Let’s Decide On The 2015 WSOP Schedule Together

This isn’t going to be your typical article about the World Series of Poker schedule. I could have just surreptitiously listed some suggestions that cater to my friends and me the most, but I’d rather address the way we debate what goes in the schedule. To me, these conversations we have are just as important as the final product.

This summer it felt like there was more discussion about the World Series of Poker schedule than any previous year. Several well-known players actively campaigned for events they would like to see. This conversation is great for poker as these players do a great job of representing their respective communities and telling us what events they would like to see.

One of the enchanting products of playing almost every tournament at the World Series of Poker is that I get to interact with all these different communities. Each day, I feel like I’m playing host to a new group of rounders who are in town just for the “Millionaire Maker,” stud tournaments, or whatever niche in poker they enjoy. I find it a bit adorable when they are confused by the existence of All American Dave’s and make futile pleas to the floorperson about how frigid it is in the Amazon room.

Even though these players may only spend a few days of the summer playing in a bracelet event, their experience is just as valuable as the professionals that grind every event. They are certainly more excited about the one event they’ve waited all summer to play than I am. This is why I think our discussions on the World Series of Poker schedule should not have disrespectful comments such as “we have too many limit hold’em events, the game is dying.” You can replace the game or reason, but it’s a line I’ve heard way too often.

Even though it’s financially and logistically impossible to have everything on the schedule, using this kind of rhetoric tells players that they are not a welcome part of the poker community. I would much rather everyone who feels disenfranchised or has a suggestion simply advocate for what events they would like to see. There’s no event at the Rio over the course of the summer, not even the main event, that caters to everyone, so when I see something that doesn’t fit my schedule, I try to stay considerate for those it does serve. In spirit with this, my suggestions are for additions to the 2015 WSOP that primarily aren’t for me.

Have a $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tournament Every Year

There is certainly the demand for it. In 2014, there were several $100,000 buy-in events at the Bellagio and Aria that were popularly attended and leeched the spotlight away from the Rio. In 2013, the $111,111 WSOP One Drop High Roller was one of the most popular six figure buy-in tournaments of all-time.

There may once have been a stigma surrounding high roller events at the World Series of Poker where they did not want anyone to feel like they were able to buy bracelets. However, a significant portion of the fields in these tournaments now aren’t people who are trying to buy hardware, but those who have worked their way up with tournament wins and success at cash games. Having this tournament would reward those who have built their bankrolls up and give us another opportunity to see some of the best duke it out at the biggest tournament stage of the year.

Add a Pot Limit Omaha/8 Championship and an Additional Small Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better Event

This suggestion comes from one of my Twitter followers, Ken Po. Pot-limit Omaha Eight-or-Better barely trails its limit Omaha/8 and pot-limit-Omaha siblings in attendance. All of those formats have been justified in adding a third and fourth event and all those additions have been fairly successful. It makes sense to mimic those disciplines and add a $10,000 championship event as well as something else, such as a $1,500 6max.

Return the ‘Monster Stack’ and ‘Dealer’s Choice’ Tournaments

The debut of “Monster Stack” and “Dealer’s Choice” tournaments were significant successes in their first appearances on the tournament schedule. In particular, the “Monster Stack” had an overwhelmingly large turnout, similar to how the “Stimulus Special” was well-attended when it was first introduced in 2009.

It makes sense to return both additions, as well as add an additional “Monster Stack” event. During a summer, it’s impossible to have overlapping events without making someone unhappy, but having a second event greatly increases the chances that everyone who wants to participate in a “Monster Stack” will get the opportunity to. I missed the event this year so I could play in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship and I’d make the same decision again next year if given the same ultimatum, but the “Monster Stack” is unique enough that I hope to get to play in it at some point.

I don’t think it would be a great idea to have many more than two “Monster Stack” events in a summer, given how many days and dealer shifts each iteration of the event consumes, but the demand for them suggests that an additional one is appropriate.

Continue to Experiment With New Events

The success of these new events means the World Series of Poker should continue to experiment with new tournament formats. I’m a bit surprised that a $1,500 Open Face Chinese or Big O is not a staple of the summer given how the games have exploded in the last few years. I know the inclusion of these formats is an enormous debate in itself, but the games have certainly developed their own communities that would greatly enjoy an event.

The World Series of Poker is often called the largest festival of poker. Given the way it brings groups of people into town to take part in my favorite tournament series of the year, I find this description to be perfect. Having something for all these communities has long been a strong point of the summer and something worth focusing our attention on as we decide what events we’ll play in each year. ♠

Ben Yu attended Stanford University but knew even before finishing that he wanted to embark on a journey to become a one of the finest professional mixed-game players. He made his debut onto the tournament scene in 2010 with a second-place finish in the World Series of Poker $1,500 limit hold’em shootout and followed it up in 2011 by leading the WSOP with seven cashes across six different games.  In 2012, he moved to Rosarito, Mexico in order to continue playing online and was enthralled to perform well at the World Championship of Online Poker, including a final table appearance at the $10,300 poker 8-Game High Roller, and a cash in the main event.