300	—
7 p.m.	Tag Team Championship – Flight B	$400/team	(shared)

Thursday, November 19

Time	Event	Buy-in	Guarantee
10 a.m.	One-Day NLH Ring Event	$300	—
2 p.m.	Pot-Limit Omaha	$300	—
6 p.m.	Tag Team Championship – Day 2	—	—
7 p.m.	Main Event Satellite (1-in-5)	$190	—

Friday, November 20

Time	Event	Buy-in	Guarantee
9 a.m.	Turbo Main Event Satellite	$190	—
11 a.m.	$800 Main Event – Flight A	$800	$111,000
2 p.m.	Turbo Main Event Satellite	$190	—
5 p.m.	$800 Main Event – Flight B	$800	(shared)

Saturday, November 21

Time	Event	Buy-in	Guarantee
9 a.m.	Turbo Main Event Satellite	$190	—
11 a.m.	$800 Main Event – Flight C	$800	(shared)
5 p.m.	$800 Main Event – Flight D	$800	(shared)

Sunday, November 22

Time	Event	Buy-in	Guarantee
10 a.m.	Turbo NLH Ring Event	$200	$5,000
12 p.m.	Main Event – Day 2 (to a winner)	—	—
1 p.m.	Series Sendoff NLH Ring Event	$400	$10,000

Source: PokerNews schedule published November 6, 2026. Check the official RGPS Horseshoe Council Bluffs page for final structures before you travel. Schedules can change.

Where the $216K in guarantees comes from

Adding up the guaranteed events gives exactly $216,000:

Event	Buy-in	Guarantee	Share of total
$800 Main Event	$800	$111,000	51%
Tag Team Championship	$400/team	$40,000	19%
Seniors Ring Event (50+)	$250	$20,000	9%
PokerNews PowerStack	$300	$20,000	9%
Series Opener	$250	$10,000	5%
Series Sendoff	$400	$10,000	5%
Turbo NLH	$200	$5,000	2%
Total		$216,000	100%

Two of these guarantees look easy to beat. The Seniors event carries a $20,000 guarantee at only $250, and Council Bluffs always gets a big 50-and-over crowd. The PowerStack is worth a look too: its guarantee fell from $30,000 in April to $20,000 now, and the buy-in dropped from $400 to $300. In April it drew 289 entries and a $95,370 prize pool, almost three times the guarantee at the time. Even a much smaller turnout would clear $20,000 easily.

The $800 Main Event: flights, format and what to expect

Flight dates

• Flight A: Friday, November 20, 11 a.m.
• Flight B: Friday, November 20, 5 p.m.
• Flight C: Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m.
• Flight D: Saturday, November 21, 5 p.m.
• Day 2: Sunday, November 22, 12 p.m., played to a winner

Structure (based on recent RGPS Main Events)

The November structure sheet wasn’t in the announcement, but RunGood’s $800 Main Events have followed the same pattern all year. At the Golden Expedition Tulsa stop and earlier Council Bluffs Main Events, the format was:

• Starting stack: 30,000 (the St. Louis Golden Expedition stop in October used 40,000, so check before you play)
• Levels: 30 minutes on Day 1, rising to 40 minutes from Level 9 and on Day 2
• Late registration: open until the start of Level 9
• Re-entry: unlimited during registration, and you can play more than one flight
• Bagging: the top 12.5% of each flight advances to Day 2, and everyone who advances is in the money
• Multiple flights: if you qualify from more than one flight, you keep your biggest stack. Any other stacks are paid a min-cash.

Practical point: because every Day 2 qualifier cashes, Day 1 is effectively a satellite to the money. If you’re near the bubble with a short stack, folding into Day 2 is usually worth more than gambling. Re-entries also stay open late, so the early flights (A and C) give you a natural backup plan. Bust Flight A at 3 p.m. and Flight B starts at 5.

Will the $111,000 guarantee be beaten?

