There\u2019s only a couple of weeks to go before\nWSOP 2021 kicks off on September 30 in Las Vegas. If you haven\u2019t started preparing\nyour schedule yet, it\u2019s time to do it now! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Planning your World Series of Poker adventure isn’t easy, especially as since last year there’s been live and online tournaments in the mix. This has made it more accessible in general but also a little more confusing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article will explain how WSOP events are structured, as well as give you an idea of what to expect in terms of buy-ins, qualifying satellites, blind structures, and playing schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With this information, you\u2019ll be much better\nequipped to plan and figure out what WSOP tournaments you might be interested\nin playing this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As mentioned, the World Series of Poker was\nmoved entirely online in 2020. The pandemic made it impossible to host a live\nevent gathering dozens of thousands of people from all over the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year it is a combination of both although\nthe online events for 2021 have now finished. The WSOP Online 2021 took place\non WSOP.com (US players only) and GGPoker (international players).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As expected, buy-ins for online WSOP tournaments are significantly smaller than the ones for live events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sparked controversy in the community, with some players voicing their concerns that this actually devalues WSOP bracelets. However, this debate didn’t change the organizers’ minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years now, the World Series of Poker has been taking place at the Rio in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
WSOP officials usually publish the full schedule of events<\/a> on the site at least a couple of months prior to the start, giving players a chance to plan everything in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you can register for some tournaments\nonline and pay your buy-in using a bank card, this doesn\u2019t apply across the\nboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For all tournaments with the buy-in over $1,500 or $2,000, you’ll need to get in early, wait in line, and register in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is something to keep in mind if you have no WSOP experience, as these registration queues can be longer than you could expect. Try to do it early and don’t leave it for the last moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, World Series organizers have expanded the schedule quite a bit, so you’ll find a number of bigger events worth playing. Some of them are even not that expensive but still feature massive prize pools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To avoid any surprises and give you a chance to prepare, we\u2019ll cover some of the events you will find and what to expect in terms of structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s kick things off with the pinnacle of WSOP, the Main Event<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The tournament features a buy-in of $10,000,\nand this number hasn’t changed since the series was founded. There are no plans\nto change it in the near future, even though $10,000 today is much different\nfrom what it used to be back in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You probably know that almost every Main Event\nthese days features thousands of players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that it is physically impossible for\nall of them to play at the same time. Instead, there are multiple starting\ndays, or \u201cDay 1s\u201d, as you’ll find them described on the tournament schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditionally, the Main Event features three\nstarting days: Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you register early enough, you can pick\nwhatever day you want to play in. There are no significant differences, as all\nplayers get to play under the exact same rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if you’re only going to Vegas to play\nthe Main Event, Day 1C is your best option, as you won’t have to pay for the\nroom for the extra day or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all first days are completed, players\nstill in the event will come back for Day 2. Since this is still a big number,\nthere will be two or three Day 2s as well. You no longer have an option to\nchoose, though. The organizer will assign you the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After that, if you make it to Day 3 and beyond,\nit plays like any other tournament, but it will still take a few days to\ncomplete. If you make it all the way to the final table, you can expect to play\nfor 10 days in total and spend about two weeks in Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not that anyone would complain about it, but\nit\u2019s still good to know what to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the tournament structure, the Main Event\nis played fairly deep. You get 60,000 chips to start with, and blinds kick off\nat 100-200 with levels lasting 120 minutes, so you’ll get plenty of play for\nyour $10,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The money bubble usually bursts late into Day 3\nor during the first levels of Day 4, depending on the number of participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Millionaire Maker event has become a\nregular staple on the WSOP schedule due to being very popular with the players.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although it\u2019s a small buy-in event, requiring\nonly $1,500 to enter, it guarantees at least $1,000,000 for the winner, so that\nmakes it pretty appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s worth mentioning that while having\nthousands of entries every year, this tournament doesn\u2019t take as long as you\nmight think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two starting days to allow everyone\ninterested in playing to enter the tournament. After this, however, all players\ncome together and play until the winner is crowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final table usually takes place on Day 5 and\nthere are no rest days. So if you enter Millionaire Maker, be prepared to put\nyour grinding pants on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The starting stack is 25,000, and blinds start\nat 100\/100 with 60 minutes levels. While blinds escalate relatively quickly,\nthere is still plenty of room for play, but not nearly as much as what you get\nin the Main Event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Colossus is a bit of a controversial\ntournament because of its very low buy-in of just $400, but the numbers show\nplayers enjoy it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, the event saw more than 13,000\nentries, and the winner pocketed over $400,000 for his efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the great number of entrants, the\nColossus doesn’t take too long to complete either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Day 1 features two flights, but they’re both\nplayed on the same day. On Day 2, fields from both starting flights combine,\nand on Day 3, the tournament plays down to the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The starting stack is 40,000 chips, but levels\nonly last 40 minutes, which is a very fast structure for a live tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, considering the buy-in, the Colossus\noffers a very good experience, and more importantly, a shot at a really big,\nlife-changing prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The term “side events” basically applies to all WSOP tournaments that aren’t “championship” events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a lot of variety here, as buy-ins can range from as little as $500 to as high as $5,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will usually start with a stack of 200\u2013300\nbig blinds, and blind levels will last from 40 to 60 minutes. This is more than\nwhat you’ll get in most local tournaments, which means there will be plenty of\nplay, at least for the first levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some events, especially in the lower-buyin\nbracket, the structure is often such that blind levels will be shorter on the\nfirst day (like 30 minutes) and then bumped up to 45 or 60 minutes on the\nsecond day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This ensures players get some room to play when\nthings really start to matter as the money approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Championship events are tournaments featuring\nthe $10,000 buy-in, and they take place for different game variations, like 7\nCard Stud, PLO, Omaha 8, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Main Event is basically the No-Limit\nHold’em Championship, and that’s what it’s often referred to in the schedules\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With such a big buy-in and being dubbed\n\u201cchampionships,\u201d these tournaments feature better structures than most side\nevents. For games played in a limit format, levels usually last 60 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t feel like sitting around for a few days and would rather try your hand at some fast-paced action, the WSOP has you covered there as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the schedule for any events with the word \u201cturbo\u201d in the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These usually feature very short, 20-minute\nlevels and rarely extend to a second day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, you can expect much more push and\nfold action in these, and you’ll need some assistance from Lady Luck to survive\nall the flips along the way, but it’s a nice option to have nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Satellites can be a great way to win your seat in some WSOP events and make the most out of your bankroll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re aiming for the Main Event, you can find heaps of satellites running pretty much all year round on all top poker sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what about other WSOP tournaments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll find many of these at the Rio at the time of the Series, allowing even those with limited bankrolls to get their seats in some of the smaller events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the structure of these live satellites,\nyou shouldn\u2019t expect anything special. These are mostly fast-structured\ntournaments designed to wrap up in a few hours and award some entries for the\nreal thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One question that players often have is whether satellites are worth the time and money, and this really depends on multiple factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a good player with solid fundamentals, you\u2019ll probably do quite well in these and improve your overall EV. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Main Event<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Millionaire Maker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Colossus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Side Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Championship Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Turbo Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Satellites<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n