2010 World Series of Poker Schedule

Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail

The head honchos at the World Series of Poker promised to have the 2010 schedule released around the new year but it came out earlier than anticipated. The schedule is now online and looks to be very interesting. The 2010 World Series of Poker will begin at the Rio Hotel and Casino on May 27th and run 51 days to July 17th when they again pause play in the Main Event at the formation of the November Nine. The schedule provides plenty of diversity for the players with the addition of smaller buyin events as well as a new Player’s Championship.

They can keep saying they offer 57 events this year but that is only true if you happen to be woman over 50 years old and employed by casino. So for the convenience of breaking down the schedule, I will not be including Event #1 ($500 Casino Employee), Event #22 ($1,000 Ladies Only), or Event #34 ($1,000 Seniors) into any analysis. That still leaves 54 “open” bracelet events to dig into. Some big changes appear right off the bat.

You can find the schedule as well as my thoughts after the jump.

The complete 2010 World Series of Poker Schedule is listed here as well as registration and structure information.

- Last year kicked off the first open event with the $40,000 “Anniversary” tournament and also included the $50,000 HORSE Championship later in the series which was the unofficial player’s championship. In 2010 they have tweaked the format which will have The Player’s Championship kick things off with a $50,000 buyin and 8-game Mix instead of H.O.R.S.E. and the winner will be presented with the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. In a bow to the ESPN cameras and pressure from players, the final table of The Player’s Championship will only include No Limit Hold’em.

- Another big change is a nod to the huge success of the $1,000 “Stimulus” Special during last year’s series. That event drew the biggest non-Main Event field in history with an incredible 6,012 entrants. Never to let a good idea go to waste/milk it for everything, this year the WSOP will bring you an amazing SIX (6) open tournaments featuring the bankroll pleasing $1,000 buyin. Each of these events will take place on a weekend and all but one will feature two “Day 1′s”. There are also nine other $1,500 tournaments throughout the series to stay with the “bankroll management” theme.

- The schedule features a new event to pack the tables as well as the rails. Players will begin preparing for their Main Event run with a $25,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-handed tournament. The buyin will limit the size of the field but the 6-handed format will generate plenty of short-handed action. Probably one of my favorite new tweaks to the WSOP schedule.

- The rest of the schedule plays out like this: there are ten $10,000 “Championship” events, five $5,000 buyin events (3 No LImit Hold’em, 1 Pot Limit Omaha, and 1 Pot Limit Omaha/8), six tournaments featuring the 6-handed format, and four Shootout style tournaments including the $10,000 Heads Up Championship. There is literally any game for any bankroll and any player.

- There were also some environmental changes announced. The biggest seems to be adding the Pavilion Ballroom to list of Rio Convention Rooms being used for the World Series of Poker. That adds 58,000 square feet on top of the 38,000 sq feet of the Amazon Room, I think the days of drawing a table up by Buzio’s restaurant may be over. No word yet on how everything will be divided up, how many additional tables, or the setup until much closer to the series.

- There is good news/bad news situation for the stomach of poker players this summer. Gone for good is the dreaded Poker Kitchen Tent in the parking lot behind the Amazon Room. The bad news is that they are just moving inside to the Miranda Room which was used for games last year. I would just go ahead and assume a similar menu. At least now you don’t have to venture into the 120 degree Vegas desert to get there.

Here’s a break down of the events (excluding the Employee, Ladies, and Seniors events since they are not “open” tournaments).

32 Hold’em only tournaments:

24 – No Limit Hold’em
5 – Limit Hold’em
2 – Pot Limit Hold’em
1 – Mix Hold’em (NL and Limit)

8 Omaha only poker tournaments:

4 – Pot Limit Omaha
2 – Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better
2 – Limit Omaha 8 or better

6 Mix Game tournaments:

3 – H.O.R.S.E.
2 – 8-game Mix
1 – Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha

5 Seven Card tournaments:

2 – Seven Card Stud
2 – Seven Card Stud 8 or better
1 – Seven Card Razz

3 Deuce to Seven tournaments:

2 – Deuce to Seven Single Draw No Limit
1 – Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Limit

Tags: 2010 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, WSOP