The World Series of Poker main event is shown via TV broadcast.
Poker

World Series of Poker: Poker's Biggest Event

The World Series of Poker is the biggest poker tournament in the world. The annual poker series began life as a promotional event back in 1970, but it’s since become a multimillion-dollar brand in its own right. To a large degree, the WSOP is responsible for turning poker into an international phenomenon that’s televised around the world. Today, it sits at the crossroads of card games, sports, and gambling.

What You Need to Know About the WSOP

The World Series of Poker is the biggest, richest. and most famous poker series in the world. Each year, it attracts hundreds of thousands of players. Every event awards a signature WSOP gold bracelet and the chance to be part of poker history.

The crown jewel of the WSOP is the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, which is always the biggest poker tournament of the year. The WSOP offers a prize pool that numbers in the tens of millions, while the WSOP Circuit holds events arounds the globe. 

The WSOP Main Event is so popular that players sometimes refer to it as the World Series of Poker. The tournament is televised for a wide viewing public, while it attracts international media attention. Quite simply, the WSOP is poker’s version of the Super Bowl or World Cup.

Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP Main Event Win

The WSOP’s growth and media exposure vastly increased after 2003, when accountant Chris Moneymaker won that year’s Main Event and $2.5 million in prize money. Moneymaker qualified for the event by winning an online satellite tournament. ESPN rebroadcast key moments from the WSOP for months, showing a mainstream audience that an amateur poker player could win the biggest event of the year.

While the $10,000 Main Event remains the favorite of poker players around the world, the barrier for entry at the WSOP is much lower for amateurs. The series offers events where the buy-in starts at just $500. On the other end of the scale, the Big One for One Drop charity event was introduced in 2012 with a record-setting $1-million buy-in.

The WSOP is so popular that it’s been played by numerous celebrities over the years including actors Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Ray Romano, Kevin Hart, and Jennifer Tilly. Sports stars like Michael Phelps, Georges St-Pierre, Roberto Luongo, Paul Pierce, and Gerard Piqué also enter the Main Event.

WSOP Bullet Points:

  • The biggest poker series in the world with 85+ events and millions in prizes.
  • The series culminates with the flagship $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event.
  • Takes place in Las Vegas every summer for around 50 straight days.
  • Started in 1970 by Benny Binion as a way to promote his casino Binion’s Horseshoe.
  • The majority of tournaments at the WSOP are open events.
  • The majority of events at the WSOP are open to anyone who pays the entry fee.
  • Amateur poker player Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 Main Event for $2.5 million after qualifying for just $40 on an online poker site, setting off the Poker Boom.
  • The biggest-ever WSOP Main Event took place in 2012 with Jamie Gold winning $12 million.
  • Some of the most successful WSOP players include Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel and Daniel Negreanu.

How it All Began

The WSOP began as a way for Benny Binion to bring some attention to his casino — Binion’s Horseshoe — in 1970. Binion’s already had a popular poker room, so he was cashing in on its reputation as one of the prime spots to play poker.

The very first WSOP was actually a series of cash games that alternated between several games: No-Limit Hold’em, Seven-Card Stud, Razz, 2-7 Lowball, and Five-Card Stud. After playing for several days, the players voted on an overall Sportsbook: Johnny Moss.

That was the only time the WSOP took place as a cash game. In 1971, WSOP became a No-Limit Hold’em freezeout tournament. It turned out that Johnny Moss was worthy of his colleague’s votes the previous year -- he won the 1971 WSOP championship outright.

The first decade of the WSOP was dominated by a legendary group of gamblers who hailed from Texas, including the aforementioned Moss as well as Sailor Roberts, Amarillo Slim, and Doyle Brunson.

By 1982, the tournament was attracting over 100 elite players. A younger player from New York City named Stu Unger changed the status quo in the early eighties. Referred to as “The Kid,” Ungar was renowned for getting under the skin of his opponents – he was a forerunner for “bad boys” of poker like Phil Hellmuth and Mike “The Mouth” Matusow.

