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WSOP 2016 – Poker’s Biggest Extravaganza

Here’s a look at some of highlights of the biggest poker tournament of the world as well as insights from Indian players who share a tip or two if this is your first time.

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It’s the Holy Grail of global poker – winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet guarantees you poker immortality and every player from around the world is seeking his own piece of hardware which will be given away in a little patch of desert called Las Vegas, Nevada. This year’s schedule has a total of 69 gold bracelet events. This year bucks tradition in that the final bracelet event of the series will not be the Main Event, but instead the $1,111 Little One for One Drop.

WSOP 2016 – Biggest highlights

The Main Event kicks off on July 9 with the first of the usual three starting flights. A major change to this year’s Main Event, which will affect all $10,000 championship events, is an increase in starting chips from 30,000 to 50,000. Last year, the WSOP increased the starting stacks to five-times the buy-in for most of the non-championship events, and that change will stick with all events.

Additionally, the WSOP will be flattening prize structures to pay out roughly 15 percent of the field, rather than the old standard of 10 percent. This change is unlikely to have a major effect on the Main Event though, since 1,000 paid places were already guaranteed and attendance has been consistently around 6,500 in recent years.

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ALSO READ: Jun-Jul 2016 Cover Story – Numbers Game (Kunal Patni)

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New and Old Events

Other major events returning for 2016 include the $565 Colossus, the $1,500 Millionaire Maker, the $1,500 Monster Stack, the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship, the $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, and the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop.

Eight new events have been introduced and among the more notable additions since last year are a $565 Pot-Limit Omaha event — likely a reaction to the clear demand for lower buy-in events after the overwhelming success of the Colossus — and a $1,000 Tag Team event that allows teams of up to four players, with each member receiving a bracelet. Though it’s billed as a new event, there’s actually been a team event in the past, but it hasn’t run since 1983.

It must be noted that there are no Pot Limit Hold’em events in this year’s schedule as this particular poker variant has lost its appeal according to the head honchos of the WSOP. Also there is no word on whether the Big One for One Drop tournament which features a million dollar buy-in will take place. Since its inception in 2012, this tournament has taken place every alternate year. However, there is no confirmation about the status of this event for the 2016 schedule.

Start Time

Another change to the overall schedule of the WSOP is revamped starting times. In years past, things generally kicked off at noon or at 4 pm. This year, things have been bumped up one hour to 11 am. and 3 pm., though there are still a handful of events with non-standard start times.

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(This piece was originally published in Gutshot Magazine Jun-Jul 2016 edition, and you can take a look at such pieces in our repository of all past editions by clicking here)

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