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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

2010 WSOP changes announced

Posted by Dan on January 31, 2010

At the end of every World Series of Poker a number of top players sit down with tournament officials and discuss possible alterations to the rules, blind structures and games on offer in order to try and improve poker’s oldest festival. This year was no different and a number of new rules and regulation will be in place in time for the 2010 WSOP.

The changes, as always, have been met with a mix of praise and criticism, especially the new registration rules. Many players like to turn up to their event late, Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth the eleven-time bracelet winner is famous for this, but it appears he will have to be in his seat on time for the upcoming series.

A new rule states that any player who is not in their seat and has not been dealt a hand by the start of the third blind level will have their chips removed and be counted as a no-show. Their buy-in will also be removed from the prize pool and given back to them.

This rule in particular has drawn much criticism as many players believe it is open to abuse. A poster on a popular poker forum said that a savvy player may register for an event, keep an eye on his or her table and, if it looked too tough, not take their seat, essentially unregistering from the tournament.

One change that shows the popularity of social networking sites is the rule allowing players to send text, emails and use Twitter while at the table. As in previous years all mobile phones need to be switched off at the table but now players who have put their cards into the muck are free to use their devices until they receive a new hand. Chip counts and important hand recollections were common themes during the 2009 World Series of Poker, with fans tuning in to the like of Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu’s pages for progress updates.

Perhaps the biggest change for the 2010 WSOP is the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event being scrapped and replaced with the $50,000 Player’s Championship. Entries to the H.O.R.S.E event plummeted last year from 148 to just 95, mainly due to the event’s final table not being televised, so the tournament directors have decided to mix things up. After all, WSOP poker videos are now big business and what player doesn’t want to bask in the limelight?

Instead of H.O.R.S.E the players will engage in 8-game, which will see them play a mix of 2-7 Triple Draw, Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Low, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi/Low, No-limit Hold’em and Pot-limit Omaha. The winner will still receive the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, which used to be awarded to the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event.

What Event Should You Play at the World Series of Poker?

Posted by James on September 8, 2008

I’ve been asked by many friends and poker players about which events that they should play at the WSOP and about how much money that they should spend. A lot of what you want to play and how much you will want to spend will depend on several factors. Let’s take a look at a few of those.

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First, what is your best game? Many players that are only Holdem Poker players just looked at this article in utter confusion. The World Series of Poker is a set of over 50 tournaments. While No-Limit Holdem Poker is the most popular game in the world, you have many other games to contend with. Omaha Poker, Omaha Hi-Lo Split, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud 8 or Better, Razz Poker, 2-7 Lowball, and H.O.R.S.E. are all events that are played annually at the World Series of Poker.

If you are a holdem player, are you better at Limit or No-Limit. If you are a mediocre No-Limit player and a regular winner at limit, then you will want to play limit holdem. If Stud is your best game, you will want to play stud. Another consideration is where you have the most success in regards to tournaments. Personally, my best game is Stud 8 or Better. However, at the time that I played my first World Series of Poker in 2006, I was showing better overall results in Limit Holdem events. As a result, I played in Event #4, which was Limit Holdem. I made the money of the event.

After you decide what you want to play, you want to decide how much you want to spend. Do you want to buy-in directly to the event or satellite your way in? If you want to satellite your way in, how much does the event cost you want to play. If you want to enter a $1,500 event, you will need to play $175 satellites. If you want to play a $2,000 event, you will need to play the $225. The satellites go up according to the buy-in of the event. I would recommend spending no more than 3 to 4 satellite entries to try and win your way in. If you cannot win your way in, try again for a different event or buy-in directly.

If you want to take off the pressure of having to win a satellite, then put back the money for a buy-in and then play satellites to try and save money. Personally, the later is the approach I take. As a result, I put back around $2,200 for each event. For the 2007 WSOP, I didn’t even play satellites for the first event which was again a Limit Holdem event. Fortunately, I finished very well in the money and was able to pay most of my other entries for the series with the money won.

So to review, play the game that gives you the best chance to do well. Then decide the plan of attack to enter the event. Beyond that, make a budget for the money you want to spend for cash games and souvenirs and stick to that plan. Have fun at the World Series of Poker!

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