Almost certainly. Here is how recent Council Bluffs Main Events have done:

Edition	Buy-in	Entries	Prize pool	Winner	1st prize
April 2026 (Passport)	$800	466	$326,299	Rohan Aggarwal	$65,104
November 2025 (Grand Prix)	$800	390	$273,000	Jon Lawson	$56,865
April 2025 (Mission RunGood)	$800	461	$322,700	Thomas Wikoff	$64,869
April 2024 (Destination)	$700	648	$372,600	Donald Nimneh	$69,546

Results: PokerNews live reporting from each event.

About $700 of each $800 entry goes into the prize pool, so the guarantee is covered at roughly 159 entries. Even last November’s 390 entries, the lowest field here in the past two years, produced nearly 2.5 times the guarantee. Last November’s field was smaller than either April field, so a fair estimate is somewhere between 380 and 470 entries. That would mean a prize pool of about $265,000 to $330,000 and a first prize in the high 50,000stomid-60,000s. That is our projection based on past results, not an official figure.

One notable story from April: Rohan Aggarwal, from Kansas City, won the title on his seventh entry. That’s not a strategy we’d recommend, but it shows how a deep field and unlimited re-entries shape these events.

Satellites: the cheap route to an $800 seat

RunGood is known for its satellites, and they have real results behind them. Thomas Wikoff turned a $190 satellite into the $64,869 Main Event title here in April 2025.

• $190 Main Event satellites award one seat for every five entries
• Times: Thursday 7 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. (the daytime ones are turbos)
• Package satellites are also offered, awarding Main Event entries plus seats in other events and cash

The Friday 9 a.m. turbo finishes in time for Flight A at 11, and the 2 p.m. turbo feeds Flight B at 5. If you’re coming in Friday morning, that schedule lets you try a satellite first and buy in directly only if it doesn’t work out.

Tag Team Championship: the event worth planning around

The $400 Tag Team Championship works like this: you and a partner split one 400entry(200 each), share a stack and take turns playing it. If you win, you each get a RunGood ring. With a $40,000 guarantee, two evening flights (Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.) and a Day 2 on Thursday at 6 p.m., it’s one of the most social and fun events on the RGPS calendar.

Pick your partner carefully. The best teams usually pair a patient player with an aggressive one and agree on swap rules ahead of time. Day 2 starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, which overlaps with the 7 p.m. Main Event satellite, so plan accordingly if you want to do both.

Venue guide: Horseshoe Council Bluffs

• Address: 2701 23rd Ave, Council Bluffs, IA 51501
• Phone: 712-323-2500
• Location: about five miles from downtown Omaha, Nebraska, just across the Missouri River
• Nearest airport: Omaha’s Eppley Airfield (OMA), a short drive away
• Age: 21+ for the casino floor and poker room under Iowa law

The Saturday flights are likely to be busy. At the last two Council Bluffs Main Events, the two Saturday flights together drew more than twice as many entries as Friday’s single flight (336 vs. 130 in April 2026, 299 vs. 91 in November 2025). If you’d like a quieter Day 1, Friday’s Flight A is usually the calmest option. Book your room early, since the Saturday crowd fills the hotel quickly.

Key tips before you go

1. Use the RunGood app. RGPS posts registration info, seat draws and live updates there, along with season promotions.
2. Player of the Year points count. Results feed into the 2026/27 RunGood Player of the Year race, and the season’s top performers can qualify for the Dream Seat Invitational.
3. Pick one Main Event plan. Decide in advance how many bullets you’ll fire. With four flights and unlimited re-entries, the total cost adds up fast.
4. Don’t overlook the Omaha events. The $300 Limit O/8 ring event and $300 PLO usually draw smaller fields, so they’re among the better-value events of the week for mixed-game players.
5. Sunday is busy. The Turbo (10 a.m.) and the Series Sendoff (1 p.m.) both run on Main Event Day 2. If you bust the Main Event early, you can still enter the Sendoff late.

Final thoughts

RunGood Council Bluffs 2026 is a good stop for Midwest players who want ring events at mid-stakes prices. The $800 Main Event has drawn 390 or more entries every time over the past two years, so the $111,000 guarantee is safe. The added fourth flight makes it easier to fit the event into a working week, and with satellites starting at $190, players on a small bankroll can still get a seat. If you only have one weekend for live poker in November, this is a strong option.

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