World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet bucket-list lovers will be in a state of reverie, this morning after the iconic institution announced plans to organise two online bracelet series.
The Coronavirus pandemic crushed poker’s soul like the wings of a butterfly between toddler’s thumbs as it surged through the universe, killing hundreds of thousands of people, and the summer WSOP.
The WSOP acted rapidly, agreeing upon a deal to host a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Online Series with new partners GGPoker. You sensed at the beginning of that incredible 18 gold ring experiment that the WSOP had the receptivity to shift their entire gold bracelet schedule online (the series generated more than $130m in prize money).
Now, it’s official.
WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Grinders, go out and get yourself a comfy seat cushion because you’re going to be busy.
The plan is for WSOP.com to host a daily bracelet event throughout July (31, if you can’t be bothered to do that thing in your head that reminds you how many days there are in each month).
There are drawbacks.
Due to regulations, the variety of tournaments is limited to No Limit Hold ’em (NLHE) or Pot Limit Omaha (PLO), and the buy-in level is capped with the most extreme buy-in a $3,500 NLHE High Roller, but one doubts it will lead to a fragile state of mind.
Three of the WSOP’s marquee events have leapt to the online realm with The BIG 50, Monster Stack and Senior Event brands included in the schedule. The cilantro on this yellow split-pea soup is a $1,000 No Limit Hold ’em Championship on Fri, Jul 31 at 15:00 (PDT).
You can qualify for bracelet events through the online satellite system for less than a buck, and the WSOP is also putting on a $100,000 Online Bracelet Series Leaderboard (although there is no word on prizes). Competing players must have their butts firmly ensconced in either New Jersey or Nevada, meaning Delaware residents don’t get to taste that split-pea soup.
GGPoker Bracelet Events
GGPoker will host 54 bracelet events.
The good thing about the WSOP’s relationship with GGPoker is their ability to offer a broader range of event types, and a higher buy-in ceiling, with $25,000 buy-in events frequently running on the site.
There is no schedule presently, but we know the action starts July 19 and runs to Sep 6.
“It wouldn’t be Summer without WSOP,” said Ty Stewart, executive director of the WSOP. “While we are thrilled to be reopening our venues and optimistic about future offline events, we couldn’t be more excited about deepening our relationship with GGPoker and watching some history unfold online this summer.”
WSOP Sponsorship
As WSOP extends its relationship with GGPoker, it will be interesting to see what happens to their long-term sponsorship partnership with 888Poker. While it’s not out of the question for WSOP to have multiple online partners (including partypoker), one imagines online operators will push for exclusivity.
The Schedule
The WSOP’s Ty Stewart made the point that these events are not direct replacements for their live sister, but run as a separate concept, providing more value for their players at a unique time for civilisation. Still, should it turn out to be the resounding success one expects it to be, then it’s going to be challenging for the WSOP not to repeat the online experience annually. If you remember the furore that emerged from some quarters of the poker community during the creation of the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), it will be interesting to see what the poker world thinks of this move if it does become a permanent fixture in the poker calendar.
The WSOP harbours hopes of running a live WSOP in the winter, and that could be bad news for other live tour operators clamouring to fire their own last-ditch 2020 salvos.
Here is the schedule for the WSOP.com events.
WSOP.com Schedule*
Event #1: Jul 1, $500 NLHE Kick-Off
Event #2: Jul 2, $1,000 NLHE DeepStack
Event #3: Jul 3, $400 NLHE
Event #4, Jul 4, $500 NLHE Super-Turbo
Event #5: Jul 5, $1,000 NLHE Freezeout
Event #6: Jul 6, $600 PLO8 – 6-Handed
Event #7: Jul 7, $800 NLHE Knockout DeepStack
Event #8: Jul 8, $500 NLHE Freezeout
Event #9: Jul 9, $1,000 NLHE 6-Max
Event #10: Jul 10, $600 NLHE Monster Stack
Event #11: Jul 11, $500 NLHE Turbo DeepStack 6-Handed
Event #12: Jul 12, $500 The BIG 500 NLHE
Event #13: Jul 13, $1,500 NLHE High Roller Freezeout
Event #14: Jul 14: $3,200 NLHE High Roller
Event #15: Jul 15, $1,000 PLO High Roller
Event #16: Jul 16, $500 NLHE Turbo
Event #17: Jul 17, $777 NLHE
Event #18: Jul 18, $1,000 NLHE Turbo DeepStack
Event #19: Jul 19, $400 NLHE
Event #20: Jul 20, $500 PLO 6-Handed
Event #21: Jul 21, $777 NLHE 6-Handed
Event #22: Jul 22, $500 NLHE Turbo DeepStack
Event #23: Jul 23, $500 NLHE DeepStack
Event #24: Jul 24. $400 NLHE
Event #25: Jul 25, $500 NLHE Summer Saver
Event #26: Jul 26, $500 NLHE Grand Finale
Event #27: Jul 27, $400 NLHE Freezeout
Event #28: Jul 28, $1,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 6-Handed
Event #29: Jul 29, $600 NLHE Turbo DeepStack 6-Handed
Event #30: Jul 30, $500 NLHE Senior’s Event
Event #31: Jul 31, $1,000 NLHE Championship
*All events start at 15:00 (PDT), and it’s unknown if they will be 1 or 2 day events.