There is no greater feat for a competitive poker player than participating in a big tournament and coming out on top. It gives the player fame and fortune, but the road to this fame and fortune is hard earned. With the boom of online poker rooms, there has been a surge of new poker players, as well as a better way to make poker more popular. Ever since poker was invented, players would try to prove themselves to be the best, and the most effective way of doing this was to have the best players come together and play poker. There have always been poker tournaments, and since poker became such a popular game, the tournaments have gotten to immense proportions too (live tournaments mainly). There are obviously the small, local tournaments or the regular online poker tournaments, but when a player is truly looking to make a name for them, they need to stick to the main poker tournaments – main live events at land based casinos (usually).
Live Event Tournaments
Live event tournaments are those tournaments that are played in a physical location, where all the players come together and compete for first place, or at least to place within the winnings also known as the bubble. They all occur in different locations and are usually sponsored by big casinos. There is a player cap, where they only allow a certain amount of players to join, and for these big tournaments, they usually have an entry fee they charge each player; the fee is split into paying the event and the cash prizes. As noted by each events’ name, the tournaments are aimed at an international setting and are played all over the world. Most poker professionals travel from tournament to tournament trying to get their big win and retain their title. These live tournaments only happen every so often and bring with them a big pay-out, since they are so big and take long to organize, such as the biggest tournament of them all, the WSOP.
Big Name Tournaments
Some of the biggest tournaments that are played today are the World Series of Poker (WSOP), World Poker Tour, Latin American Poker Tour, WSOP Europe, and the Aussie Millions. This is not the entire list of big time tournaments of course, but they are definitely within the most popular. With such a big following of poker players, these events are being televised, letting regular players and enthusiasts take a peek into what those tournaments entail.
Perks vs. Cons of Live Poker Tournaments
Having live tournaments can have some negative sides to it, but it also has many good aspects, which is why they still exist and are so popular. Some of the many perks having a live tournament is the coverage, high status, and the prizes. Sadly, the cons of these tournaments involve high cost and maintenance, as well as time restriction.
With live tournaments, the coverage allows players from all over the world to come and participate, which makes the competition that much better. Playing in these events can make an unknown player become world famous, which is what makes them high status (think ‘Chris Moneymaker’). As there is usually a big entry fee, as well as with the sponsors, the players that make it to the final table get a nice big pay check. Winning, or at least making an impression, at one of these events can drastically change a player’s life.
Since these events involve a physical setting, as well as a lot of managing and organizing, they have a big cost included with them. Along with this, these events cannot constantly be occurring, which in part is what makes these events so special. These poker tournaments usually take days and sometimes weeks to culminate, so most players need to be committed to poker in order to invest that kind of time.
Poker Event Schedules
Players should always be aware of when these live poker tournaments begin because there will not be any seats open if you are late to the gate.
The WSOP is held annually in Las Vegas and normally held at the ‘Rio’ hotel. There are usually many events being played throughout this time, and the main event is usually the last one played. The events start on late May (usually) and are scheduled to end on July (usually). As for the final table game, that usually happens a few months later on, such as October or November – in just 1 day.
The WSOPE Is the European version of the WSOP and is also held annually. This year, 2024, it will be held from September 21 to October 4 in Cannes, France.
The WPT is harder to know when it will start and where, since they happen all over the US. These do occur more often than other tournaments. They started out their tour in April, and had two big events in May 2012. Next year, they hope to start at the same times.
The Aussie Millions happens in Australia and the first event happens on January 17, 2024 and it all ends in February 3, 2024.