By the time the 1990s rolled around, the Main Event attracted hundreds of players each year, who sought to become WSOP Main Event Sportsbooks and win a 1st place prize worth $1 million. Numerous side events also were on the schedule.

The best was still to come.

Chris Moneymaker Changes Poker Forever

The WSOP experienced steady growth in the 90s. The Main Event went from attracting 194 players to 393. Sportsbooks continued to be famous professionals like Dan Harrington, Huck Seed, and Scotty Nguyen.

The Rise of Online Poker

Despite the internet being in its infancy in 2000, it was clear there was a huge market for online card games. ESPN broadcast the WSOP, while the online poker was becoming a cottage industry. It turned out that poker — particularly No-Limit Hold’em — was a perfect fit for online play thanks to its “simple to learn, hard to master” structure.

Online poker sites popped up rapidly in the early 2000s as investors and entrepreneurs chased the next dot-com explosion. In 2003, an accountant from Tennessee named Chris Moneymaker qualified for the WSOP Main Event by playing a $39 satellite event on PokerStars. 

Moneymaker outlasted all 839 entries and defeated seasoned poker pro Sammy Farha to win $2.5 million. The Main Event’s entry field exploded the next year with 2,576 entries, each with dreams of becoming the next Chris Moneymaker. Since then, most of the WSOP Main Event Sportsbooks were relatively obscure players before. The phenomenon was dubbed the “Moneymaker Effect.”

At this point, the WSOP had outgrown the Binion family’s casino. Sportsbook Entertainment purchased Binion’s Horseshoe and the WSOP in late 2003. By 2005, they had moved to the much larger Rio Casino & Resort.

Over the next few years, the WSOP underwent unprecedented growth, peaking in 2006 with 8,773 entries. Jamie Gold walked away from that tournament with a record $12 million.

Though US online poker has had its ups and downs since, the World Series of Poker Main Event remains the biggest event of the year. It’s attracted 6,000 players every single year over the past decade – the total of 8,569 entries in 2019 was the second highest in WSOP history. 

WSOP Attendance History

WSOP attendance history is, for the most part, a steady record of increases. The end of the poker boom in the late 2000s caused some dip in the size of the field. In the 2010s, the WSOP's organizers added events with low buy-ins and high prize pools -- such as the $500 Colossus events and subsequent $500 Big Fifty event -- that increased attendance to current levels. 

WSOP attendance in 2019 smashed the previous record of 123,865 with 187,259 total entries. The $500 Big Fifty event had 28,371 entries, which set an all-time record for any poker event. 

The Modern WSOP Format

These days the WSOP is a monster poker event, attracting over attracts over 100,000 players on an annual basis. After the Rio hosted the tournament the past 15+ years, two Vegas Strip casinos will co-host the tournament starting in 2022. 

The WSOP generally runs for roughly 50 days in the middle of the summer. There are now over 80 side events and every one of them awards a WSOP gold bracelet. Almost every format of poker is available for play including:

The buy-ins at the WSOP range from just $500 for the Casino Employees event all the way up to $250,000 for the Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em event. The majority of tournaments at the WSOP take place in No-Limit Hold’em. Most feature a buy-in of $1,500 or less. Recreational card players have a chance of playing something most weeks at the WSOP. 

The WSOP also runs numerous satellites that allow players to qualify for a WSOP event for far less than a direct buy-in. The crown jewel of the WSOP is still the $10,000 Main Event, which takes a little over two weeks. It’s considered one of the “softest” big buy-in events in the world, which makes it a favorite among pros and recreational players.

It’s still possible to pull off a “Moneymaker” of your own by qualifying for the WSOP on an online poker site. It’s one of the best ways to avoid paying the whole cost of a direct buy-in.

