2015 Can’t Miss WSOP Events

I can’t believe that it has been a decade since my first World Series of Poker main event in which I finished in 13th place. Every year since, I look forward to returning to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino to chase every poker player’s holy grail: a WSOP bracelet. When the schedule for the 2015 WSOP was released in February, I scanned the events to see the returning and newly-introduced events. With 68 bracelets awarded this year, there are some great can’t miss events with reasonable buy-ins for players of all levels. Here are some events that you should consider playing if you are making the journey to the WSOP this summer.

Colossus ($565 buy-in, Day 1 on Friday May 29 and Saturday May 30)

This bracelet event will be truly historic. With its lower buy-in ($565), re-entry format (four starting flights), larger starting stack (5,000 chips), and a $5 million guarantee prize pool, the Colossus will easily break the record for largest live poker tournament (The current record is held by the 2006 WSOP main event with 8,773 unique entries). With this event being held on the first weekend of the WSOP, the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino will be packed with thousands of players vying to become the first WSOP Colossus champion. Each starting day will have two starting flights (10 a.m. and 6 p.m.) and players will be allowed to surrender your stack at the end of the flight if they choose. Although the tournament will need 10,000 entries to meet the guarantee, I predict it will easily reach this threshold and will flirt with 20,000 entries. I am definitely looking forward to playing in this massive record-breaking event.

Note: I would recommend pre-registering for this event to avoid the long lines and probable sell out. Additionally, if you plan on re-entering if you are eliminated from an earlier flight, I would register for multiple flights. You can always get a refund. Also, if you are eliminated from the Colossus, there will be a $1,000 hyper turbo (20-minute levels on Day 1 and 30 minutes on Day 2) no-limit hold’em event on Sunday, May 31.

Millionaire Maker ($1,500 buy-in, Day 1 on Friday June 5 and Saturday June 6)

When introduced in 2013, the hype surrounding this event was as massive as this year’s Colossus. With its tremendous success, the event has become a mainstay of the WSOP. The lure of the seven-figure first place score has drawn thousands of players over the past two years, and this year should be no exception. In 2013, 6,343 players registered and in 2014, the field size increased by over 25 percent to 7,977. Although I do expected to see huge numbers, I predict that it will be lower than 2014 for two primary reasons:

1. The event will not be held during the first weekend like the two previous years
2. Many players would have attended the previous weekend’s Colossus event. I predict around 6,500 entries this year.

Note: If you are eliminated from the Millionaire Maker, there will be a $1,000 turbo (30-minute levels on Day 1 and 40 minutes on Day 2) no-limit hold’em event on Sunday, June 7.

Monster Stack ($1,500 buy-in, Day 1 on Friday June 12 and Saturday June 13)

“The event was maybe the best success of the WSOP,” exclaimed Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the WSOP, “and we paid attention.” With a starting stack (15,000 chips) that is ten times the buy-in, players (7,862 entries total) flooded the Rio last year on a Thursday to play with such a favorable stack size. This year, the WSOP moved the event to a weekend and thoroughly prepared for the huge field sizes, which they saw last year. Actually, the success of this event also influenced the WSOP to increase the starting stack for most low buy-in events by 67 percent. With the event being moved to the weekend, I believe there will be an increase in participation and predict around 9,000 entries this year.

Note: If you are eliminated from the Monster Stack, there will be a $1,000 (60-minute levels for the entire tournament) no-limit hold’em event on Sunday, June 14.

Extended Play ($1,500 buy-in, Day 1 on Saturday June 20)

While this tournament has a similar buy-in and starting chips to the other $1,500 bracelet events, Extended play will have longer levels. While most preliminary events have one-hour levels, this event will have 90-minute levels, with 7,500 starting chips. Thus, if you want more play based on time, this is the event for you.

Dealer’s Choice ($1,500 buy-in, Day 1 on Thursday June 25)

For all of you mixed game players, this is the bracelet event designed for you. With a choice of 19 different games, ranging from the games in H.O.R.S.E to Badugi and all of its variations to lowball games, this event truly favors the all-around player. A player must be at least competent in all the games to be competitive. Overall, the majority of the players who played last year said they had a blast in this unique format.
To draw in players early, the WSOP has several lower-buy-in events in a row the week before the main event. Here are the unique ones to mark on your calendar.

50/50 No-Limit Hold’em ($1,500 buy-in, Day 1 on Saturday June 27)

If you have never cashed in a WSOP bracelet event, this event may give you the best chance, as half of the field will cash in this event. This unique format will definitely appease many more players compared to a typical bracelet event.

Little One for One Drop ($1,111 buy-in, Day 1 on Tuesday June 29)

While the $111,111 High Roller is held on Sunday June 28, this re-entry event (two starting flights: 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.) is for the everyday player with lower bankrolls. However, by playing in this event, players can still make a difference, contributing to Guy’ Laliberté ‘s charity, One Drop, whose mission is to provide safe drinkable water to everyone in the world. Great event for a great cause!

Bounty Tournament ($1,500 buy-in, Day 1 on Wednesday July 1)

A common tournament format around the world is brought to a WSOP bracelet event this ear. This event will be unique and could entice players to make marginal calls to earn someone’s bounty of $500. Interestingly, there will be player who do not “make the money,” but could earn more via bounties.

WSOP.com Online ($1,000 buy-in, Day 1 on Thursday, July 2)

With online poker being legal in Nevada, WSOP has integrated a bracelet event with its online site. The players will start Day 1 on WSOP.com, and then plan on bringing the final six players back on Day 2 (on July 4, allowing for a travel day) to play live against each other.

Lucky Sevens ($777 buy-in, Day 1 on Friday, July 3)

With this unique price point, the starting stack will be at 5,000 chips and will be a perfect warm-up for the main event.

Main Event ($10,000 buy-in, Day 1 on Sunday, July 5, Monday, July 6 and Tuesday July 7):

No explanation needed for this event, but the buy-in is still pretty steep at $10,000. However, if you afford to buy-in or, better yet, qualify via satellite, the main event is the true can’t-miss tournament of the year.

As for me personally, I am looking forward to playing all of the aforementioned events, although I may miss a couple due to my annual pilgrimage back home during the summer to see my family. However, every year, I circle two specific events: $1,500 (Tuesday, June 9) and $10,000 (Saturday, June 13) no-limit 2-7 single draw lowball. This game has become one of my favorites, especially since I final tabled the $1,500 event in 2011. If you are interested in learning about this unique game, watch my strategy video that I made for CardPlayerTV.

http://www.cardplayer.com/cptv/channels/3-strategy/poker-videos/4708-deuce-to-seven-no-limit-lowball-strategy-with-bernard-lee

Whichever events you choose to play this summer at the WSOP, I wish you good luck and I hope to see you at the final table. ♠

Bernard Lee is a poker columnist for ESPN.com, author of “The Final Table, Volume I and II” and radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which can be found on RoundersRadio.com or iTunes. Lee has over $2 million in career earnings, winning six titles. Lee is a team member of RunGoodGear.com and also spokesperson for specialty travel company, Blaycation. Follow Bernard Lee on Twitter: @BernardLeePoker or visit him at www.BernardLeePoker.com