2017 WSOP Schedule Released
As the World Series of Poker gradually released bits and pieces of the 2017 WSOP schedule over the last few weeks, tournament organizers said that the full schedule would be announced in February. Last I checked, it is still January and the entire schedule was published yesterday, so that makes them damn liars. I kid, I kid. Underpromising and overdelivering is the way to go! The 2017 WSOP will begin on May 30th and run through July 17th before breaking for the November Nine; a total of 74 gold bracelets will be contested.
WSOP officials constantly tweak the schedule, trying to put together a roster of events that is both profitable and attractive to the players (these things are not mutually exclusive). To wit, WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel said, “The focus of the schedule remains squarely on two core principles: the biggest prize pools possible and diversity in offerings to provide something for everyone. The 48th running of the globe’s biggest poker series promises to deliver on these core principles and ensure another action-packed summer at the Rio. Can’t wait to see you soon.”
Eight events are making their debuts at the 2017 WSOP:
$10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em (May 31st) – players compete in teams of two to four. Each player must check-in at the table before the registration period ends and each player is required to play at least one round of blinds during the tourney. Teammates may tag in any time between hands. There was a tag-team event last year, but it was for just $1,000.
$333 WSOP.com No-Limit Hold’em (June 3rd) – online event, unlimited re-entry, $333,333 guaranteed prize pool
$365 “The Giant” No-Limit Hold’em (June 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, July 7th) – each date is a Friday night starting flight. The money bubble will burst during each flight and at the end of the night, every remaining player in the flight is paid the amount of the last place that was paid that night (I know, I had to think about it a couple times to understand it). The survivors from all five flights meet for Day 2 on July 8th to play for the remaining prize pool. Unlimited re-entries during each starting flight.
$2,620 “The Marathon” (June 12th) – Five day event, 100-minute levels.
$1,000 Super Turbo Bounty (June 20th) – short 20-minute levels, $300 of the buy-in is used as a bounty on each player’s head.
$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better (June 26th) – no real explanation necessary
$2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event (June 30th) – No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 No-Limit, No-Limit 5 Card Draw, Big O, Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, 2-7 Pot-Limit Triple Draw
$3,333 High Roller WSOP.com No-Limit Hold’em (July 1st) – another online event.
As is apparent, the World Series of Poker is finding it valuable to include internet players as much as possible, boosting the number of online bracelet events to three. All will be played entirely online, unlike in past iterations, where a portion of the event was contested at the Rio. These tourneys are on the Nevada version of WSOP.com only.
One of the more interesting additions to the schedule is the $365 “Giant,” clearly an even lower-budget take on “The Colossus,” which won’t be the cheapest open event in WSOP anymore. It is very similar, with a gaggle of starting flights and payouts beginning on each Day 1. The main difference is that there is one starting flight each Friday, rather than all being bunched together on a single weekend.
But WHO CARES about any of that? Three- and four-digit buy-in WSOP events don’t end up on ESPN’s SportsCenter. We care about the 2017 WSOP Main Event, right? The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship will begin July 8th and like last year will have three starting days. The survivors from Day 1A and Day 1B will play Day 2A and 2B on July 11th. Though they are both on the same calendar day, the players from Day 1A will have their own separate Day 2 from those that came from Day 1B. Day 2C, featuring the survivors from Day 1C, will be on July 12th. Starting on Day 3, all remaining players will be in a single field.
The Main Event will continue through July 17th (or the morning of July 18th, as the case may be) when it will be narrowed to just nine players. Those players will make up the “November Nine” and will return in…um…November to play out the final table.
In non-schedule WSOP news, players will now be able to use credit cards at the cage to buy-in to tournaments. Purchases up to $10,000 will be permitted. So increase those credit limits and get a cash back card because here come the savings!
The complete schedule for the 2017 WSOP can be found at http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/.
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