WSOP Event Types

There are close to 100 events presented every year as part of the World Series of Poker, with different types of poker, buy-ins, and betting structures represented.

WSOP No-Limit Hold'em Events

  • Short Deck NLHE: All 2s through 5s are removed from the deck, leaving 36 cards in the deck. Played 6-handed with a 7-handed final table.
  • Deepstack Championship NLHE: Players begin with 30,000 chips. $600 buy-in.
  • Fifty Stack NLHE: Players begin with 50,000 chips or double the normal chip stack.
  • Monster Stack NLHE: Once again, players started with 50,000 chips. $1500 buy-in.
  • Super Turbo Bounty Freezeout: 20-minute levels, players receive $500 for every player they eliminate.
  • The Closer NLHE: 3-Day Event, Payouts on 1st Day, 1 Re-Entry per Flight
  • Little One For One Drop NLHE: Charity event for Guy Laliberte's One Drop fresh water charity. $1111 buy-in. No "Big One For One Drop" event this year.
  • Covid-19 No-Limit Hold'em Charity: $1,000 buy-in with proceeds going to Covid Relief.
  • Online No-Limit Hold'em Freezeouts: A variety of WSOP Online no-limit hold'em events.
  • Crazy Eights NLH 8-Handed: 8-Handed, $888 Buy-In, Guaranteed 1st-Place Prize of $888,888.
  • Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em: 2-person team, each team must register together. The two players takes turns playing hands.
  • COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold'em: Small Buy-In and Big Prizes, 10-Handed, $400 Buy-In, 9399 Entries, $3.14 Million Prize Pool.
  • Millionaire Maker NLHE: 10-Handed, $1500 Buy-In, 5330 Entries, $3,428,280 prize pool.
  • WSOP Main Event NLHE: The biggest event of the year. $10,000 buy-in, freezeout tournament, with over 8,000 entrants in 2021.

Limited Participation Poker Events

  • Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em Event: Begins the WSOP each year, a $500 buy-in for Las Vegas casino employees only.
  • Ladies NHL Championship: Annual championship for female poker players only.
  • Super Seniors Championship: Annual event for players 65 and over.

Variant Poker Games

  • Seven Card Stud Championship: A game of patience and nerves, the 7-card stud championship is one of the WSOP's most prestigious.
  • Pot-Limit Omaha: A community card game like Texas Hold'em, Omaha players receive 4 hole cards and build a 5-card hand together with the 5 community cards.
  • Flip & Go: A hybrid game which combines the pineapple poker variant with lottery sit and go (LSNG) events, which are popular online.

WSOP Mixed Game Events

  • Nine Game Mix 6-Handed: The game changed every six hands between 9 poker variants: No-Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Razz, Pot-Limit Omaha, Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, 2-7 No-Limit Draw, and 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.
  • Dealers Choice 6-Handed: The dealer picks the game, so players have to be solid at multiple versions of poker.
  • H.O.R.S.E.: Classic mixed games that switches between Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-Eight or Better, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Hi-Low Split-Eight or Better

Low Card Poker Events

  • Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better: The high hand and low hand each win half the pot, if the low hand qualifies.
  • Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better: Similar to the game above, but with pot-limit betting rules.
  • No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw: Played like 5-card draw but the low hand wins. The best possible hand is an unsuited 2-3-4-5-7 (not a straight).
  • Razz: Played like Seven-Card Stud, but the low hand wins. A game that can break a player's heart, many consider Razz to be the ultimate poker strategy game.
  • Mixed Triple Draw Lowball: Four rounds of betting and three draws. Also called Kansas City Lowball, the goal is to build the lowest hand possible.

WSOP High Roller Events

  • High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Event: $100,000 buy-in, less than 100 players (64), $1.9 million 1st-place prize.
  • High Roller 8-handed: $50,000 buy-in, less than 100 players (81), 8-handed event, $1.1 million 1st-place prize.
  • Super High Roller NLHE: $300,000 buy-in, small player pool, $3.4 million 1st-place prize.

