World Series of Poker

To qualify for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) competition, there are two paths. One is to win your way by taking a "satellite" tournament or another important tournament that carries with it an entry into the WSOP. In recent years online players have been able to participate in the WSOP by having won tournaments held over the Internet. The other path is to pay the entry fee without having won a feeder tournament. The entry fees vary by the event. The most important ones cost $10,000 to play. Even though popular attention focuses mainly on the final table of just one or two games in the annual WSOP, in truth, 55 bracelets were awarded in 2007 for 55 different events. Some of these are defined by the game being played (like Stud, Razz, Omaha, Lowball, and Hold'em) and the betting structures (like no limit, limit or pot limit). Sometimes the event also is defined by who can play (ladies only, or casino employees). Sometimes the event is defined by special rules (rebuys allowed, shootout, heads-up play, etc.). The tournament takes about six weeks from start to finish.

Probably the most influential development in the history of professional poker was the emergence of "flop games" - Texas Hold'em and Omaha - as the games of choice of the contestants. In the old days, draw poker gave way to five-card stud and then seven-card stud. The Hold'em approach vastly increased the influence of player skill and tactics in the outcomes. And even though luck surely plays an important role in specific hands and outcomes, the relative weight of luck v. skill is reduced when 5 out of the 7 cards are shared by all players (as in the case of Texas Hold'em). Hold'em games, by using relatively few cards from the deck, also made it possible to have tables with a larger number of players than in the case of draw poker or stud. Even as Hold'em and Omaha were capturing the fancy of the professional players, these games were increasingly appealing to the television broadcasting industry. With the innovation of the "pocket cam," a small camera that can read a player's hole cards, television coverage of WSOP events boomed in the 21st century. Players became national celebrities overnight, and the money involved in the events increased at a dizzying rate.

The World Series of Poker decided to expand beyond its position at the top of the heap of all poker tournaments. In 2005 the WSOP started a series of "Circuit Events" that would take place all over the United States as a prelude to the World Series of Poker itself. They are No Limit Hold'em tournaments in Atlantic City, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego, on the Mississippi River near Louisville, Kentucky, Tunica, Mississippi, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. The original idea was that the winners would qualify for another new WSOP event, the Tournament of Champions.

The WSOP "Tournament of Champions" was an invitational freeroll (i.e., no entry fee) poker tournament. The first session was open to ten players only, and televised. The winner received $2 million. No other prizes were awarded. Annie Duke won the tourney. In the second year more players were entered and the winner, Mike Matusow, took away $1 million, and the next 9 players also won money. In 2006, Mike Sexton won the $1 million first prize from a field of 27. This was the event's last year. In the face of low ratings and contention with the host and sponsor, Harrah's, it went on "indefinite hold." The WSOP "Circuit Events" continue, however.