Value shoppers, listen up, because this is your chance to turn a $27 buy-in into a chance at a $1.5 million prize pool.

The first event of this year's Turbo Championship of Online Poker is the first three-phase championship event in online poker history. You can start playing the first phase of the tournament right now if you want.

Want to see how it works? Keep reading below.

Phase 1 of TCOOP Event #1 costs $27 to enter, and you can start playing whenever you want. You will get 5,000 chips and a virtual chair. That will kick off the first 12 levels of turbo play. If you make it through that phase, you will get to carry those chips on to Phase 2. Again, you will get to choose when you play.

Phase 2 is another 12 levels. If you still have a stack at the end of Phase 2, that's when the big fun starts.

January 21 at 13:00 ET, everyone who has a stack at the end of Phase 2 will sit down to play for the $1.5 million prize pool.

It's as simple as that.

TCOOP kicks off on Thursday and will run 50 events with at least $15 million in guaranteed prize pools.

For more information, visit the TCOOP home page.

Need a PokerStars account to play TCOOP? Get one here right now.

Already have an account? Click here to register for TCOOP Event #1 right now.