World Series of Poker FAQ

What is the WSOP?

The WSOP is a seven-week poker tournament that runs through the first half of summer each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The number of events in the WSOP varies from year to year, but in recent years has included 80-plus separate events. The Sportsbook of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet.

When is the World Series of Poker?

The WSOP launches each year in the last few days of May or in early June. The event continues until mid-to-late July. From 2008 to 2016, the WSOP Main Event's final table -- called the November Nine -- took place in November. Since 2017, the entirety of the tournament takes place in June and July.

Where is the World Series of Poker?

From 1970 to 2004, the WSOP took place at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. In 2004, Harrah's Entertainment (now Sportsbook Entertainment) bought the event. From 2005 to 2021, the event took place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (just off the Las Vegas Strip). Starting in 2022, two Las Vegas Strip casinos -- Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino -- will co-host the WSOP.

Where can I watch the World Series of Poker?

Since 2021, the official television home of the WSOP is CBS Sports Network, which has a multi-year deal with PokerGo. CBS Sports broadcasts WSOP Main Event coverage, plus 36 hours of coverage from 18 other Gold bracelet events. Previously, ESPN covered the WSOP on television, though CBS Sports Spectacular broadcast the WSOP in its early years (the 1970s).

How Does the World Series of Poker Work?

In 2021, the WSOP consisted of 88 separate poker events. Players can sign up for any number of events, which have entry fees ranging from $500 to $250,000. Most events have an entry fee ranging from $1000 to $1500, while the World Series of Poker Main Event has a $10,000 entry fee. 

Players also can win their way into the WSOP Main Event by winning WSOP Online circuit events (which are known as satellite events). These days, the WSOP circuit includes events in several regions: Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and other locations on the globe.

What happened to the World Series of Poker?

The World Series of Poker never went away. Due to the 2020 Covid pandemic, the WSOP was postponed until later in the year, then held in an online setting for one year.

Is World Series of Poker Rigged?

No, not at all. The WSOP is the premier poker tournament in the world. Most of the biggest names in poker enter events each year. Legitimate Las Vegas casinos host the event, while real-life Vegas dealers deal the cards. The event is filmed from several angles and put on a tape delay of at least 30 minutes, so the games are legitimate. The Nevada Gaming Commission, one of the leading gaming regulators in the world, regulates the WSOP.

Who has won the most World Series of Poker championships?

Johnny Moss (1970, 1971, 1974) and Stu Ungar (1980, 1981, 1997) have won the most WSOP Main Events. Doyle Brunson (1976, 1977) and Johnny Chan (1987, 1988) each have won two apiece, while no one else in WSOP history has won more than once. In its first quarter-century of play, the event attracted much smaller fields. 

These days, more than 6,000 players enter the Main Event each year. The odds are small of anyone winning the event multiple times. Phil Hellmuth has the most World Series of Poker bracelets with 16, while Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson are tied for second with 10 WSOP gold bracelets apiece.

How do you enter the World Series of Poker?

Players can enter the WSOP through the WSOP.com website. Last year, registration was through the BravoPokerLive.com website but that might change in 2022. When you register for the World Series of Poker, be certain that you're signing up for the right event. Last year had 88 separate events, so 2022 should have 85 to 90 distinct poker events. The Main Event entry fee is $10,000, as always.

What are the WSOP Main Event rules?

The WSOP Main Event’s rules are those of a classic no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament. The entry fee is $10,000, though some players receive free entries from a sponsorship or from winning a satellite tournament. It’s a freezeout tournament, meaning players continue until they lose their original chip stack. No add-ons or rebuys are allowed. 

The Main Event begins in stages, with players starting at a table full of 9 players. As competitors are eliminated, tables are combined until the field gets down to the final nine players – the final table. The Main Event ends in a heads-up contest between the eventual champion and the runner-up.

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