03 Feb 12

Thoughts on the New WSOP Schedule

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the 2012 World Series of Poker schedule, Barry Carter shares his thoughts on the big changes this year.

This week, WSOP.com unveiled the new schedule for the World Series of Poker, after teasing us with a few rumours one day before.

The series has really evolved in recent years, which is why the announcement is always pretty exciting, and this year was no different. There were some surprising new additions, some brilliant looking events, and a few disappointments.

$1 million buy-in

This was no secret, but it is worth mentioning the "Big One for One Drop" tournament with a buy-in of $1 million. I have already written at length my thoughts on super high roller events and I do not think for one moment that this will set the trend for regular seven-figure events.

But, as a spectacle, you can bet your bottom dollar we will all be watching it. I remember when High Stakes Poker first had a $500,000 buy-in game and how the dynamics seemed so much different to any other game before it, you actually saw the pros under pressure. Seeing some of the biggest names really sweating over all-in decisions will be fascinating to watch.

October Nine

Yes, for half a day, the WSOP really had us believing that the November Nine was to be no more. It turned out just to be a big slowroll, and that the final table would instead be played a week earlier, at the end of October. The reason for which is clear, it was going to clash with the US election.

I for one am pretty disappointed. I don't think we need a final table delay any more - last year the live coverage from ESPN was amazing, so much so that we don't need four months to learn about the final nine like we did before. Add to that a significantly reduced advertising budget following Black Friday, and this seemed liked a perfect opportunity to ditch the delay.

Goodbye November Nine, hello October Nine

Exciting new formats

I am pleased to see a re-entry event this year. I have already shared my views on these (which pretty much none of you guys agreed with) and this one could prove to be a pretty fun event. It is a $1,500 event and last year, some of this sized buy-in events were commanding 3,000+ fields.

I actually think they missed a trick not making this a $1,000 event, which last year attracted 4,000+ runners. The combined runners in a $1,000 re-entry event could potentially have been as big as the Main Event itself, and a great "low stakes Main Event" for those who can't afford the real one.

It was good to see a heads-up No Limit/PLO mixed event, lots of heads-up specialists play both formats, and I think they could have gone even bigger than $3,000 for the buy-in here, as all the nosebleed players would have loved it.

People seemed to like the mix-max event at the WSOPE and I think it will be a popular event this year. I also think that the four-max event could be the most popular event of the series (In fact, I am surprised four max has not taken off more online) and it will probably be the action game of the bunch.

You may not like the changes, but the WSOP is never boring

Anti-no-ante

I really could not get my head around the idea of the 'ante only' event. The premise is that small and big blinds are not posted, and instead everyone brings in for an ante from the very start. What this most likely will equate to is being able to play cagey for a few levels, but the action will suddenly become very fast, very quickly.

It sounds like a fun event, but here is my problem with it; it is a format that is not really played anywhere else. For me, one of the big appeals of the WSOP is the idea that the best players in every format meet once a year to prove who is the best. To win a Stud bracelet means you are one of the best Stud players in the world. This format is completely experimental, it is a brand new game essentially, there is no doubt that the skilful players have the edge, but there is also an element of beginner's luck.

I would much sooner see a new bracelet event for a game that is played regularly throughout the poker year - a Chinese poker event for example, I know they tried it once before to little avail, but it is still a popular game and has much more of a case to be a bracelet event. A dealer's choice bracelet would also be a very popular event in my opinion, and it is a game that is played throughout card rooms all around the world, every night of the year. Even old classics like Five Card Draw or Rummy have more of a place in the WSOP than an unproven format like "no ante".

No matter what you think of the schedule, it is great to see the WSOP pushing the boundaries and trying new things. These are tough times for poker, US poker, and US televised poker; so whether or not this schedule will work, I do applaud the WSOP for taking some risks during a difficult transitional period for the game.

by Barry Carter